Outcome based teaching and learning

[shibli]

An outcome-based teaching is a student-centred approach. This approach calls for the articulation of what we expect our students to learn, and gathering of evidence to determine whether they have learned it. The outcome-based approach has been widely adopted in universities across the world.

OUTCOMES-BASED TEACHING AND LEARNING (OBTL)

What is it, Why is it, How do we make it work?

John Biggs & Catherine Tang

What is OBTL and how does it differ from “traditional” teaching and assessment?

Traditionally, teachers used to plan their teaching by asking such questions as: What topics or content do I teach? What teaching methods do I use? How do I assess to see if the students have taken on board what I have taught them?

Teaching here is conceived as a process of transmitting content to the students, so the methods tend to be expository, and assessment focused on checking how well the message has been received—hence the common use of lectures and demonstrations, with tutorials for clarification, and exams that rely on reporting back.

OBTL, on the other hand, is based on such questions as: What do I intend my students to be able to do after my teaching that they couldn’t do before, and to what standard? How do I supply learning activities that will help them achieve those outcomes? How do I assess them to see how well they have achieved them?

As its name suggests, OBTL starts with clearly stating, not what the teacher is going to teach, but what the outcome of that teaching is intended to be in the form of a statement of what the learner is supposed to be able to do and at what standard: the Intended Learning Outcome (ILO). When students attend lectures, however, their main activity is receiving, not doing. Hence we need to devise Teaching and Learning Activities (TLAs) that require students to apply, invent, generate new ideas, diagnose and solve problems—or whatever other things they are expected to be able to do after they graduate.

Similarly we need Assessment Tasks (ATs) that tell us, not to how well students have received knowledge, but how they can use it in academically and professionally appropriate ways, such as solving problems, designing experiments, or communicating with clients.

[shibli]

What do I intend my students to be able to do after my teaching that they couldn’t do before, and to what standard? How do I supply learning activities that will help them achieve those outcomes? How do I assess them to see how well they have achieved them?

[shibli]

Traditional teaching, we know, focuses on the syllabus, the "input". In contrast, outcome-based teaching focuses on measuring student performance (the "outcome"). It requires that students demonstrate that they have learned the required skills and content. But we, the teachers, generally promote curricula and assessment based on traditional direct instruction methods. Students of 21st century learn in diverse ways. So, they need to be taught by outcome based education...

[sakhawat]

In case of outcome based teaching, students' learning is important. Whatever the methods they have chosen  or adopted to learn will be accepted in this regard. So, here, learning feedback is important from the teachers' perspective. Our Learning Feedback System is good but not enough to measure students learning or outcome. Its an another way to involve students in the learning process. The major problem that has been found is the reluctance of students toward learning. They just want to participate or to attend in the class room but reality is they are found inattentive.

So, what can we do to get the optimum result?
Putting them into pressure?

No, students motivation to learn is important. Teachers must inform students the real benefit of learning. Make your learning more interesting. Give them some creative assignments. Give them tips regard how to learn your lesson etc.

and finally get feedback................

[shibli]

How do students learn?

Practice

The classroom teaching should be highly interactive and practical. Students can be divided in small groups to interact with one another. Students should be encouraged to stand up and speak. The most practical way to learn is to learn by doing. Students cannot learn how to ride on a bike by watching a video or reading a book about it.  They can only learn it by riding it themselves. They may fall down, but they get up and ride again until they learn it. That’s what they should be doing in the class rooms.

[shibli]

In my opinion, taking VIVA in each and every course can make our students assertive and perform better in the interview and in the global job market. Traditionally, we assess the students mainly based on their writing ability as 85% marks are there for written assessment. When the students are asked verbally to answer the questions that they have written in the exams, most of them cannot reply neither in English nor in Bangla. That means, all they do is memorization. We have to get them out of this dangerous circumference. Introducing VIVA can solve the problem to great extent, i believe

[Omar Faruk Mazumder]

I agree with you sir. In our education system, result of exams are based on memorizing and writing ability. But these are not complete course of skills that a people only needs. besides, What a people (read student) can say is an important skill.

[Sharmin Jahan]

This is really very effective method, I think.