Humanizing OBTL for the Humanities

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Humanizing OBTL for the Humanities

• Prof. Tony T.N. Hung
• Language Centre, HKBU

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Outcomes-Based Teaching Learning (OBTL) in
perspective

• The spirit of OBTL is nothing new, and is
  already implicit in the teaching of many
  disciplines (such as language, music, medicine,
  engineering, etc.)
• OBTL is an approach, not a method. Instead of
  following any orthodox OBTL model, we may want
  to develop our own (discipline-specific) OBTL
  approach, based on a shared set of basic
  principles.

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The Essence of OBTL

• 1. In education, what matters ultimately is not
  what is taught, but what is learned
• 2. Therefore, teachers would do well to set their
  course/programme objectives (as far as possible)
  in terms of learning outcomes

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• 3. What we teach and how we teach, and how we
  assess our students, ought to be properly aligned
  with our intended learning outcomes.

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The Logic of OBTL

• The logic is stunningly obvious Say what you
  want students to be able to do, teach them to do
  it and then see if they can, in fact, do it.
• J. Biggs C. Tang, Teaching for Quality
  learning at University, 3rd Ed, p.177. Open
  University, 2007.

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Steps in operationalising OBTL1) Intended
Learning Outcomes

• State what you intend your students to be able to
  do by the end of the course or programme
• As far as possible, state these outcomes in terms
  of verbs (cf. Blooms Taxonomy)
• Ensure that your Course Outcomes are consistent
  with your Programme Outcomes and Institutional
  Outcomes.

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Blooms Taxonomy

• Evaluation appraise, argue, assess, attach,
  choose compare, defend estimate, judge, predict,
  rate, core, select, support, value, evaluate.
• Synthesis arrange, assemble, collect, compose,
  construct, create, design, develop, formulate,
  manage, organize, plan, prepare, propose, set up,
  write.
• Analysis analyze, appraise, calculate,
  categorize, compare, contrast, criticize,
  differentiate, discriminate, distinguish,
  examine, experiment, question, test.
• Application apply, choose, demonstrate,
  dramatize, employ, illustrate, interpret,
  operate, practice, schedule, sketch, solve, use,
  write.
• Understanding classify, describe, discuss,
  explain, express, identify, indicate, locate,
  recognize, report, restate, review, select,
  translate,
• Knowledge arrange, define, duplicate, label,
  list, memorize, name, order, recognize, relate,
  recall, repeat, reproduce state.

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Some Reservations

• Not all outcomes can be appropriately stated in
  operational terms (how about appreciate, value,
  understand, etc.?)
• OBTL tends to reduce learning outcomes to
  discrete, incremental items, neglecting the
  integrated, holistic nature of learning
• Pre-determined learning outcome statements have
  the effect of limiting and constraining actual
  learning outcomes.

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Some Learning Outcomes from students point of
view (source HKBU Teaching Evaluation feedback)

• I hated Phonetics before ..but now I am
  interested in it.
• Though I studied Linguistics for three years as
  an undergraduate, I never understood it was a
  scientific discipline until now.
• Phonetics and Phonology

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• It inspired us to think critically and to be
  more aware about things happening around us. It
  also encouraged us to use English more in our
  daily lives.
• The lecturer can motivate us to study by
  ourselves.
• I feel able to get my horizon broader, with
  focus not merely on local news items.
• The lecturer encourages us to speak up and
  speak freely.
• English through Current Events

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• It has clarified a lot of controversial
  arguments regarding World Englishes. The lecturer
  has given us a lot of room to think critically
  about certain arguments.
• The lecturer has not only taught us knowledge,
  but also inspired us to critical thinking,
  guiding us to think the way to learn from the
  point of view of whole-person education.
• English as a World Language

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Institutional OutcomesExample HKBUs Graduate
Attributes

• An education at HKBU aims at developing all
  aspects of the whole person -- intellectual,
  professional, moral, spiritual, cultural, social
  and physical. In particular, it aims to foster
  the following attributes among its graduates, who
  should
• Have up-to-date, in-depth knowledge of an
  academic specialty, as well as a broad range of
  cultural and general knowledge
• Be able to think critically and creatively
• Be independent, lifelong learners with an open
  mind and an inquiring spirit

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• Have trilingual and biliterate competence in
  English and Chinese, and the ability to
  articulate ideas clearly and coherently
• Have the necessary information literacy and IT
  skills, as well as numerical and problem-solving
  skills, to function effectively in work and
  everyday life
• Be responsible citizens with an international
  outlook and a sense of ethics and civility
• Be ready to serve, lead and work in a team, and
  to pursue a healthy lifestyle.

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2) Teaching Learning Activities

• The Intended Learning Outcomes should serve as a
  blueprint for the Teaching Learning
  Activities (TLAs)
• Each TLA should be aligned with one (or more)
  learning outcome(s), and each learning outcome
  should be aligned with one (or more) TLA(s).

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3) Assessment

• Assessment (both continuous and final) should
  directly measure the students achievement of the
  intended learning outcomes
• Assessment results (and other feedback) should be
  used for purposes of improving the course.

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Example of traditional exam questions What do
they test other than recall?

• Part A
• 3. The courts apply a number of tests to
  determine whether a person is or is not an
  employee. Describe these various tests. (20
  marks)
• Part B
• Multiple choice questions (40 marks)
• 2. Examples of civil law include
• a. contract law
• b. employment law
• c. agency law
• d. all of the above

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Recall vs. Understanding

• (a) Define minimal pair and give 3 examples.
• vs.
• (b) Which of the following are not minimal pairs?
• think/sink
• waste/waist
• though/so
• cough/rough

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Example of vague course objectives

• Language and Education (PG)
• Aim
• To explore the varied relationships between
  language and education.
• Objectives
• To examine the role that language plays in
  education, in particular
• 1. learning as language
• 2. learning through language
• 3. learning about language.

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Designing Learning Outcomes Aligning
Teaching/Learning Assessment - An
illustration

• Ex.1 English through Current Events (UG)
• Intended Learning Outcomes
• By the end of the course, students should be able
  to
• Articulate their views on current events
  coherently and effectively, in both spoken and
  written English
• Comprehend spoken and written news reports and
  commentaries and infer their meanings and
  implications accurately

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• Analyse, discuss and evaluate news reports and
  commentaries critically and in an informed
  manner
• Develop a broad acquaintance with local and
  international events and issues in various
  spheres (political, economic, social, cultural,
  educational, etc.)
• Develop and articulate a personal and rational
  point of view on current affairs.

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Teaching Learning Activities

• Students will get extensive opportunities to read
  and listen to, as well as discuss and write
  about, current events both local and worldwide,
  as reported in the media (via newspapers,
  magazines, TV, radio, Internet), including not
  only political and economic events but
  developments in education, the arts, science and
  technology, society, lifestyle, sports, etc.
• Class activities will include
• (i) Reading or listening to reports or
  commentaries on selected current events
• (ii) Discussion of the reported events or issues
  in small groups, followed by a general
  discussion

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• (iii) Students bringing in news items of their
  own choice and reporting on them to the class
• (iv) Individual students making an oral
  presentation on a current event or issue of their
  own choice, and giving their own analysis and
  commentary on it
• (v) Class debates on controversial current
  issues
• (vi) Optional Guest speakers and field trips on
  subjects of current interest.

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Assessment

• 2 written essays on a current affairs topic (15
  x 2)
• Individual oral presentation on a current issue
  (10)
• Class debates on controversial current
  issues(10)
• Final Exam (50) 1 written essay and 2 reading
  comprehension passages on current affairs,
  requiring critical analysis and evaluation.

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Sample of teaching/learning activitiesReading
Discussion Chinas looted national treasures
from SCMP Letter 1 (10 March 2009)

• 1. Thank you Stephen Vines for so succinctly
  putting the matter of China's looted national
  treasures in the right perspective ("Ransacking
  history in the name of nationalism," March 6).
  Everyone knows of the mainland's own destructive
  history and its tendencies to obliterate ancient
  homes and artefacts to make way for so-called
  modernisation.
• 2. The pillaging that went on during the Cultural
  Revolution, which the Communist Party has never
  apologised for, and the more recent demolition of
  the hotungs and other historical places in
  preparation for the ultra-extravagant Olympic
  Games, shows that in a way, the west did China a
  favour when it looted some treasures, putting
  them beyond the reach of China's own destructive
  tendencies. The nationalistic grandstanding going
  on over the Yves Saint Laurent auction is
  mindlessly one-sided.
• by Renata Lopez

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Letter 2 (12 March 2009)

• 1. China may not always do things in a righteous
  way, as pointed out by Renata Lopez. However,
  that does not give others an excuse to pillage
  our national treasures.
• 2. Let us not forget that western nations sailed
  halfway round the world to invade China in the
  first place. Such greed is exactly the origin of
  the recent financial tsunami. I could not believe
  people from those "civilised" countries could
  disguise their delinquent behaviour in the past
  in such a way.

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Questions

• 1. (a) How would you characterize the attitude of
  the writer of Letter 1? (b) Paraphrase her main
  argument in 1 or 2 sentences. (c) What do you
  think of the logic of her argument?
• 2. (a) Do you agree with the writer of Letter 2?
  (b) Even if you agree, do you think the writer
  has made a strong enough argument? (c) How can
  you improve on it?

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Ex. 2 Grammar of Modern English (PG)

• Intended Learning Outcomes
• Upon completing the course, students should be
  able to
• 1. Demonstrate systematic and up-to-date
  knowledge of standard English grammar as used by
  educated speakers today (on the basis of corpus
  evidence)
• 2. Use an online corpus to search for evidence
  for the current state of the English language,
  analyse the data systematically, and draw
  well-supported generalizations/conclusions
  concerning particular grammatical structures

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• 3. Demonstrate a proper understanding of the
  nature of grammar and grammatical rules, and
  the differences between written and spoken
  grammar
• 4. Apply the acquired grammatical knowledge for
  pedagogic purposes, including the teaching of
  English and the identification and explanation of
  grammatical errors.

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Teaching Learning Activities

• In lectures and tutorials, students will engage
  in the analysis of data and problems in English
  grammar, and the discovery of grammatical
  patterns and regularities.
• There will be hands-on sessions in accessing a
  databank (the Collins WordbanksOnline) and
  searching for linguistic evidence to support or
  refute hypotheses or claims about the current
  state of English grammar.
• Assignments and the term paper will be in the
  form of problem-solving exercises intended to
  maximize learning opportunities.

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Sample of teaching/learning activities

• Assignment
• As you know, most popular books on English
  grammar and usage (e.g. Fowlers Modern English
  Usage) adopt an openly prescriptive approach.
  Now that we have databanks at our disposal, we
  can find out for ourselves how present-day users
  of English actually use English, and how this may
  differ from the rules laid down by prescriptive
  grammarians.
• Given below are two examples of such prescriptive
  rules. Do a search on the Collins WordbanksOnline
  for relevant data on each of the two forms, and
• (i) decide whether there is any empirical basis
  for the prescriptive rule in question and
• (ii) write an objective, accurate description of
  how each form is actually used in English today.

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Example 1 DUE TO

• Prescriptive rule
• Due to is wrongly used as an adverbial of reason
  to modify a clause, in sentences like
• Due to his age, he was unable to compete
• The show was cancelled due to the strike, etc.
• In such sentences, owing to should be used
  instead
• Owing to his age, he was unable to compete
• The show was cancelled owing to the strike,
  etc.
• The proper use of due to is to link two noun
  phrases (NP1 is due to NP2), as in
• His poor health is due to heavy smoking
• The cancellation was due to the strike, etc.

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(Partial) data on due to from Collins
WordbanksOnline

• The dollar gained ground due to increasing
  concern about the
• officials say the heavy losses are due to the
  extremely dangerous missions
• of outside subcontractors. Another is due to
  company pressure to speed up
• impact outside the city, largely due to
  television. Limited rioting
• a very frustrating thing for all of us due to the
  fact that you can't really
• criticized by social workers are due to
  overcrowding. Throughout the
• itself. ltpgt The only worthwhile act, due to its
  novelty value, was the group
• mothers have had extra expenses due to the
  General Election being held
• Health WorksToday Offer lt/hgt ltpgt Due to the
  overwhelming response to last
• 14-year-old and it is largely due to her
  attitude to life. ltpgt I just
• seen a thousand times before - largely due to the
  iridescent cinematography of
• cent less likely to develop problems due to the
  fatty acids in fish oil. ltpgt
• make up to pound 1,800 - partly due to
  that Rolls. A nice car will
• s professional future seems in doubt due to a
  knee injury. Former Wimbledon
• Goodwood defeat can be ignored due to the
  false pace. ltpgt Doubts
• foreign exchange) facilities available due to a)
  adverse publicity b) previous
• but perhaps more thanks were due to
  Western Samoa for gifting such
• wackiness. Hi there," says Phil. Due to
  immense peer pressure I have
• costs for the Japanese cars, this is due to the
  fact that their parts prices

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Beyond OBTL

• Education is what remains after one has
  forgotten everything one learned in school.
  attr. Albert Einstein

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• Education makes a people easy to lead, but
  difficult to drive easy to govern, but
  impossible to enslave. Lord Brougham
  (1778-1868)

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Some Useful Links

• OBTL Websites in HK universities
• CityU http//tfq.cityu.edu.hk/obtl/
• CUHK http//www.cuhk.edu.hk/v6/en/teaching/quali
  ty.html HKBU http//lc.hkbu.edu.hk/obtl/
• HKU http//www.hku.hk/caut/new1/outcome/outcome_
  based.htm
• PolyU http//www.polyu.edu.hk/obe/index.php
• UST http//celt.ust.hk/obe/index.htm
• UGC-commissioned study reports on OBTL by Peter
  Ewell
• http//www.hku.hk/caut/new1/documents/OBA_1st_repo
  rt.pdf
• http//www.hku.hk/caut/new1/documents/OBA_2nd_repo
  rt.pdf