DEVELOPING REALISTIC LEARNING OUTCOMES

1
DEVELOPING REALISTIC LEARNING OUTCOMES

• Trevor Hussey Patrick Smith

2
MALCOLM ZUKAS (2001 35)

• "...the language of objectives, outcomes,
  competences and empowerment of the learner has
  'seduced' both policy makers and practitioners in
  many areas of education."

3
EISNER (2000 344)

•  "The vision of a uniformed army of young
  adolescents all marching to the same drummer,
  towards the same objective, may be one that
  gladdens the hearts of technocrats, but it is a
  vision that has little or nothing to do with
  those delicious outcomes that constitute the
  surprises of educational experience."

4
THE STORY SO FAR

• Concern for realistic learning outcomes
• Dangers of disaggregation of curriculum
• This critique should be understood as

5
THE TROUBLE WITH LEARNING OUTCOMES

• Often not referred to
• Spurious clarity, explicitness objectivity
• Insensitive to different disciplines
• Restrictive thresholds emergent outcomes

6
INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES (ILOs)

• ILOs are formulated and directed by the teacher
  or others and refer to what students should be
  able to demonstrate in terms of knowledge, skills
  and/or attitudes as a result of a learning
  episode.

7
EMERGENT LEARNING OUTCOMES (ELOs)

• ELOs emerge from what happens in classrooms
  between learners, teachers and the curriculum.
  They cannot be pre-specified, though some are
  more likely than others and some may be more
  desireable than others.

8
THE ARTICULATED CURRICULUM
Intentions
Methods
Content
Judgements
CONTEXT
9
ILOs ELOs

• ILOs

Contingent
Related
Incidental
ELOs
10
PREDICTED/UNPREDICTED, DESIRED/UNDESIRED
Predicted
A
C
Desired
Undesired
B
D
Unpredicted
11
TOWARDS MORE REALISTIC LEARNING OUTCOMES

• More generous LOs
• Learners as well as teachers LOs
• Changing curricular arrangements
• Some outcomes cannot be measured

12
STUDENTS IN TRANSITION

• A significant change in a students life,
  self-concept and learning a shift from one state
  of understanding, development and maturity to
  another.

13
TRANSITIONS THE UNDERGRADUATE CAREER
AUTONOMY
INTERDEPENDENCE
DEPENDENCE
Pre-entry Induction
Year One
Year Two
Year Three
Post Graduation
14
ORGANISING QUESTIONS

• How far will students needs, responses agendas
  be taken into account?
• What balance is appropriate between instructional
  and expressive outcomes?
• How will emergent learning outcomes be treated?

15
CONCLUSIONS

• ILOs represent approximate intentions
• Engaged motivated students generate ELOs
• Developing autonomous students means negotiation
  of outcomes
• Others are exploring alternatives UCLans
  personalised learning outcomes

16
SOURCES REFERENCES

• Bruner J (1960). The process of education.
  Cambridge. Harvard University Press.
• Eisner E (1975). Instructional and expressive
  objectives. In Golby et al (1975) Curriculum
  Design. London. Croom Helm Open University.
• Eisner E (2000). Those who ignore the past
  Journal of Curriculum Studies 32 (2) 343 357.
• Gentle P (2001). Course cultures and learning
  organisations. Active Learning in Higher
  Education, 2 (1). 8 30.

17
SOURCES REFERENCES

• Jackson N, Wisdom J Shaw M (2003). Guide to
  busy academics using learning outcomes to design
  courses and assess learning. York. LTSN Generic
  Centre.
• Lampert M (1985). How do teachers manage to
  teach? Harvard Educational Review 55 (2) 178-194.
• Lewis Tsuchida (1998). A lesson is like a
  swiftly flowing river how research lessons
  improve Japanese education. American Educator.
  Winter. 12 -17 50 52.
• Malcolm J Zukas M (2001). Bridging pedagogic
  gaps. Teaching in Higher Education, 6 (1). 33
  42.

18
SOURCES REFERENCES

• McAlpine et al (1999). Building a metacognitive
  model of reflection. Higher Education 37.
  105-131.
• MacLellan E (2004). How convincing is alternative
  assessment? Assessment Evaluation in Higher
  Education, 29 (3). 311 321.
• Shavelson Stern (1981). Research on teacher's
  thoughts, judgements, decisions and behaviours.
  Review of Educational Research, 51 (4).

19
CONTACT DETAILS

• Professor Trevor Hussey
• Email Trevor.Hussey_at_bcuc.ac.uk
• Professor Patrick Smith
• Email Patrick.Smith_at_bcuc.ac.uk