Traditional educational systems are nowadays ineffective in providing students with the relevant information needed to excel in the modern world. Traditional educational systems are even turnoff to modern students. Nowadays, when students are given assignments, the first question that comes to mind is “who can write my essay for me?” However, outcome-based education transforms this process into a personalized form of learning and enables learning institutions to create instruction models customized to the students’ learning preferences.
Outcome-based education is, therefore, growing at a tremendous rate. Each institution has a unique outcome-based form of learning framework to develop students who are professionally and socially competent.
A move to integrate software tools to complement outcome-based teaching, learning and even assessment will have many benefits. It has the potential to improve the outcomes of learning and enhance the rate of continuous quality improvement mechanisms. This article, therefore, discusses the approaches of enhancing education through the use of outcome-based education technique.
The following are some steps that can improve the quality of education as well as student achievement through outcome-based educational software.
Program educational objectives (PEO)
When it comes to student achievement, program educational objectives can be assessed for a longer time. This is basically what the graduate is envisaged to attain in his or her career within 4 to 5 years after completing university. Program educational objective attainment also depends on the inputs by the stakeholders through online survey questionnaires. This will bring about a revelation that graduates are generally content with their achievements in all program educational objectives.
Graduate attributes
Graduate attributes are commonly referred to as key skills, transferable skills, generic attributes, employability or soft skills. Using curriculum management software’s enables you to map the attributes of each graduate to the design of your curriculum.
Student learning outcomes
A learning outcome can be defined as what a student can achieve as a result of a given learning experience. It describes the ideal graduate attributes in terms of their mission, vision, institutional outcomes or goals. After that, this knowledge can be used as the basis for developing certain program outcomes. The three major categories of learning outcomes include generic skills, disciplinary knowledge, values and attitudes.
Program outcomes (PO)
Program outcomes are a group of competencies, i.e. related skills, knowledge and attitudes that each student is expected to demonstrate. The expected outcomes are then mapped to the desired learning outcomes of every course. The intended learning and course outcomes are achieved through evaluation and assessment tools.
Course outcomes (CO)
Course outcomes are simply the values, knowledge and skills that all students must know after the course has been completed. Learning outcomes can be mapped to both program outcomes and course outcomes.
Teaching methodologies
Using technology-enhanced methods to demonstrate pedagogical learning via podcasts, video lectures, and PowerPoint slide presentations have the potential to enhance and innovate the learning experience of the student. Technology-aided teaching methodologies and evaluations would empower educational institutions to map the targeted outcomes accurately. This enables the faculty as well as the students to work together in partnerships geared towards achieving a clear and visible goal.
Evaluation and assessment tools
The implementation of outcome-based education additionally translates to the orientation and quality of the course members. The primary mission of teaching is to develop learning competencies. Assignments, online tests, puzzles and quizzes, as well as evaluation of faculties/courses through survey questionnaires for the attainment of program educational objectives.
Customizable marking schemes and rubrics
Assessment of oral communication, writing, information literacy or critical thinking normally requires rubrics. Automated rubrics are effective standardized score guides that help evaluators make assessments more easy, transparent, objective and consistent. They are also consistent determinants of the quality of student work.
Continuous quality improvement (CQI)
In higher education, quality comes with continuous quality improvement. Online evaluation and assessment processes provide critical information to administrators as well as the faculty. They also provide real-time reports on the effectivity of program designs, objectives and deliverables. Continuous quality improvement tools that utilize digital feedback loops through faculty/course evaluations easily. The shall enable the institution to improve the quality of education, and this process shall continue each year.
Constructive alignment
Constructive alignment or the process of linking learning outcomes to various curriculum elements are special to outcome-based education. Competencies, mapping skills, PO, PEO’s and CO, teaching techniques and evaluations with learning outcomes foster better educational quality and student achieving.
The bottom-line of the matter is that the integration of automated outcome-based educational management systems plays a huge role in enhancing the quality of learning. Continuous evaluation is easier, and probabilities of career success are enhanced.
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