Yes, we hope that all of our lecturers do as Chris describes... Another activity which helps is to get the students to undertake a formative assessment which they then peer-assess, using the same assessment criteria. This way, they become much more familiar with the criteria and can engage in debate about what they might mean, how they can be interpreted and so on, before they then do an assignment which is tutor-marked.
Dilly
Dr Dilly Fung FHEA
Head of Academic Development
Education Enhancement
Academic Services
Room 719, Laver Building
North Park Road
Exeter, EX4 4QE
01392 724505 (Ext 4505)
-----Original Message-----
From: learning development in higher education network [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Christine Keenan
Sent: 06 February 2009 11:04
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: re. objective/outcome
Do people do this?
I never give out an assignment without ensuring that students understand the ILOs and marking criteria. I take lecture time to go over what is published in the unit guide so that students understand what the content of their work is being assessed against.
Chris Keenan
________________________________
From: learning development in higher education network [[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Magyar Anna Dr (DOS) [[log in to unmask]]
Sent: 06 February 2009 11:00
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: re. objective/outcome
At the risk of going off enitrely at a tangent, I would like to see the relationship between course aims/ learning objectives (or whatever they are called), the assignments that students have to do and the criteria used to assess these assignments/tasks somehow articulated for students. I find that what makes students anxious is not knowing what lecturers are expecting of them, what knowledge they are supposed to be displaying in their assignments or even perhaps what the purpose of the assignments is. They are usually told to look at the assessment criteria in the handbook - which are usually fairly generic. But these often do not make sense to students when it comes to how individual assignments are to be assessed.
Anna
Dr Anna Magyar
Learning enhancement tutor for international students
Dean of Students Office
University of East Anglia
01603 591312
________________________________
From: learning development in higher education network [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Fung, Dilly
Sent: Friday, February 06, 2009 10:39 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: re. objective/outcome
This is an interesting discussion...
In my view it's meaningless these days to require specification of both intended learning outcomes and objectives when planning, because the clear objective of any module or programme (according to current ideology which is, of course, questionable in itself - as Len Holmes rightly explains below) is precisely that students will achieve the intended learning outcomes!
We only have to state intended learning outcomes on our paperwork - along with the overarching aim of a module or programme, which briefly gives a kind of overall sense of the purpose and ethos of the course by way of introducing it. I can't imagine how it would be possible to make sense of specifying objectives and intended learning outcomes separately and therefore, by implication, differently... unless you wanted to go down the road of the kinds of behavioural objectives etc that Len mentioned, which are more common in school education but which we're unlikely to focus on these days in HE...
(It's very snowy here in Exeter, so quiet enough to engage in debate for a change! :) )
Dilly
Dr Dilly Fung FHEA
Head of Academic Development
Education Enhancement
Academic Services
Room 719, Laver Building
North Park Road
Exeter, EX4 4QE
01392 724505 (Ext 4505)
________________________________
From: learning development in higher education network [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Magyar Anna Dr (DOS)
Sent: 06 February 2009 10:15
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: re. objective/outcome
No what? Say more?
Dr Anna Magyar
Learning enhancement tutor for international students
Dean of Students Office
University of East Anglia
01603 591312
________________________________
From: learning development in higher education network [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of David Bowers
Sent: Friday, February 06, 2009 10:10 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: re. objective/outcome
No!
David
-------------
Yes!
Anita
At 16:19 05/02/2009, Len Holmes wrote:
Alison
your question seems to assume that
a) both terms are valid and meaningful
b) that they differ in respect of what they denote.
But they can only be understood in terms of the 'learning turn' in education and training - see
'The learning turn in education and training: liberatory paradigm or oppressive ideology?', /Journal of European Industrial Training/; vol 28, no 8/9 (2004).
The terms 'learning', 'learn', 'learner' etc have supplanted terms used hitherto, mainly as 'hurrah' terms (teaching bad, learning good, etc). Usually there is no indication of any thought being given to the shift in meaning; where some form of argument is presented in favour of the shift, it usually on the basis of uncritical and muddled thinking. An ideology of learnerism has taken over, with deleterious results.
Many (most?) HE institutions require courses (units, modules) to have specifications of BOTH learning objectives AND learning outcomes. The use of the latter term is nonsensical in such contexts - by definition outcomes come AFTER the teaching (which can take a variety of forms) and, hopefully, student study activity (which may, or may not, result in the desired or intended learning). It might make sense to specify INTENDED, or DESIRED, or REQUIRED (etc) learning outcomes; but not to use the term 'learning outcomes' by itself.
Similarly, the misuse of the term 'learners' for 'students' just results in what Wittgenstein called the 'bewitchment of our intelligence by means of language'. Learning is not an activity - it is, or at least CAN be, the outcome of various activities that can be collectively called 'studying' (including reading, writing, talking, listening, watching, doing, etc).
So, 'learning objectives' is a term that has supplanted 'course [etc] objectives'. (Of course, there's then the old debate about behavioural objectives, expressive objectives, etc)
And 'learning outcomes' SHOULD mean the outcomes that students have actually achieved in respect of their learning, as a consequence of taking a course [etc] BUT has, through muddled thinking, come to mean the same as above (but should be preceded by 'intended', 'desired' etc).
But, unfortunately, there are too many people whose positions and careers are based on the ideology of learnerism, and who will try to prevent sound and critica thinking and debate on this matter.
regards
Len
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: objective/outcome
Date: Thu, 5 Feb 2009 15:46:27 +0000
From: Alison Green <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Please could someone explain the difference between a learning objective and a learning outcome?
Thank-you
Alison
Alison Green
Study Support Tutor
Fellow of Learning & Teaching
Room D172
Bournemouth University
Ext: 65286
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