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Outcomes Based Education
Outcomes Based Education
FOCUSED EDUCATION
OVERVIEW
Prepared by:
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Definitions
Outcomes are clear learning results that learners have to demonstrate at the end
of significant learning experiences: what learners can actually do with what they
know and have learned. Outcomes are actions/ performances that embody and
reflect learner competence in using content, information, ideas and tools
successfully. Geyser (1999) says when learners do important things with what
they know they have taken a significant step beyond knowing itself.
Vella,
OBE Roots
An outcomes based approach to education dates back some 500 years to craft
guilds of the Middle Ages in Europe in the form of apprenticeship training models
and there are many examples still in place today (Spady, 1996).
Malan (2000)
analyzed past educational reforms that influenced OBE and identified the
following:
Tylers educational objectives In 1950 Tyler identified fundamental issues
important when developing and planning instruction, including purpose,
content, organization and evaluation. He believed objectives were essential for
systematic planning and identifying the required learner behaviour post
instruction as well as the content and context to apply it within. His curriculum
design approach continued to influence teaching for several decades and the
basic philosophy for outcomes based design is rooted there (Arjun, 1998 cited
in Malan, 2000)
Blooms mastery learning Bloom taxonomies for educational objectives
emerged in the 1950s and helped to determine whether learners had attained
acceptable standards compared to desired learning outcomes. His mastery
learning theory was based on the premise that with sufficient opportunities and
support from an appropriate learning environment most learners are successful
in their learning tasks. This notion is reflected in OBE. Other characteristics of
mastery learning include:
Ascertaining prerequisite knowledge or skills to attain goals (outcomes)
A flexible timeframe to attain goals (outcomes)
Using different media and materials to create enriched teaching/learning
contexts
Formative evaluation to provide feedback for both teaching and learning
improvement
Competency based education was introduced in the 1960s in North America in
response to growing concerns that students were not being taught what they
required after they left school. Malan (2000) summarizes the following
Prepared by: Mollie Butler
October 2004
OBE Philosophy
OBE can be regarded as a theory (or a philosophy) of education (Killen, 2000).
Within OBE there are a certain set of beliefs and assumptions about learning,
teaching and the systemic structures within which activities take place. Spady
(1994) proposes three basic assumptions: all learners can learn and succeed;
success breeds success; and teaching institutions (schools) control the
conditions of success.
Killen (2000) defines two basic types of outcome. The first includes performance
indicators often measured in terms of tests results, completion rates, post course
employment, and so forth. It also emphasizes learner mastery of traditional
subject related academic outcomes/content and some cross discipline outcomes
(such as problem solving or working cooperatively). The second is less tangible
and usually expressed in terms of what the learners know, are able to do or are
like as a result of their education. It stresses long term, cross-curricular outcomes
which relate to future life roles of the learner (such as being a productive worker, a
responsible citizen or parent). These two approaches are what Spady (1994)
respectively calls traditional/transactional (content based) and transformational
(outcomes based) learning systems. See below latter is the focus of this research
and includes standards to be consistently demonstrated by the learner at the end
of a significant learning experience.
Content Based Learning Versus Outcomes Based Learning
(Source: Spady, 1994)
Content Based Learning System
Passive students
Assessment process exam & grade
driven
Rote learning
Content based/broken into subjects
Textbook/worksheet focused & teacher
centred
Prepared by: Mollie Butler
October 2004
OBE Principles
Four principles guide the transformational OBE approach, taken together they
strengthen the conditions for both learner and teacher success:
clarity of focus
design down
high expectations
expanded opportunities
According to Spady (1998) the basic principle of transformational OBE is the
clarity of the focus. This principle infers that curriculum development,
implementation and evaluation should be geared by the outcomes which are
expected as the culminating demonstrations of the learners. The principle clearly
delineates that the articulation of the desired end point is essential for successful
outcomes (Willis & Kissane, 1997). Curriculum planners and educators have to
identify a clear focus on what they want learners to be able to demonstrate at the
end of significant learning time. Once these outcomes have been identified, the
curriculum is constructed by backward mapping of knowledge and skills. The
design down aspect infers that all curricular and educational activities should be
designed back from the point where the exit outcomes are expected to happen.
The principle of high expectations elicits higher level of standards then would
normally be set as only those can be labeled completed. Further learners are
supported to culminate higher level of performance (Spady, 1998). Expanded
opportunities provide for a flexible approach in time and teaching methodologies
matched against the needs of the learner allowing more than one opportunity to
succeed (Killen, 2000). Each of these principles are explored and applied to
practice below.
Outcomes Based Principles explanation & application
(Source: Spady, 1994; Killen, 2000)
OBE Principles
Clarity of focus
Design down
High expectations
Expanded
opportunities
Explanation
Application to practice
Focus on what want
Help learners develop competencies
learners be able to do
Enable
predetermined
significant
successfully
outcomes
Clarify short & long term learning
intentions
Focus assessments on significant
outcomes
Begin curriculum design
Develop systematic education curricula
with a clear definition of the
Trace back from desired end results
significant learning that
Identity learning building blocks
learners are to achieve by
Link planning, teaching & assessment
the end of their formal
decisions to significant learner outcomes
education
Establish high, challenging
Engage deeply with issues are learning
performance standards
Push beyond where normally have gone
Do not learn same thing in
Provide multiple learning opportunities
same way in same time
matching learners needs with teaching
techniques
OBE Purpose
Spady (1994) emphasizes that the decision of what and whether the learners
learn is more important than when it happens and through what means (how) they
learn it. He therefore identifies two key aims for OBE:
Ensure all learners are successful in that they are equipped with the
knowledge, skills and qualities (values and attitudes) required after they exit
the educational system
Achieve and maximize selected outcomes for all students by structuring and
operating education facilities to be success oriented.
Spady also advises that while all learners can learn and succeed, they cannot do
so on the same day because learners have different learning rates as well as
learning styles. Further since successful learning breeds more successful learning
the importance of having a stronger cognitive and psychological foundation of
prior learning cannot be underestimated. And since the conditions directly
affecting learning are under the educational systems control, learning is
dependent on the willingness of teachers and others to believe in the approach
and support learners in their learning. As OBE philosophy requires educators
focus more broadly on accomplishing results versus simply providing a service, it
differs greatly from more traditional forms of education, most notably in its:
overall approach (framework)
perception of time
what and how standards are assessed
how performance is determined
Each of these four areas is further explored below. Key to this approach is clear
learning outcomes around which all of the systems components can be focused.
Importantly is the requirement of establishing conditions as well as the
opportunities that enable and encourage all learners to achieve the essential
outcomes (Spady, 1994).
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Time
Performance
standards
Learning
assessments
Assessment Criteria
Killen (2000) says to be useful in an OBE system, assessment criteria should
conform to the following principles:
The assessment procedures should be valid they should assess what they
are intended to assess
The assessment procedures should be reliable they should give consistent
results
The assessment procedures should be fair they should not be influenced by
any irrelevant factors such as the learners cultural background
Assessment should reflect the knowledge and skills that are most important for
learners to learn
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criterion
referenced
(assessment
criteria).
The
transition
from
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Programme
Outcomes
Specific Outcomes
DEFINITION
Highest level & most complex
Formulated using high powered performance verbs
Can impact learners, organizations & instructional process
Refer to applied competencies learners should demonstrate
Reflects all exit outcomes
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OBE TERMS
DEFINITION
Over a length of time
In diverse contexts
Criterion Referenced Assess learners in relation to programme/ module outcomes:
Assessment
Clearly identify outcomes
Determine assessment purpose & use of results
Design performance task elicit expected outcomes
Specify assessment criteria
Select & construct scoring & recording instruments
Assessment Criteria
Broad evidence statements to decide if specific outcome has been achieved
observable processes
learning products
Range Statements
Exact details of what & how much learning
Mark acceptable level of statements
Increase in complexity & sophistication
Not required for all assessment criteria
Learning
Breakdown of whole programme
Units/Modules
Varying lengths
Three types fundamental, core & elective
Fundamental Modules
Includes leaning which forms grounding/basis
Core Modules
Includes compulsory learning
Elective Modules
Includes additional credits
SUMMARY
In summary, the focus of education has shifted from the educator to learner
however this shift requires change within the educational system in order to
facilitate learning. Establishing an OBE system for education is the best way for a
particular learner to reach the desired outcomes. The role of the educator is to
enable and encourage all learners to achieve essential outcomes while the learner
actively participates in and contributes towards the learning process. OBE also
demands a commitment to continuing professional development and lifelong
learning.
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REFERENCES
Retrieved
September
11,
2004
from
http://www.schools.nt.edu.au/curricbr/cf/outcomefocus/Killen_paper.pdf.
18,
2004
from
http://www.up.ac.za/academic/acadorgs/saafecs/vol28/malan.html
15
October
19,
2004,
from
http://lsn.curtin.edu.au/outcomes/docs/LitReview.pdf.
Vella, J., Berardinelli, P. & Burrow, J. 1998. How Do They Know They Know:
Evaluating Adult Learning. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
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