Using Learning Outcomes
Autor(en)
Declan Kennedy, Áine Hyland, Norma Ryan, Volker Gehmlich, Adra Balissa
Preis
12,99 € (99 Seiten, PDF)
Inhalt
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Writing and Using Learning Outcomes: A Practical Guide
Given that one of the main features of the Bologna process is the need to improve the traditional ways of describing qualifications and qualification structures, all modules and programmes in third level institutions throughout the European Higher Education Area should be (re)written in terms of learning outcomes. Learning outcomes are used to express what learners are expected to achieve and how they are expected to demonstrate that achievement. This article presents a summary of developments in curriculum design in higher education in recent decades and, drawing on recent practical experience, suggests a user-friendly methodology for writing modules, courses and programmes in terms of learning outcomes.
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Discipline-Related Statements of Level-Specific Learning Outcomes (Subject Benchmark Statements)
Performance and Problems
The voluntary commitment on the part of the participant states of the Bologna and Copenhagen processes, to developing a national qualification framework within a short timescale has registered its first conceptual results. Seeking to develop disciplinary and sectoral comparability and compatibility at national and European levels, individual economic sectors and academic disciplines have established concrete, internationally understandable and comprehensible learning outcomes to serve as the starting point in this process. The development of individual courses of study is oriented around the relevant European or national qualification framework. The following article outlines the preconditions necessary for sectoral and disciplinary qualification frameworks, the necessary levels of quality involved and finally their advantages and limitations.
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Learning Outcomes and Competences
There is wide variation in the literature regarding the interpretation of the meaning of the term competence. This interpretation ranges from a description of competence in terms of performance and skills acquired by training to a broad overarching view that encompasses knowledge, understanding, skills, abilities and attitudes. Due to the lack of clarity of the concept of competence, assessment of competences can be very difficult. Some authors warn against associating competence exclusively with skills, others distinguish between the terms competence and competency whilst others treat these terms as being synonymous. The essential problem appears to be that these terms are liberally used as general terms to refer to various aspects of job performance without any attempt being made to give precise definitions of the terms. While various efforts have been made to arrive at a single definition of the term competence, no agreement has been reached and there is still wide variation of meaning between various cultures and between different professions. This is in contrast to the clear definition of the concept of learning outcomes found in the literature. It is recommended that if the term competence is being used, the definition of competence being used in the particular context should be stated and also that competences should be written using the vocabulary of learning outcomes.
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Learning Outcomes as an Instrument for Mobility
A Survey Through the Eyes of a Student
The research was conducted in a primary fashion in order to assess the extent to which a student from a given Bologna Process signatory country can obtain information from a higher education institution (HEI) in another signatory country via the internet. The research was conducted by examining the websites of different higher education institutions across ten countries, nine of which were Bologna signatory countries, while the tenth country was used as a benchmark for the rest. The results focused on the language in which the information on the website was provided, the level of implementation of the three cycle system by the HEI, the information provided for foreign students in particular, the level of adoption of the ECTS credit system, and finally special attention was paid to the level of implementation of learning outcomes each HEI.