CURRICULUM BUILDING - MICRO ISSUES -

1. CURRICULUM BUILDING- MICRO ISSUES - Strengthening HE in BiH III 19-20th February 2010 Stephen Adam - Volker Gehmlich

2. Our motto! Qualifications frameworks are good for helping make academic processes and judgements transparent, explicit and fair.

3. Qualitatively Related Learning Outcomes EQF LLL References EHEA National Level BH Quality assured Sectoral Level Organisational Level Learning Programme Quantitatively Related Credits Learning Unit / Module Quality assured

4. Challenge at Programme level In outcome-based education the educational outcomes are clearly and unambiguously specified. These determine the curriculum content and its organisation, the teaching methods and strategies, the courses offered, the assessment process, the educational environment and the curriculum timetable. They also provide a framework for curriculum evaluation. (Harden et al., 1999a)

5. Learning outcomes at module level • Learning outcomes specify the essential learning for the module • They normally specify a threshold standard • The learner has to achieve to get credits • Avoid creating numerous learning outcomes at module level • Steal useful active nouns from Bloom! • Once written, reflect on how they can be delivered and assessed (resource problems)

6. Timing Objectives Mobility Substitute Add-on Resources Type of Pro- gramme Structure Complement Timing Mode of Study Syllabus/ Learning Outcomes Synergy Type Of Student Core Curriculum Learner centred Workload Document- ation ECTS Key Features Assessment Rating User´s Guide Grade Employability Profile QFR Learning Chain QA Recognition Social Dimension

7. There is no single way I did it my way Cassius Clay Melody

8. We need evidence of outcomes! We promise! Internal / External QA

9. The teaching-learning-assessment relationship • Consider types of learning outcomes - subject specific and generic + their appropriate balance in the curriculum • Students learn in different ways – learning styles • There are many delivery modes: full-time, part-time, distance education, burst mode, work-based learning, seminars, tutorials, lectures, project-based work, etc. • Assessment can include: exams (open and closed book), reports, oral presentations, group work, portfolios, essays, role play assessment, project work, problem solving, literature surveys, etc. • Quality assurance mechanisms will explore how well you relate the teaching-learning-assessment process.

10. YES, WE CAN find evidence

11. Assessment • Assessment must be linked to the stated learning outcomes • If learning outcomes cannot be assessed they should be deleted • Assessment in higher education should not be so prescriptive that it reduces everything to simple tasks and fails to acknowledge creativity and the unexpected • It is useful to employ ‘formative’ and ’ summative’ assessment • Both ‘assessment’ and ‘grading’ criteria should be developed and expressed in terms of appropriate learning outcomes. Ensure assessment tasks are clear and that students understand what knowledge, skills and abilities they need to demonstrate • Constantly review and evaluate assessment (load, effectiveness, nature) • We must consider…

12. How do we expect our students to achieve and demonstrate the intended outcomes? Consider the teaching, study and assessment methods used to promote learning. Some methods are more appropriate than others for developing particular types of learning outcome. For example: • knowledge and understanding of a subject is often developed through lectures and seminars. • intellectual skills such as analysis, synthesis, evaluation, and problem solving may be practised and demonstrated through more active learning processes involving assignments or projects, group-learning activity such as a seminar or tutorial, laboratory, workshop, or field-based activity. • practical skills need to be developed through opportunities to practise the activity in an appropriate learning context (eg in laboratory, field, or workplace placement). • transferable/key skills, that are readily transferable to employment and other contexts, such as communication, teamwork, etc can be developed through naturally arising opportunities within the curriculum.

13. Assessment methods from Oxford Brookes University:http://www.brookes.ac.uk/services/ocsd/2_learntch/methods.html • Thinking critically and making judgements (developing arguments, reflecting, evaluating, assessing, judging) • Solving problems and making plans (identifying problems, posing problems, defining problems, analysing data, designing experiments, planning, applying information) • Performing procedures and demonstrating techniques (computation, taking readings, using equipment, following laboratory procedures, following protocols, carrying out instructions) • Managing and developing oneself (working co-operatively, working independently, learning independently, being self-directed, managing time, managing tasks, organising) • Accessing and managing information(researching, investigating, interpreting, organising information, reviewing and paraphrasing information, collecting data, observing, etc) • Demonstrating knowledge and understanding (recalling, describing, reporting, recounting, relating, etc) • Designing, creating , performing (imagining, visualising, designing, producing, innovating, performing) • Communicating (one and two way communication, communicating within a group, non-verbal communication, arguing, advocating, interviewing, negotiating, etc)

14. Quality Assurance • Measures • Qualitative measuring is pursued through the achievement of the learning outcomes in the time foreseen (performance) (ex-post) – What? • Qualitative measuring is pursued by grading how the student performed (ex-post) – How? • Quantitative measuring is pursued by allocating the workload expressed in credits (ex-ante) – How much? • Consequences of the results measured lead to a formative evaluation, i.e. help to support a continuous quality improvement

15. Remember: to look at the Oxford Brookes university web site and the 2010 Irish FIN report (report 3) on ‘the assessment of learning outcomes’. The FIN reports parts 1 and 2 are relevant as well. See also excellent materials on this topic by Jenny Moon, Declan Kennedy, etc.