Outcome-Based Education

Hello everyone!

Let's start with a new topic for this week and that is 'Outcome-Based Education' or 'Outcomes-Based Education' (OBE) which 'is an educational theory that bases each part of an educational system around goals (outcomes). By the end of the educational experience, each student should have achieved the goal. There is no single specified style of teaching or assessment in OBE; instead, classes, opportunities, and assessments should all help students achieve the specified outcomes.'(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outcome-based_education). 

Similarly, you can also find the term 'Competency-Based Learning' which 'refers to systems of instruction, assessment, grading, and academic reporting that are based on students demonstrating that they have learned the knowledge and skills they are expected to learn as they progess through their education' (https://www.edglossary.org/competency-based-learning/). Both approaches are generally seen as an alternative to more traditional educational approaches in which students may or may not acquire proficiency in a given course or academic subject before they pass to the next grade level.

The best-known and most-cited model of Outcome-Based Education (OBE) was developed by W. Spady and his associates at the High Success Network, who advocated the idea that students' success should be measured in terms of outcomes, i.e. 'high quality, culminating demonstrations of significant learning in context' (Spady, 1994). Spady lists four main principles of OBE: 

(1) clarity of focus (defining specific outcomes in order to give a strong sense of purpose to everything teachers and students do); 

(2) design down, deliver up (when planning curriculum, teachers start with the outcomes and work backwards; when planning instruction, teachers teach what students need to learn to demonstrate the outcomes); 

(3) high expectations (it is assumed that all students can learn well – although not in the same way and not necessarily at the same time); 

(4) expand opportunities  (allowing students to demonstrate their learning and outcomes in different ways). 

Thus, planning an OBE curriculum means starting with a clear picture of what is important for students to be able to do successfully at the end of their learning experiences, and then organizing the curriculum, instruction and assessment to make sure this learning ultimately happens.

Learning outcomes in teaching are defined as the measurable skills, abilities, knowledge or values that students should be able to demonstrate as a result of completing a course. Learning outcomes are supposed to be student-centered rather than teacher-centered, in that they describe what students will do, not what the instructor will teach. Examples of learning outcomes following the Bloom's taxonomy might include: knowledge/ remebering (define, list, recognize, etc.), comprehension/ understanding (characterize, describe, explain, identify, locate, reorganize, sort, etc.), application/ applying (choose, demonstrate, implement, perform, etc.), analysis/ analyzing (analyze, categorize, compare, contrast, differentiate, relate, question, etc.), evaluate (defend, argue, judge, select, support, critique, value, etc.), create (design, assemble, construct, develop, formulate, investigate, etc.). 

Good learning outcomes are focused on the learner, rather than explaining what the instructor will do in the course. Also, good learning outcomes describe knowledge or skills that the student will employ eventually, and they help the learner understand why that knowledge and those skills are useful and valuable to their personal, professional and academic future. When teachers define the learning outcomes for their students, they should remember: to focus on the student, i.e. what the student will be able to do by the end of the course or program; to describe outcomes, not processes or activities; to start writing each outcome with an action verb; to use only one action verb per learning outcome; to avoid vague verbs such as 'know' and 'understand'; etc.

The term student outcomes typically refers to either (1) the desired learning objectives or standards that schools and teachers want students to achieve, or (2) the educational, societal, and life effects that result from students being educated. On the other hand, learning objectives or learning standards are brief written statements that describe what students should know and be able to do by the end of an instructional period, such as a course, program, or school year. Learning goals should be SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timely).

Therefore, Outcome-Based Education emphasizes setting clear standards for observable, measurable outcomes. This model of education rejects the traditional focus on what the school provides to students, in favor of making students demonstrate that they 'know and are able to do' whatever the required outcomes are. Whereas in OBE students are in complete control of their learning skills and their preferences, in the standard education system students are taught in a scope and sequence mode. Thus, in a traditional education system, students are given grades and rankings compared to each other. Actual achievement is neither measured nor required by the school system, as the basic goal is to present the knowledge and skills of the old generation to the new generation of students and provide students with an environment in which to learn. According to Spady (1994, 1998), the world's education systems are time based, i.e. they are defined by, organized around, focused on, and managed according to the calendar and clock, not outcomes. On the other hand, the Outcome-Based Education focuses on the skills and results achieved by the students as the most important aspect of education. So, instead of rankings and exams, the use of assessments, opportunities and classroom experiences should all provide necessary support for the students to achieve their goals (outcomes). Actually, OBE calls for the teacher to decide what is important for students to learn, so that the students are then taught those things and evaluated as to their progess.

Nevertheless, the disadvantage of OBE is that certain things might be left out that might be equally important but more difficult to quantify, such as creativity, being able to apply knowledge in solving real life problems, common sense, adaptability, verbal communication skills, persuasiveness, resilience, etc. Still, there are numerous advantages too, e.g. OBE-oriented teachers think about the individual needs of each student and give opportunities for each student to achieve at a variety of levels; OBE teaches thinking skills and engages students more as it is more meaningful when the student creates a product than when he just provides answers on a test; it is useful for teachers to have a set of benchmarks in order to determine clearly whether certain targeted goals (outcomes) are met to help track students' progress; the focus on outcomes creates a clear expectation of what needs to be accomplished by the end of the course; learners are assessed not in competition against others, but based on their competencies and learning outcomes; etc. Finally, having learners successfully demonstrate the outcome is what counts the most in the OBE model, in which successful learning or performance is the constant, and the time required to attain it is flexible.

Here are some questions for reflection:

What is Outcome-Based Education?

What are its basic principles?

What is the difference between OBE and standard based education?

What are the advantages and disadvantages of Outcome-Based Education?

What are 'learning outcomes'?

What are 'learning objectives'?

What is the importance of OBE?

How can students achieve learning outcomes?

Once you become a teacher, what should you remember when writing learning outcomes?

As a teacher, how can you conduct outcome-based teaching and assessment?

What are the prospects of implementing Outcome-Based Education in BiH schools? Etc.

You may watch this video on Outcome-Based Education:

Resources:

Spady, W. (1994). Outcome-based education: Critical issues and answers. Arlington, VA: American Association of School Administrators. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED380910.pdf

Spady, W. (1998). Paradigm Lost: Reclaiming America's Educational Future. Arlington, VA: American Association of School Administrators. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED420116.pdf

Good luck and I'm looking forward to seeing your new comments on our blog.

Regards,

Izela