Purposes of Higher Education, Constructive Alignment

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Purposes of Higher Education, Constructive
Alignment Learning Outcomes
Dr John Peters, Learning and Teaching Centre,
University of Worcester
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Learning Outcomes

• Reflect on your purpose in teaching in Higher
  Education
• Relate this to theory
• Explain constructive alignment
• Apply theory to the design of appropriate
  learning outcomes

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Activity

• Draw a metaphor for what you think teaching in
  higher education is about
• No words are allowed, it must be an image,
  cartoon, visualisation
• Share your pictures with the group

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Analysis and Evaluation

• What do you see in others pictures?
• What messages emerge about our conception of
  teaching and learning?
• What do you think is the purpose of your teaching
  in HE?
• What do your students think is your role as their
  teacher?

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Rich pictures

• More fun
• Less clichéd
• Broader scope
• Discipline of illustration but more imaginative
• Open to interpretation
• But seen as anti-intellectual?
• Involves self-disclosure

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The Idea of a University, Newman, 1852

• A place of teaching universal knowledge
• When I speak of knowledge, I mean something
  intellectual something which takes a view of
  things which sees more than the senses convey
  which reasons upon what it sees, and while it
  sees which invests it with an idea.
• Such knowledge is not a mere extrinsic or
  accidental advantage which may be got up from a
  book, and easily forgotten again it is an
  acquired illumination, it is a habit, a personal
  possession, and an inward endowment.

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The Aims of Higher Education, Robbins Report 1963

• Instruction in the skills suitable to play a part
  in the general division of labour
• What is taught should be taught in such a way as
  to promote the general powers of the mind. The
  aim should be to produce not mere specialists but
  cultivated men and women.
• The advancement of learning and search for
  truth
• The transmission of a common culture and common
  standards to provide that background of
  culture and social habit upon which a healthy
  society depends

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A Threefold Educational process

• HE has to create disturbance in the minds and
  beings of students. Students have to come to
  feel in every sense the utter insecurity of the
  post-modern world.
• HE has to enable students to live at ease with
  this perplexing and unsettling environment.
• It has to enable them to make their own positive
  contributions while being sensitive to the
  unpredictability and uncontrollability of the
  consequence of what they say and do.
• Barnett, 2000 Realizing the University

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Common Themes

• Developing the individual
• Focus on improving the cognitive abilities - the
  powers of the mind
• Encouraging a different, more challenging, way of
  seeing and thinking
• Producing individuals equipped to play a full and
  pro-active part in society

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Your Theory of Learning and Teaching

• Concentration span Drifting in and out!
• Heavy content but allowing options
• Reinforcement of ideas we have already
  encountered
• Theory of learning as underpinning the portfolio
• Difficulty of the personal within the
  institutional

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Psychology v Sociology

• Psychologization of learning and teaching in HE
• Malcolm Zukas 1999
• Psychology limits to workings of the mind and
  professional relation between tutor and student
• Sociology explores social context, power
  relations and politics, social roles and
  exclusion, critical stance
• Also consider importance of humanist approach
  values, beliefs and purpose

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Constructive Alignment

• An attempt to marry together theory about
  learning and teaching and quality frameworks
• John Biggs, (2003) Teaching for Quality Learning
  at University
• If students are to learn desired outcomes in a
  reasonably effective manner, then the teachers
  fundamental task is to get students to engage in
  learning activities that are likely to result in
  their achieving those outcomes It is helpful to
  remember that what the student does is actually
  more important in determining what is learned
  than what the teacher does.
• T. Shuell (1986)

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Award-winning Danish Film

• http//video.google.com/videoplay?docid-562927320
  6953884671prgoog-sl
• http//www.daimi.au.dk/brabrand/short-film/
• Are the cases recognisable?
• How convincing is the logic?

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Observations

• Sorry for Susan who has no life no purpose
  will probably become an academic
• Robert is working smart not hard
• Stereotyping is unhelpful in a complex teaching
  situation
• Is being assessment driven all bad?
• Can you be too assessment bound in learning and
  teaching?
• Is manipulating extrinsic motivation the best way
  to engage students? What about talking to Robert
  and discussing whether his outcomes are best met
  by his approach?
• More to students than motivation or prior
  experience
• Has WP really changed the dominant approach to
  learning?
• Should we be challenging the Susans?
• A lot depends on how good our learning outcomes
  are

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Definitions

• Constructive
• Learners construct their own meaning
• They do this by relating new material to prior
  knowledge and experience
• This is facilitated by supporting students to
  engage in appropriate learning activities
• Alignment
• Programmes should be designed in terms of what is
  learnt, how it is learnt and how that learning is
  assessed
• These elements the learning climate should
  not offend but support each other

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Conceptions of Teaching

• Learning is a function of individual difference
  between students
• What the student is
• E.g. bright or unmotivated
• Learning is a function of teaching
• What the teacher does
• E.g. Teaching technique or excellent performance
• Learning is the result of students engagement in
  learning activities
• What the student does

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Learning Outcomes

• The original concept was of observable changes in
  behaviour or output resulting from an
  intervention
• Now an attempt to define abilities and
  understanding expressed in application from a
  learner perspective
• Issue of defining level of understanding

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Defining Learning Outcomes

• Content
• Knowledge
• understanding
• Subject specific skills
• Thinking skills
• Generic or transferable skills
• Attitudes and values
• Level
• Measurable

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Bloom Taxonomy

• Description
• Analysis
• Evaluation
• Challenge

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Perry

• Dualism
• Absolute answer
• Temporary unacceptable uncertainty
• Relativism
• Acceptable uncertainty
• Contextual and relative
• Commitment
• Personal commitment
• Considered and responsible commitment
• Evolving commitment

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Biggs SOLO taxonomy

• Unistructural
• One answer
• Multistructural
• Shopping list of answers
• Relational
• An integrated answer
• Extended Abstract
• Questioning or going beyond

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HE Quality definitions of level

• Framework for Higher Education Qualifications
• Benchmark Statements
• Credit Transfer systems e.g. NICAT or SEEC
• Programme Specifications
• www.qaa.ac.uk academic infrastructure

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Exercise 1

• Define an appropriate learning outcome in your
  subject area at an identified higher education
  level
• Discuss it with colleagues
• Check level
• Check importance for qualification in your
  discipline
• Check focus
• Hone it!

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Issues with LO design

• Generally supportive of each others efforts!
• Language limiting
• Issue of defining creativity into LOs
• Verbs and levels Bloom and FHEQ
• From evaluate to critically evaluate?!
• Apprenticeship to mastery, then breaking the rules

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Exercise 2

• How would you most appropriately assess this
  learning outcome?
• Does the assessment assess the full range of this
  outcome and allow achievement at all levels?
• Does the assessment include other learning
  outcomes? written skills, spoken skills, etc.
• Discuss and hone
• Issues

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Exercise 3

• How will students learn how to do this?
• What activities are needed?
• What support in terms of organisation
• What inputs are needed?
• What formative assessment would work?
• Discuss Hone
• Issues?

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References

• Biggs, J. (2003) Teaching for Quality Learning at
  University, SRHE / OpenUP
• QAA, FHEQ at http//qaa.ac.uk/academicinfrastruct
  ure/FHEQ/EWNI/default.asp
• NICAT level descriptors, http//www.nicats.ac.uk/d
  oc/scr_prnc_guide.pdf