SharePublication of second instalment of Focus collection, dedicated to assessing learning outcomes
Focus 2 document outlines the elements involved in learning outcome assessment, feedback and certification process provides universities with a range of tools to help them provide assessment aligned with learning outcomes.
The collection Focus: Tools for university quality started with a first document dedicated to defining the educational profile of university degree programmes and very especially to specifying the learning outcomes that must be achieved by graduates of these courses. Its main objective is to help universities define new degree programmes based on the learning outcomes they expect their students to achieve both globally, in terms of the programme as a whole, and on a subject-by-subject basis.
This second Focus centres on which assessment methods to use to certify the achievement of those learning outcomes. The document details the elements that are part of implementing a criteria-based assessment. Emphasis continues to be placed on aligning learning outcomes, teaching methodology and assessment methods and how to ensure that this takes place. It introduces one of the process's linchpins: feedback. Only with feedback can we ensure that teaching is student-centred. This two-way mechanism allows teachers to collect feedback from their students to better define learning outcomes and improve the teaching and assessment methods applied.
Another very important element in ensuring the quality of the learning outcomes sought and their assessment is the definition of an assessment policy that is aligned with the new paradigm regarding how university courses are defined. The document provides ideas that universities can use in defining their policy. Focus 2 recommends gradual deployment and clearly differentiates between newly created and more well-established programmes.
The document ends with a series of appendices listing the tools that universities can use to implement their learning outcomes assessment processes and a documentary collection with even more tools and theoretical and practical guides on process deployment.
