Maximizing the Benefits of Outcome Based Learning

Compared to the traditional didactic teaching approach, outcome-based education (OBE) is student-centered (McDaniel, et al., 2000). Instead of focusing on the knowledge transmission process from teachers to students, OBE emphasizes the knowledge and skills that students can learn from the lessons (Botha, 2002). The major component of OBE is the ‘outcomes', which has been defined by Hartel and Gardner (2003) as "precise statements of what faculty expects students to know and be able to do as a result of completing a program, course, unit or lesson" (p. 35). While OBE has been incorporated into most if not all courses/programs at the University of Hong Kong, many may question how learning outcome statements should be perfected and how the students' attainments of learning outcomes at course/program levels can be measured and quantified. With the Teacher Development Grants, in the past several years, the speaker has been measuring the learning outcomes of two cohorts of students at three levels: (1) Program level (Bachelor of Science in Information Management (BscIM) program learning outcomes); (2) Course level (Knowledge Management, Final Year Project and a new teaching scheme "English in the Discipline"); and (3) Attainment of specific core competencies (information literacy and information management & technology skills). Considerable data has been collected through student surveys, focused group interviews and individual interviews with students and teaching staff. Such data and information have contributed to several revisions of the learning outcome statements in a number of courses in the BScIM program. The speaker will share what and how he has been measuring students' attainments under OBE. Further, the speaker will illustrate how such measurements have provided insights for the BScIM program team to revise and optimize the learning outcome statements in order to balance the expectations and resources of the university, faculty members and students.