What this section contains:

Introduction

This section looks at one of the key stages in any systematic approach to course or curriculum development - specifying the outcomes of the student learning that it is intended to bring about. It begins by discussing the role of objectives in the systems approach to instruction that was introduced in the first of these course sections - 'The Systems Approach to Curriculum Development'. It shows how these may be specified either in terms of general aims, and more specific learning outcomes, or in terms of competence descriptors which specify the minimum acceptable learning to be achieved. Next, it takes a detailed look at the first of these approaches, first explaining the difference between aims and learning outcomes, then offering practical guidance on how to write effective learning outcomes. The section ends by examining the different types of learning outcomes that are of interest to educators and trainers. In the next section we turn to the second approach, describing the competence- and credit-based approach to instruction and offering practical guidance on how to write effective competence descriptors. We end by discussing some of the advantages and disadvantages of adopting an objectives-based approach to instruction.

The section is arranged as follows:

Contents:
The role of objectives in the systems approach to instruction
Figure 1. The systems approach to curriculum and course design

The 'aims and learning outcomes' approach
Figure 2. The aims and learning outcomes for Module 5

Writing aims and learning outcomes

The Magerian approach to writing behavioural objectives and learning outcomes

The different types of learning outcomes
Figure 3 : Bloom's hierarchical classification of the cognitive domain (1956)
Figure 4 : The Bloom/Krathwohl hierarchy of the affective domain (1964)
Figure 5 : Kibler's hierarchy of the psychomotor domain (1970)

The competence-based approach and cumulative credit
Figure 6 : An example of a competence descriptor

Writing competence descriptors
Figure 7 : An example of a vocabulary aid (1995)

Competence and credit
Figure 8 : how the different aspects of competence overlap

Advantages and disadvantages of the learning outcomes approach

Further Reading

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