This study addresses the controversial question of which is more effective; teaching to the test, or teaching to communicate. It also highlights the viewpoints of some scholars about tests in different regions of the world; the Middle East and the West. The content of the research embedded in this article shows that there are a number of teachers…

Outcomes-based funding (OBF) has become an increasingly common tool for states seeking to improve student outcomes, and the inclusion of certificates in OBF policies has been subject to considerable scrutiny. But studying the effects of OBF on certificates is exceptionally challenging. Certificates vary greatly in length, type, and labor market…

According to the UK Quality Assurance Agency, the adoption and use of learning outcomes has been complete across UK higher education since 2007, when it declared that "most departments and institutions have fully adopted the principles of learning outcomes". And yet, the evidence from the ground to support this statement is currently…

The aim of this paper is to propose an analytical framework of disciplinary learning outcomes that will facilitate our understanding of the nature of disciplines and their relationships. Application of the draft analytical framework, Anderson and Krathwohl's "Taxonomy of Educational Objectives" to engineering learning outcome reference…

The adoption of highly scripted curricular programs to promote literacy has become increasingly widespread. Little is known, however, about the extent to which teachers implement these programs as prescribed or, instead, make adaptations to the curriculum and its delivery. Even less is known about teachers' reasoning behind this decision-making.…

Higher Education institutions have, in the framework of the Bologna Process, been called to re-define their degree programmes on the basis of the learning outcomes approach. This implies a change of paradigm moving from teacher-centred to student-centred education. The Tuning project was set-up in 2000 to develop -- through a bottom-up approach --…

This chapter explores the background and development of outcomes-based collaborative teaching and learning, and provides guidance for writing learning outcomes and engaging students in the Asian higher education context.

Outcome-oriented, competency-based education has recently been discussed intensively in the higher education community. This education model, a product of more than a hundred years of theoretical dialogue and pedagogical implementation at different levels of schooling and training, is now recognized as effective for university education in the age…

Students today face a grim reality: they pay exorbitant tuition costs--often for little gain. In recent decades, policymakers and educational institutions have focused on increasing access and funding for first-generation, low-income, and minority students. But these efforts have failed to close the achievement gap because they do nothing to…

Old habits die hard, particularly when they are part of the unexamined norms of schooling. In "Why Are We Still Doing That?," the best-selling authors of "Total Participation Techniques" lead a teacher-positive, empathetic inquiry into 16 common educational practices that can undermine student learning: (1) Round robin reading;…

In this paper, we strive to provide a primer for students on how to thrive and learn effectively in engineering education in the volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) times following the onset of the COVID-19 global pandemic, which has disrupted the educational enterprise massively with universities physically closing in many parts of…

This chapter focuses on applying the concepts of outcomes-based collaborative teaching and learning in an Asian context and with students coming from a Confucian heritage culture and explores examples of how to implement effective collaborative teaching and learning in an Asian higher education setting.

Increased recognition of outcomes, or competency-based education, has evolved across higher education on health sciences. However, there is significant diversity in the current study of Portuguese programmes. Considering learning outcomes (LO) as indicators of knowledge, skills, abilities, attitudes and the understanding that the student will gain…

This study involved a class of serving teachers in their second year of a Bachelor of Education degree programme, in which one of the pre-requisite courses covered during first year was 'Principles of Material Science' (PMS). At the time of study, they were studying 'Machine-shop Practice' (MsP); a course based on the "Design and…

Fifty-three percent of Grade 4 learners cannot read for meaning in low- and middle-income countries despite an investment of between 33-49% of education expenditure on primary education. Teaching children to read in the early grades is fundamental to building resilient education systems, as the ability to read early in life is a great predictor…