Fractional Choice-Based Credit System

The key change brought by fractional choice-based credit system (F-CBCS) is making the learning process ‘learner-centric'. It allows learners to choose inter- and intra-disciplinary courses and provides more flexibility for students to study at different times and at different institutions to complete a course, thereby providing ease of mobility to students. It allows students to choose courses from group, namely program core, program elective, institute core, institute elective, and ability enhancement courses. It gives learner to opt for honors and minors and provides flexibility to complete degree programme at accelerated space. Designing a learning assessment framework is one critical criteria for educational institutions trying to seek NAAC or NBA accreditation. Many of the organizations lack in formalizing the process whose end results are key input to mapping process of learning outcomes assessments. This chapter will provide a comprehensive architecture, strategies, and design approach towards effective implementation of F-CBCS and learning outcomes assessments.

Assessment of Learning Outcomes

Why do we use assessment? What happens if we don't assess? What does assessment mean for education, decision makers, stakeholders, teachers, and students? How do objectives and learning outcomes guide evaluation? Objectives and learning outcomes are classified by taxonomies by Bloom, Anderson, and Krathwohl. Do these taxonomies also guide the assessment? How does it work? How to measure learning outcomes in the cognitive domain? What are the assessment tools and evaluation methods that are effective in assessment high level cognitive skills? What measuring tools can be used to measure the affective domain? What are the methods of effective measurement in the psychomotor field? How are skills measured? What should be considered in the measurement of objectives and learning outcomes? How can educators benefit from classical and alternative measurement methods? What are the benefits of using multiple assessment? What are the effects of focusing on what learners can do, not how much they cannot do? This chapter explores the assessment of learning outcomes.

Critical Issues and Answers of Outcome-Based Education for Technical Institutions in India

The revolution of the world economy and higher education are driving profound changes in the engineering education system. Worldwide adaptation of outcome-based education framework and enhanced focus on higher-order learning and professional skills necessitates a paradigm shift in traditional practices of curriculum design, education delivery, and assessment. In recent years, worldwide sweeping reforms are being undertaken to bring about essential changes in engineering education in terms of what to teach (content) and how to teach (knowledge delivery) and how to assess (student learning). MHRD and AICTE jointly introduce so many new professional skills through MOOCs and also set some performance indicator to measure the outcomes. This chapter deals with the critical issues present in technical institutions and how it can be neutralized through POs, PSOs, PEOs, and Bloom's Taxonomy.

A Comparative Study of Existing Mechanisms for Implementation of OBE in Various Countries

Outcome-based education (OBE) provides effective ways for enhancing the employability of students enrolled in any program using attainment of predetermined outcomes. Literature survey reveals that OBE-based approaches to education adopt various methods for assessing direct and indirect course outcomes designed for achieving intended program outcomes, program educational objectives, mission and vision of institute. This chapter disseminates knowledge scientifically observed as analytical ways to efficient implementation of outcome-based education in various countries and compare the same for identification of effectiveness. The goals of OBE are achievement of similarities between student expectation and knowledge received through course items delivery of a teacher based on student-centred learning model, comparison of attainment of outcomes at institute and individual level, involvement of students for self-learning.

Evaluating Teaching Competence for TESOL Practicum

The present study assesses teaching competence for TESOL practicum at two periods: before (pre-survey stage) and after (post-survey stage) Vietnamese EFL students teachers participated in teaching practicum. With reference to Chong and Cheah, a questionnaire was constructed, and the items were divided into three specific categories: knowledge, skills, and attitudes. Quantitative findings from the item responses were analyzed using descriptive statistics, correlation matrix, and multiple regression analysis. For further interpretation, a qualitative analysis was also conducted, and the data for this analysis was collected from voluntary submission of reflection writing about teaching practicum from participants. Overall, the present study highlights key aspects in teaching practicum, and these aspects reflect constant struggle of student teachers in the early stage of teaching career. Some implications are to be discussed with regards to the findings of the study.

Teaching and Assessment of Course Outcomes in Switching Theory and Logic Design Course

Outcome-based education (OBE) is nothing but education based on the results. It's an approach that concentrates and organizes an education system in order to know, value, and be capable of achieving the desired skill level, which is essential for each learner. OBE helps in assessing the learners in different way rather than traditional evaluation of giving grades/ranks. Assessment is an important method for evaluating a student's progress after a learning process. A substantial effort was made to define the different elements that constitute a good program evaluation process from the observable study results at the level of courses and programmes by mapping and analysis information. Assessment tools are required to know how well programs and courses are listening for students. Based on the course, the assessment may be the formative or summative to assess the learning of the learners. OBE is the widely accepted method in measuring the learner's outcome.

Challenges and Issues in Implementation of OBE

In India, most higher education institutions are still in the modern traditional way, that is, a curriculum designed in a central place (region wise) called a university, where the question paper is set by someone and evaluated by someone. This system is neither teacher-centric nor student-centric, but it is in a different state. In the past two decades, there have been enormous changes in India's higher education sector, such as new players entering into the higher education arena to offer higher education, namely Deemed to be Universities, Private Universities. All these players are interested in implementing OBE just to attract the students. The involvement of stakeholders is not as expected as supposed to be. In this chapter, the authors bring out the challenges and issues in the implementation of OBE, mostly the factors that are affecting the success factor and partial solutions to the problem.

Traditional Teaching Pedagogy

In recent decades, education systems have become challenging tasks. However, in the era of globalization, educational systems have to found a new approach of teaching and learning towards a more active and productive education. This chapter covers conventional teaching approach paradigm, which is teacher-centric, and a new paradigm, which is student-centric. In teacher-centric methods, teachers play significant roles in the learning process. Teachers are source of knowledge providers, facilitator, or evaluator to observe students to acquire the correct answers, yet students are considered as learners who passively receive information. In contrast, in the student-centric methods, students play a vital role in their learning course and resolve how to accomplish their required learning outcomes on their own. They also figure out their facts and are allowed to think critically. This chapter finds that this new paradigm could develop more active learners who have acquired the skills of problem solving, independent thinking, and autonomous learning.

Objectives and Learning Outcomes

Why do we educate students? Education is a set of planned, scheduled, and specific activities. An entrance is made at the beginning of the chapter in order to ensure that the readers perceive that the education is carried out for certain goals. How do the goals in education come to be expressed? They are formulated as aims, goals, objectives. When planning the education, it is seen that the objectives are expressed under different concepts. These can be expressed as aims, goals, and learning objectives. In order to prevent the reader from getting lost in these different goal expressions, these types of goals should be explained in a comparative way. How are objectives classified? Is it more functional to try to take and use them directly after the objectives have been expressed, or should we classify the objectives around certain criterion? Which option gives us more leads? In this chapter, classifications made by Bloom, Anderson, and Krathwohl, and other taxonomies will be mentioned. What should be considered when expressing objectives?

Tools and Rubrics for Assessment of Learning Outcomes

Student learning outcomes articulate what a student should know or can do after completing a course or program. The assessment of student learning outcomes provides information that puts student learning at the forefront of academic planning processes. Student learning outcomes statements clearly state the expected knowledge, skills, attitudes, competencies, and habits of mind that students are expected to acquire at an institution. Assessment tasks are the activities learners will undertake to confirm whether or not ‘the outcome has in fact been achieved' during and at the end of the learning process. There are many different kinds of assessment activities you can use, the most commonly used including tests, quizzes, examinations, essays, paper, presentation, reflective journals, project, portfolio, etc. One most important determinant of the assessment tasks is the assessment has to be consistent with the learning outcomes.