2. How to define learning goals and outcomes [EN]SM2

HOW TO DEFINE LEARNING GOALS AND OUTCOMES

INNOVATION IN TEACHING

As we have seen, there are several ways of establishing and expressing our desired outcomes, such as learning outcomes, learning objectives, big questions and big ideas, competencies, and so on. However, there are still some questions we need to address:

Info

Big ideas or big questions

Definition

In training contexts, the big questions or big ideas (BQs and BIs, respectively) are tools that connect relevant learnings framed under the Understanding by Design trend in the curriculum (Virgin, 2014). This trend urges teachers to focus training on essential questions and challenges them to organize learning around big ideas or knowledge axes (Tomlinson, McTighe and Development, 2006). Questions help guide training at multiple levels, engaging students and encouraging them to explore the relevant ideas in order to formulate the answers (Wiggins, 1989).

The big questions associated with a course have three functions:

Type of Training

Coherence

Course Objectives

Asking questions or generating ideas about essential questions of life, society, and the world (among many, many other things) is a timeless strategy to bring about meaning and the creation of new visions: From the Socratic method established many millennia ago to the queries currently guiding scientific research.

In this section, we will review how we can build these expressions or devices in order to establish the desired outcomes, both throughout the course and in a particular class. For that, we can seek additional guidance from the book written by the professor of this module, Oscar Jerez,

The design of syllabus in higher education (2015).