Report How to use this document Appendices Note: Appendices A, E and F are in the report. Tuning Process Creates Practical and Measurable Learning Outcomes Ontario is part of an international effort known as Tuning that brings together experts from across institutions to develop relevant and appropriate learning outcomes in postsecondary education. The Higher Education […]
Tag: Learning Outcomes
Learning Outcomes
Competency-based higher education in Ontario? Proceed with caution Competency-based education (CBE) might be a pathway to improved postsecondary quality, accountability and cost containment, but a new report from the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario (HEQCO) recommends caution in its application to Ontario’s higher education system. The borders between CBE and traditional programs are dissolving, […]
Measures to assess critical thinking in the classroom should be better integrated into the curriculum There is considerable agreement that critical thinking skills are a desired learning outcome of any postsecondary credential – important in both the personal and professional lives of students and graduates – yet how to measure these skills remains unclear. A […]
Standardized international learning outcomes assessment possible but needs refining The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Assessment of Higher Education Learning Outcomes (AHELO) feasibility study was successful in building international relationships, furthering the discussion on learning outcomes and exploring the potential for a common worldwide student assessment. But as an instrument to produce reliable, […]
Research Summary: Large-scale Learning Outcomes Assessments Should Focus on Student Needs to Increase Participation The Council for Aid to Education’s (CAE) Collegiate Learning Assessment (CLA) and college-sector equivalent the Community College Learning Assessment (CCLA) are standardized tests to assess a postsecondary institution’s contribution to the development of students’ key competencies, including critical thinking, analytic problem […]
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Martin Hicks – The alchemist’s dream
Just tell me, please, where the jobs of the future will be. Then those working in higher education can plan accordingly, adjust the credential and programming mix, and drive students into the right programs. Actually students won’t need driving, because they will surely make superior choices and not continue to stumble into the humanities or […]
Research Summary: Lessons from the gym: Linking assignments to learning outcomes strengthens core skills Can learning technology “workouts” both develop and assess cognitive skills? Using a muscle-building analogy, the authors of a new study from the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario (HEQCO) find evidence that students can strengthen their self-reflective and critical thinking skills […]
My previous contributions on “managing for quality” have addressed the challenges of shifting away from our current policy of managing for access and why learning outcomes is a game changer in the higher education world. To use learning outcomes productively to improve higher education, and to clear up some of the confusion in the current […]
This is the first in a blog series on HEQCO’s key research priorities, in which we share the what, the why and the where-to next. Focussing on quality, particularly through the lens of learning outcomes, is a game changer in higher education because it influences the way we design, deliver, evaluate and improve academic programs; […]