Chapter 1:

Shift of Educational Focus from

Content to Learning Outcomes
Introduction
R educed to the barest components, the educative process happens
between the teacher and the student. Education originated from the terms
“educare” or “educere” which meant “to draw out”. Ironically, however, for
centuries we succeeded in perpetuating the belief that education is a “pouring
in” process wherein the teacher was the infallible giver of knowledge and the
student was the passive recipient. It followed that the focus of instruction was
content and subject matter. We were used to regarding education basically
terms of designating a set of subjects to take and when the course is completed
we pronounce the students “educated”, assuming that the instruction and
activities we provided will lead to the desired knowledge, skills and other
attributes that we think the course passers would possess.

The advent of technology caused a change of perspective in education,

nationally and internationally. The teacher ceased to be the sole source of
knowledge. With knowledge explosion, students are surrounded with various
sources of facts and information accessible through user – friendly technology.
The teacher has become a facilitator of knowledge who assists in the
organization, interpretation and validation of acquired facts and information.

Learning Outcomes:
At the end of this chapter, you are expected to:

• Explain the three outstanding characteristics of outcome – based

education.
• Distinguish among institutional outcomes, program outcomes, course
outcomes, and learning outcomes.
• Distinguish between immediate outcomes and deffered outcomes.
• Differentiate educational obejctives from learning outcomes.
• Formulate learning outcomes based on educational objectives.

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 LESSON 1:
OUTCOME – BASED EDUCATION: MATCHING
INTENTIONS WITH ACCOMPLISHMENT

The change in educational perspective called Outcome – based

Education (OBE) has three characteristics.

1. It is student – centered i.e. it places the students at the center of

the process by focusing on Student Learning Outcomes (SLO).
2. It is faculty – driven i.e. it encourages faculty responsibility for
teaching, assessing program outcomes and motivating participation
from the students.
3. It is meaningful, i.e. it provides data to guide the teacher in making
valid and continuing improvement in instruction and assessment
activities.

To implement outcome – based education on the subject or course level,

the following procedure is recommended:

1. Identification of the educational objectives of the subject/course.

Educational objectives are the broad goals that the subject/course
expects to achieve. They define in general terms of knowledge, skills
and attitudes that the teacher will help the students to attain. Objectives
are stated from the point of view of the teacher such as “to develop, to
provide, to enhance, to inculcate, etc.”

2. Listing of learning outcomes specified for each subject/course

objective. Since subject/course objectives are broadly stated, they do
not provide detailed guide to be teachable and measurable. Learning
outcomes are stated as concrete active verbs such as: to demonstrate,
to explain, to differentiate, to illustrate, etc. A good source of learning
outcomes statements is the taxonomy of educational objectives by
Benjamin Bloom. Bloom’s taxonomy of educational objectives is
grouped into three (3):

• Cognitive, also called knowledge, refers to mental skills such as

remembering, understanding, applying, analyzing, evaluating,
synthesizing/creating.
• Psychomotor, also referred to as skills, includes manual or
physical skills, which proceed from mental activities and range
from the simplest to complex such as observing, imitating,
practicing, adapting and innovating.

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 • Affective, also known as attitude, refers to growth in feelings or
emotions from the simplest behavior to the complex such as
receiving, responding, valuing, organizing, and internalizing.

3. Drafting outcomes assessment procedure. This procedure will

enable the teacher to determine the degree to which the students are
attaining the desired learning outcomes. It identifies for every outcome
the data that will be gathered which will guide the selection of the
assessment tools to be used and at what point assessment will be done.

LESSON 2:
THE OUTCOMES OF EDUCATION

Outcome – based education focuses classroom instruction on the skills

and competencies that students must demonstrate when they exit. There are
two (2) types of outcome: immediate and deferred outcomes.

Immediate outcomes are competencies/skills acquired upon completion of an

instruction, a subject, a grade level, a segment of the program, or of the program itself.
These are referred to as instructional outcomes.

Examples:

• Ability to communicate by writing and speaking

• Mathematical problem – solving skill
• Skill in identifying objects by using the different senses
• Ability to produce artistic or literary works
• Ability to do research and write the results
• Ability to present an investigative science project
• Skill in story – telling
• Promotion to a higher-grade level
• Graduation from a program
• Passing a required licensure examination
• Initial job placement

Deferred outcomes refer to the ability to apply cognitive, psychomotor and

affective skills/competencies in various situations many years after completion of a
degree program. These are referred to as institutional outcomes.

Examples:

• Success in professional practice or occupation

• Promotion in a job

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 • Success in career planning, health and wellness
• Awards and recognition

LESSON 3:
INSTITUTIONAL, PROGRAM, COURSE AND
LEARNING OUTCOMES

These are the attributes that a graduate of an institution is expected to

demonstrate 3 or more than 3 years after graduation.
Outcomes in Outcome – based Education (OBE) come in different
levels:
1. Institutional Outcomes. These are statements of what the
graduates of an educational institution are supposed to be able to do
beyond graduation.

2. Program Outcomes. These are what graduates of particular

educational programs or degrees are able to do at the completion of
the degree or program.

3. Course or subject Outcomes. These are what students should be

able to demonstrate at the end of a course or a subject.

4. Learning or Institutional Outcomes. These are what students

should be able to do after a lesson or instruction.

Institutional outcomes are broad. These institutional outcomes become

more specific in the level of program or degree outcomes, much more specific
in the level of course or subject outcomes and most specific in the level of
learning or instructional outcomes.

Program outcomes and learning outcomes are discussed in detail in

Chapter 3.

Educational objectives as given Lesson 4 are formulated from the point

of view of the teacher. Learning outcomes are what students are supposed to
demonstrate after instruction.

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 LESSON 4:
SAMPLES OF EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES AND
LEARNING OUTCOMES IN ARALING PANLIPUNAN
(K to 12)

Educational Objectives Learning Outcomes

1. Pagbibigay sa mga mag – aaral 1.1 Nailalarawan ang sariling buhay

ng kaalaman at pang – unawa simula sa pagsilang hanggang
tungkol sa tao, kapaligiran at sa kasalukuyang edad.
lipunan. (Cognitive objective) 1.2 Nasasabi at naipapaliwanag ang
mga alintuntunin sa silid – aralan
at sa paaralan.
1.3 Naiisa – isa ang mga tungkulin
ng isang mabuting mamamayan
sa pangangalaga ng kapiligiran.

2. Paglinang ng kakayahan na 2.1 Nakakasulat ng sanaysay na

magsagawa ng proyektong naglalarawan ng mga taong
pangtahanan at pampamayanan,. bumubuo ng sariling pamilya.
(Psychomotor objective) 2.2 Nakapagsasagawa ng panayam
sa ilang mahahalagang pinuno
ng sariling barangay at
naisusulat ang mga nakalap na
kaalaman.

3. Pagganyak sa mga mag – aaral 3.1 Nakasusulat ng tula, awit o

upang maipamalas ang malalim maikling kuwento tungkol sa
na pagpapahalaga sa kahalagahan ng kapaligiran.
kapaligiran. (Affective objective) 3.2 Nakagagawa ng “video
presentation” tungkol sa
wastong pag – aalaga ng
kapaligiran.

Chapter Exercises
Answer the following questions:

1. Give and explain the characteristics of OBE.

2. Distinguish among Institutional, program, course, and learning

outcomes.

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3. By means of a diagram, show that institutional outcomes are broad
statements compared to program/degree outcomes, course subject
outcomes and learning / instructional outcomes.

4. Differentiate each of the following pairs by explaining the meaning of

each and giving examples for further clarification.
a. Educational Objective and Learning Outcome
b. Immediate Outcome and Deferred Outcome
c. Content and Learning Outcome
d. Student – Centered Instruction and Content -Centered Instruction
e. “To develop communication skills” and “can communicate orally and
writing”.

5. Formulate at least 3 educational objectives on your field of

specialization. For every educational objective, formulate two learning
outcomes.