Constructive Alignment: ILOs
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Goethe-University Frankfurt
Institute of Human Geography
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ILOs
Learning Activities
Assessment
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Structure
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1. What is Constructive Alignment?�
Biggs & Tang 2007
Teaching & Learning Design
Appropriate Learning & Teaching Activities
Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
Criterion Based Assessment
What are the students supposed to be able to do
at the end of the university course?
How do you realize that the students have reached the learning outcomes?
How do you differentiate between very good, average and a poor performance?
What do the students have to do to reach the ILOs?
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1. What is Constructive Alignment?�
For Example…
ILO: students should be able to write an academic paper on biodiversity based on the latest research
Learning and Teaching Activities: recalling facts about biodiversity
Assessment: essay on biodiversity
→ what you assess is the students
previous skill of writing an essay,
not what she/he learned in the course and
whether the ILOs have been met.
not aligned
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2. Designing Constructively Aligned Teaching
Biggs & Tang 2007
state the intended learning outcomes in the form of standards the students are to attain; use appropriate verbs that describe what students need to be able to do
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create a learning environment likely to bring about the intended learning outcomes (i.e. teaching and learning activities)
use assessment tasks that enable you to judge if and how well students performances meet the intended learning outcomes
develop grading criteria (learning rubrics) for judging the quality of student performance
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3. Intended Learning Outcomes�
Setting high (not low) and specific (not vague) goals …
…affects learning activities and preparations for assessments
… affects task performance positively
…may integrate teacher and student perspectives
→ Let’s support students in getting better learning outcomes
teacher perspective
What should the students learn?
student perspective
What will be examined?
Locke & Latham 2002
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Why Learning Outcomes?
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3. Intended Learning Outcomes�
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Defining Learning Outcomes
Biggs & Tang 2007
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3. Intended Learning Outcomes�
1.1 Select the topics/contents to be taught.
1.2 Determine levels of understanding and performance expected for each topic, e.g. describing a theory, apply a theory to a practical situation
1.3 Formulate the ILOs using action verbs.
1.4 Determine whether all ILOs are of equal importance.
1.5 Agree with all parties upon learning objectives, if you work in a team.
1.6 Make ILOs transparent to students at the beginning of the course.
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Steps in Designing Learning Outcomes
Biggs & Tang 2007, pp. 64-90
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3. Intended Learning Outcomes�
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Formulating Learning Outcomes
Biggs & Tang 2007, p. 83
An ILO includes:
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3. Intended Learning Outcomes�
Instead of the vague “students understand/know/are familiar with/learn about”, use, for example:
The students are able to…
“1 Explain in depth why a particular course topic is important to teaching.
2 Explain how the component course topics interrelate.
3 Reflect on your teaching in terms of a working theory you have gained from the course.
4 Evaluate a situation that has gone wrong and apply a solution.”
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Formulating Learning Outcomes
Biggs & Tang 2007, p. 83
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Literature
Biggs, John B. & Tang, Catherine So-kum (2007). Teaching for quality learning at university: what the student does. Maidenhead : McGraw-Hill/Society for Research into Higher Education & Open University Press.
Locke, E. A., & Latham, G. P. (2002). Building a practically useful theory of goal setting and task motivation: A 35-year odyssey. American Psychologist, 57(9), 705–717. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.57.9.705