Teaching for learning: design and delivery of community college courses

Community College Enterprise, The, Spring 2003 by Major, Howard, Taylor, Debbie

Installment one of a two-part article begins by summarizing research-based principles of learning and suggesting strategies for applying those principles to course development and delivery. Most of the principles apply to the design and delivery of both traditional (face-to-face) courses and courses delivered at a distance. Part one examines underlying assumptions, outcomes-based learning, objective referenced assessment, the facilitation of higher-level thinking and cognitive/affective/psychomotor learning. Part two, which will appear in Volume 9, Number 2, Fall 2003, addresses learning-centered education, active learning strategies, and enhanced learning models. A final section focuses on strategies and guidelines that apply specifically to distance learning courses.

Underlying assumptions

The overriding purpose of the community college instructional program is to help students learn. The content goals and objectives (learning outcomes) are identical in traditional face-to-face courses as they are in the same courses offered in distance learning. Only the delivery system and forms of communication vary.

Over time, the research-based principles of learning advocated here have gained the status of "Best Practices" for course development and delivery. Among them, a few are so widely applied that they have become "conventions," and the higher education community has come to expect them. They include outcomes-based learning; criterion-referenced assessment; planning for and facilitating higher-level thinking; applying the constructs of cognitive, affective and psychomotor learning and skill development; the shift in focus from teaching to learning; use of student-centered participative and active learning strategies and the use of instructional technologies. The article describes each of these principles and provides suggestions for applying them to course and program design and delivery.

Outcomes-based learning

Outcomes-based learning refers to carefully establishing learning goals and objectives, competencies and/or outcomes prior to beginning the instructional process. The outcomes are formulated in writing and placed in the course syllabus. They are stated in terms of what the learner will be able to do upon completion of the course. For example, typical outcomes for a Speech course might include:

Outcome (Goal) #1: Upon completion of Speech 101, the learners will understand the basic techniques of effective speech composition and delivery.

Outcome (Goal) #2: Upon completion of Speech 101, the learners will be able to deliver a ten minute persuasive speech that applies the basic techniques of effective speech delivery.

Why establish learning outcomes? The adage states, "when you don't know where you're going, any road will take you there." Identified learning outcomes facilitate the learning process in several ways. Outcomes let students know where they are going and thereby allow them to "buy in" to the process of reaching goals. A set of course outcomes communicates to the learners, at the outset, a destination which enables the instructor to select the best strategies for helping learners arrive at the destination.

Establishing learning outcomes for each course also helps ensure that the scope and sequence of the curriculum is aligned and that gaps and/or unnecessary redundancy in the curriculum are avoided. Identified outcomes provide the basis for authentically assessing student attainment of course objectives which should be measured and recorded. The nature of the outcome will determine the nature of the assessment process. In the example above, learner understanding of speech composition and delivery techniques could be measured with a written quiz or exam. However the second outcome, that of actually delivering the speech would have to be measured with an observation instrument such as a rubric, checklist or rating scale.

What guides the selection of learning outcomes? Instructors often struggle with the issue of what to put into a course and what to leave out. "Art is long and time is short" and anyone who has designed a course will know that truth. Instructors have several sources of information to guide them as they select learning outcomes appropriate for the course. They include the following:

Standards of performance for program completers

Performance standards (required competencies) already exist for many certificate and associate degree programs. They typically address both the content of the curriculum (what is to be learned) and required levels of proficiency (to what degree content is to be learned). Sometimes performance standards are established by a Professional Association. For example, the National Institute of Metalworking Skills (NIMS) has created a set of standards for completers of Machine Tool, Tool and Die and other metalworking programs. In other instances, the standards might be set by government agencies such as the U.S. (or a State) Department of Education, or a state or national licensing agency such as the National Nursing Board. Instructors should check to see if standards of performance have been established for the course and program they are teaching. If a set of performance standards does exist, the curriculum must ensure that students have an opportunity to achieve its required competencies.