Outcome based
eduction (OBE) is a method where the teaching or the contend that
delivered to the student is mainly decided based on the outcomes that
achieved at the end of the course. The outcomes of the course are
basically focused on the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that
student cherish. In addition, student’s competence in the
subject/field after following the course is also considered when the
course(s) are designed and delivered to students under the OBE
system. On contrary, traditional education follows the content based
education where the content of a course is delivered to the students
without considering how it helps to improve their knowledge, skills
and change their attitudes. However, OBE does not suite with every
course or all the age groups.
The traditional
education system is basically delivers content to students without
mapping the relationship between the practical use of the subject
matter. On the other hand, OBE clearly and preciously defines the
outcome of the course or the subject without ambiguousness. It maps
the outcomes to the content, where student follows the course with an
understanding how the content will help them improve their knowledge
and skill in the area.
Today, students are
prepared for modern job market which is mainly driven by the private
sector. The market needs skilled people in most of the jobs compared
to the knowledgeable workers. The one who apply the knowledge on the
issues quickly and troubleshoot the issue quickly is the most
celebrated worker in modern industry. To meet the demand make by the
market, educators have to modify the way that content is delivered to
the students. On the other hand, if a student wants more theoretical
knowledge in the subject matter, he/she can do their own research in
addition to the content delivered via OBE, which is always
encouraged.
The OBE has been
adapted by many countries in their education system. One of the main
advantage of the OBE is that the goals of course is well known by the
course designers, lecturers, tutors, facilitators, and students. If
there is a requirement for a change in the goals, the educators can
discussed and evaluate whether the goal is achievable by the end of
the course. For example, all the engineering faculties in Sri Lanka
teach computer programming in the first or second semester. The main
outcome of the course is that the student can build a simple program
to solve real world issues using the knowledge they gained in the
class. When the concepts are taught to the students, the lecturer
maps the outcome of learning the programming concepts using practical
examples.
Next, the OBE is a
student centered method. As a result, student’s data gathering,
analyzing, and information deduction methods will be improved
compared to the traditional teacher centered education. In addition,
the students are assessed through out the entire course using methods
such as continuous assignments, quizzes, group work, etc while
traditional eduction system use the exam for all the evaluations.
Different evaluation methods help to improve their communication and
social skills. For example, students has to conduct debates, speech
contest, and presentations in modern day English language classes.
Students are free to find appropriate topics and conduct the
activities. Such activities help to improve the communication and
leadership skills in addition to information searching and deduction.
Another advantage of
the OBE is that the contend delivery is less affected by the person
who delivers it. Once the outcomes are provided at the beginning of
the course, students are free to learn the content to achieve the
outcomes. This is really helpful if the content is delivered by a
person who is not an expert in the field. One of the best example is
the formation stage of a faculty. The course can be delivered by a
lecturer who is not expert in the field but the students are not
bound to content. They can explore the subject by themselves.
Though OBE has lot
of advantages, it has some disadvantages as well. At the moment,
there are few countries who have already given up the OBE due to some
of the drawbacks. One of the key drawback in this method is the
content delivery to the students. The depth of the content that
should be delivered to the student is not defined in the OBE. A
student can learn the content in a light minded manner. Though the
industry needed a skilled workers, the academia required more
knowledgeable graduates.
Another issue in the
OBE is that the outcomes can be resource demanding or not suite with
the receiving party. Generalizing the OBE for every institute in a
country would be a failure, as happened in Australia. Not only the
students, teachers and evaluators found it difficult to achieve the
outcomes mentioned for the course due to uneven resource
distribution. In addition, age plays a key role in success of the
OBE. Young students would not be able to grasp the content if they
are not guided. The OBE may probably suite with the ternary and
higher education but not with the primary or secondary level.
There are subjects
that can be taught based on the OBE while some cannot. Mathematic is
a very difficult subject for many students and step-by-step
guidelines are undoubtedly needed in young children. If the
principals and theorems are not well taught, students would not be
able to continue in the higher classes. Languages on the other hand,
can be taught with activities and speaking skills can be improved
significantly. Therefore, success of the OBE depends on the subject
matter and the age of the students.
Unless the
assessment criteria is clearly set to check the knowledge and skills
that students gained are matched with the goals, OBE can create
scholars with less knowledge compared to traditional education
system. The assessments may help to monitor the progress of the
students and whether they have met the goals. For example,
engineering students are required to study the mechanical machines
and tools in the workshop. They can use the machinery in their
projects to custom build the tools they required. The students can be
evaluated in different method in this class: on site, written paper,
oral question, and etc. However, if the student does not show
sufficient skills in the on site evaluation, a skilled engineering
undergraduate would not be developed.
If the OBE fail to
create the student to achieve the outcomes of curricular, that might
probably lead to a rise in unemployment. The job market is looking
for a skilled worker and if the student does not gain the sufficient
technical skills, communication skills, as well as leadership skills,
the market rejects the student and ultimately lead to an
unemployment.
Therefore, the pros
and cons of the OBE have to be deeply evaluated prior to the
implementation.
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