Learning outcomes
In order to assure students to be successful in the fast-growing and ever-changing environment of the modern world, the expected learning outcomes of university education have to be reconsidered.
The learning of knowledge should not merely restricted to the learning of facts and concepts, but reach deeper levels which enable students to apply knowledge into practice - analyze, interpret, critically evaluate and solve problems in reality. Furthermore, teaching should no longer be limited to the delivery of knowledge whereas the learning of skills should no longer be confined to subject-level skills. Nowadays, university education considers a wide range of skills to be essential to the academic success of a student, straddling critical thinking, problem solving, self-managed learning, interpersonal skills and communication skills. Yet the success of a student in workplace relies on the development of appropriate learning and working attitudes. Therefore, successful learning is a life-long process and a continuous development which begins and nurtures throughout the course of education at university.
We would like to highlight the following ten important and most commonly discussed learning outcomes on this website. The list, however, is not meant to be exhaustive.
- Understanding and application-activities that help students to better understand concepts and allow students to apply knowledge in situations and problems
- Critical thinking- activities that enable students to critically evaluate what they read and hear
- Creativity- activities that encourage students to be open-minded and be courageous in the generation as well as the expression of novel ideas
- Active learning- activities that encourage communication and the exchange of ideas and resources between teachers and students
- Teamwork- activities that train students to work effectively in teams
- Motivation- activities that boost students’ interest in learning
- Reflective learning- activities that help students to review their learning goals and learning processes timely
A wide range of activities that cover the above learning outcomes is available in the “learning activities” part of the website. Many of these activities are extracted from examples uncovered in a research initiative of The Chinese University of Hong Kong. Please Click here if you could like to learn more about the research project.
Students should be encouraged to participate in active learning, rather than being passive “receivers” of information. The learner-centred paradigm of teaching and learning (e.g. Laurillard, 2002; Biggs, 2003) highlights the importance of students actively engaging in the manipulation and construction of knowledge. Engaging students in good learning activities is thus essential in the attainment of the outcomes. We do not intend to imply that conventional lectures are not valuable. What we do want to point out is that other teaching and learning activities are needed besides lectures.
Reference:
Biggs, J. (2003). Teaching for quality learning at university (2nd ed.). Buckingham: SRHE and Open University Press.
Laurillard, D. (2002). Rethinking university teaching: A framework for the effective use of educational technology (2nd ed.). London: Routledge Falmer.