Learning outcomes and core competencies lessons from Ontario Fiona - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Fiona Deller Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario (HEQCO) November 19, 2014

Learning outcomes and core competencies – lessons from Ontario

What is HEQCO?

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System design

How can Ontario provide a high-quality postsecondary education in a period of continued growth and diminishing resources?

Underrepresented groups

How can we improve access to higher education for groups that are underrepresented?

Learning

• utcomes

Are Ontario students graduating with the knowledge and skills they need to succeed in life and work?

Learning outcomes remarkably universal, despite geographical & discipline differences…

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Four domain types:

• Team-work
• Grit
• Determination
• Communication
• Critical

Thinking

• Numeracy
• Literacy

Disciplinary Content Basic Cognitive Skills Higher- Order Cognitive Skills Transferable Skills

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The four dimensions are the first steps in creating a common outcome language:

• We can classify and compare
• utcomes by dimension, even if

institutions use different terms

• The four dimensions can guide

and focus outcome mapping and assessment activities

Basic cognitive outcomes

Laying foundations for successful transitions:

PISA scores and PSE outcomes are related:

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Sources: OECD (2010). PISA Pathways to Success: How Knowledge and Skills at Age 15 Shape Future Lives in Canada; Canadian Council on Learning (2006). Canadian Post-Secondary Education: A Positive Record – An Uncertain Future.

Higher numeracy and literacy scores Completion of secondary school, PSE enrollment Lower numeracy scores 2x more likely to

experience prolonged unemployment vs. regular employment in a given year

Basic cognitive outcomes can be tapped to strengthen K-12-PSE alignment:

College Student Achievement Project

• Developing common math learning outcomes for pre-technology, pre-

business, and business diploma programs at all 24 Ontario colleges

• Ensuring K-12-PSE alignment by using the same math terms and language as

the provincial curriculum

• Improving the transferability of numeracy skills across institutions, creating

a solid knowledge base

Byers, P. (2014). Bridging the Mathematics Gap through Learning Outcomes. College Student Achievement Project. Retrieved from http://csap.senecacollege.ca/en/publications.php

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Average numeracy scores for university graduates (25-34) Average numeracy scores for college graduates, (25-34)

Source: Skills in Canada –First Results from the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (2013)

Canada, 276 OECD average, 285 Canada, 299 OECD average, 306

Canada falls below the OECD average for numeracy

Canada falls below the OECD average for literacy

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Average literacy scores for college graduates, (25-34)

Canada, 284 OECD average, 290

Average literacy scores for university graduates, (25-34)

Canada, 306 OECD average, 309

Source: Skills in Canada –First Results from the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (2013)

Measuring Literacy in Canada

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Do Ontario students have the literacy skills for PSE?

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Transferrable outcomes

Creating lifelines across the educational continuum:

We know that employers have signaled they value transferable skills over other skills. (This is not to suggest that technical skills are not important).

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Source: Canadian Council of Chief Executives. (2014). Preliminary Survey Report: the Skills Needs of Major Canadian Employers. Retrieved from http://www.ceocouncil.ca/skills

Factors besides intelligence impact whether a student decides to stay or leave.

Source: Mischel, Ebbesen, & Zeiss, 1972; Mischel & Metzner, 1962

One factor, grit, has been the source of great interest within the past few years.

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GRIT

“perseverance and passion for long-term goals”

Duckworth, A. L., Peterson, C., Matthews, M. D. & Kelly, D. R. (2007). Grit: Perseverance and Passion for Long-Term Goals. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 92 (6), 1087-1101.

We need to translate psychological research into educational strategies.

• Can grit be taught?

– Andrea Duckworth (UPenn) and the Grit Scale

• Can grit be measured?

– Paul Tough, How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character (2012)

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We need to translate psychological research into educational strategies

• Can transferrable outcomes be taught and

assessed in class?

• How do we account for developmental and

environmental factors?

• Learning does not occur in a vacuum

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There are many measurements that work in clinical or counselling settings…

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…but there are, at present, virtually no assessments designed with education in mind.

Duckworth’s Grit Scale Wagnild & Young Resilience Scale Resilience Factor Inventory The Bar-On Emotional Quotient Inventory

Wagnild & Young: https://www.resiliencescale.com/ ; Bar-On: http://www.eiconsortium.org/measures/eqi.html ; Duckworth’s Grit Scale: https://sites.sas.upenn.edu/duckworth/pages/research ; Resilience Factor Inventory: http://www.adaptivlearning.com/assessment

People for Education is developing measures and indicators for 5 different types of transferable outcomes in K-12, in partnership with HEQCO:

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Health Creativity Social-emotional skills Citizenship Quality learning environments

People for Education. (2014). Broader measures of success: Measuring what matters in education. Measuring what Matters. Retrieved from http://www.peopleforeducation.ca/measuring-what-matters/the-domains/

Learning outcomes can transform skills into educational lifelines.

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• Striking the balance between psychological

development and teaching & learning

• Creating an educational continuum through

learning outcomes

• Articulating and building on demonstrable skills

and outcomes

• Working across curricula and disciplines

QUESTIONS:

• 1. What are the three big ideas that can be

learned from the experiences of other jurisdictions regarding learning outcomes and alignment in K-12 and post-secondary?

• 2. What advantages do you see to aligning the

goals of K-12 and post secondary education and what challenges, disadvantages or unintended consequences might arise?

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Lessons learned and next steps

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Lessons learned thus far…...

Assessment matters Focus on students Faculty Engagement Learning Management Systems Cross Discipline, cross sectorial , cross institutional Language matters

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What’s Next for HEQCO.

Building Partnerships with k-12 sector @Issue Paper on the Four Types of Learning Outcomes Exploring the measurement of transferable skills Learning Outcomes Assessment Consortium Learning Outcomes Assessment Handbook Online PIACC

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Bridging the gap between K-12 and PSE learning outcomes

“… a system in which the exit standards for

• ne

sector align with the entrance requirements of the next …one in which students’ pathways are clearly defined and reasonably straight…” –Jamie Merisotis, President & CEO, Lumina Foundation

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http://www.heqco.ca/en-CA/Research/LearningOutcomes/Pages/home.aspx

Tha Thank nk yo you! u!

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