Assessment of Curriculum Design by Learning Outcomes (LO)

Abstract

This paper analyzes the assessment experience as part of curriculum design by learning outcomes of the Master in User Experience Design of the Universidad Nacional Abierta y a Distancia—UNAD Colombia and the University of Lleida—UdL Spain. The article presents the assessment route, which allows for continuous improvement and is tailored to the self-assessment process. Conceptual references on curriculum design, competencies, purposes, constant improvement, and assessment are outlined for presentation. The theoretical line is based on international and national legal references. Likewise, the educational, pedagogical, and curricular implications of learning outcomes are presented, among them: change of paradigm (teaching vs. learning), coherence of curricular design, change of evaluation (qualification vs. assessment), decision-making, professor training, change of professor attitude, sustainability through assessment, and implementation routes, all of them with the aim of continuous improvement and to maintain the high quality of the program. One of the main conclusions indicates that curriculum design based on learning outcomes should be aligned and coherent at the macro-, meso-, and micro-curricular levels in order to meet the needs and requirements of the professional field.

Software Development and Tool Support for Curriculum Design: A Systematic Mapping Study

“…The meso-curriculum level is materialized in the educational institution's or intermediate bodies' project [27]. It enables the macro-curriculum to be specified in didactic proposals appropriate to its specific context and the aims and principles of the institution's management system [30]. This level articulates in the medium and long term the academic structure by areas and levels of training, according to the objectives, number of credits, and learning outcomes specified in the degree course syllabus.…”

“…The third level, micro-curriculum, details the teaching-learning process through the didactic objectives, contents, development activities, assessment activities, and methodology of each subject that will materialize in the classroom, which is included in the analytical program and the corresponding study plan [27]. This level is the responsibility of each teacher and consists of planning the objectives, expected learning or learning outcomes, and didactic and assessment strategies for each group of students [26,30]. The teaching-learning process is detailed through the didactic objectives, contents, development activities, assess-ment activities, and methodology of each subject that will materialize in the classroom, which is included in the analytical syllabus and the corresponding study plan.…”

Flipped Classroom Learning: A Case Study in Meragang Sixth Form College

“…What students comprehend and can do is a direct product of their formative experience; hence, subject learning outcomes represent students' attitudes, competencies and knowledge about their subject following their educational learning process (Mendoza et al, 2022). Students can improve and conform to their learning, and the outcomes are critical to the teaching and learning processes.…”

“…The procedures meet various needs over time, and educational institutions will be able to meet their formative objectives and the promise of value delivered to society through continuous professional development, which includes everything from curricular design to self-regulation and external evaluation. As a result, using continuous educational quality improvement as an assessment target implies that curricular design based on learning outcomes is fundamentally aligned, allowing management and stakeholders to make informed decisions about promoting continuous improvement (Mendoza et al, 2022).…”

A Pragmatic Framework for Assessing Learning Outcomes in Competency-Based Courses

“…The current solutions to these problems seek, on the one hand, to create procedures to design CBE study plans whose macro/meso-curricular structures are aligned with the microcurricular level [18] and, on the other hand, to develop standardized mechanisms for students' assessment in these courses [19]. The latter is a key point to overcome the difficulties of implementation since, if teachers correctly understand how to evaluate in CBE, the model's chances of success increase significantly since it is where the macro-curricular design is materialized.…”