Abstract
The constant emphasis on maintaining a high level of quality in the Open Distance Learning (ODL) self directed courses delivered at Wawasan Open University (WOU) demands the accurate assessment of course learning outcomes (CLO). The summative and formative assessment components of each course module are, in theory, designed to effectively measure the mastery of a set of CLO by an adult learner. However, in reality, there is no real scrutiny of the assessments at WOU to ascertain whether a learner has achieved the expected mastery of a CLO. The general assumption is that the assessment marks are an indication of the mastery of a particular set of CLO measured in a specific assessment component. With the aim of identifying whether assessment marks are indeed reflective of the mastery of a set of CLO, a study was conducted to implement the “Person eCollege Learning Outcome Manager” software application. This paper discusses the methodology and findings of this study and provides several suggestions for the smooth implementation of the Learning Outcome Manager.
Highlights
Being an Open Distance Learning (ODL) institution, Wawasan Open University (WOU) adopts a blended method for course delivery to its adult learners
In an attempt to ensure that the use of the Learning Outcome Manager would not interfere with the assessment and feedback provided to the students, the study was conducted retrospectively
The Learning Outcome Manager was setup to superimpose the mastery of course learning outcomes (CLO) on top of the assessment marks that had already been awarded through an independent exercise conducted prior to the study
Summary
Being an Open Distance Learning (ODL) institution, Wawasan Open University (WOU) adopts a blended method for course delivery to its adult learners. The CLO are further subdivided into unit learning outcomes (ULO), which allow learners to self assess their mastery using formative assessment components. The summative assessment at WOU is twofold: (i) continuous assessment in the form of Tutor Marked Assignments (TMA); and (ii) final proctored exam. This summative assessment component is not scrutinised in detail to assess the mastery of the CLO by the learners. The learning outcome manager is a web based software platform that allows academics to monitor the mastery of CLO by their students in both formative and summative assessments. The major contribution of this paper is the insight it provides into the correlation between summative assessment marks and the mastery of CLO by adult ODL learners. The rest of the paper is organised into four parts, which consist of methodology, results, discussion and conclusion
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