Outcome-Based Education: A Learner-Centric Pedagogical Framework with Case Studies in Digital Communication and Signal Processing Courses

Abstract

Outcome-based education (OBE) is the buzzword these days in the education field which boosts students’ creativity through their active engagement in learning course contents. Their participatory learning in the OBE model is well supported by making them aware of learning goals and course outcomes. Due to this, the students develop themselves nicely in their working surroundings along with peers. This helps develop their interpersonal skills along with improving academic performance. This paper primarily outlines the implementation of a few key standards of OBE in teaching-learning of two fundamental courses in Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering. It then covers how OBE, and its consequences demand paradigm shifts in instructional design and evaluation practices. The discussion on OBE for courses on Digital Communication and Digital Signal Processing is explored with Program-Outcomes (POs), Program-Specific-Outcomes (PSOs), besides Course-Outcomes (COs). Analysis of POs along with COs attainment for these two courses reflects the importance of the OBE framework. The inclusion of engineering pedagogy and active learning strategies in this framework leads to enhancing students’ creativity leading to their growth in their professional careers. Keywords— Outcome-based evaluation (OBE), Course- Outcomes (COs), Program-Outcomes (POs), Program-Specific- Outcomes (PSOs), Performance Indicators (PIs)