Secret destinations

Abstract

‘All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveller is unaware’ (Martin Buber). All learning results in learning outcomes of some form, planned or otherwise, but the term is now widely used to refer only to those learning outcomes that predetermine what those outcomes will be – the intended or specified learning outcomes of the Quality Assurance Agency’s (QAA) Code of Practice. A typical definition of learning outcomes is that they provide a statement of what a learner is expected to know, understand and be able to do at the end of a period of learning. Advocates of learning outcomes claim that it is impossible to evaluate learning unless clearly defined goals have been specified and agreed. But if learning outcomes prescribe the results of a period of learning before the outset of the learning journey, how appropriate are they to learning in subjects where we are educating for creativity, subjects where often we want our students to discover secret destinations, and where we may deliberately wish to avoid prescribing clearly defined goals? Can learning outcomes be articulated in such ways that they encourage the traveller to positively seek out secret destinations that may be unknown to the tutor as well as the student? Or do we need an alternative to this behaviourist approach to learning? This paper considers the appropriateness or otherwise of learning outcomes in contexts where students are expected to develop and demonstrate their creativity. It provides a brief examination of alternative approaches to prescribed learning outcomes, and considers whether the QAA’s Academic Infrastructure facilitates creativity or conformity. Finally, it sets an agenda for change to address the shortcomings of prescriptive learning outcomes.