8/3/2019 Scholars Avenue Iitkgp2011nov10
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ED U C A T I O N AV E N U E 5
he idea of education is a seed e n v i r o n m e n t a l an d o
t h e r papers to get an idea of what is encouraged to form groups,
andTthat each of us here carry, and constraints. Think about
engineers' expected from us. A well designed such a system enables
continuouswhile its roots may extend far and mobility across
nations, and these course must have a well defined evaluation and
quality feedback.deep into our heads, it often does points begin to
make sense. course curriculum, one which states At the time of
review, how well the
not grow high up and flower. It will the learning outcomes
withWhat is the proof of procedure that stated course objectives
achieve theform the occasional basis of complete clarity and in a
languageoutcomes have been met? Some of Learning Outcomes are
rated.discussion we undertake long into that demonstrates thinking
in termsth e me th od ol og ie s in cl ud e Different courses of a
departmentthe evening. Opinions will glide of learning hierarchy
(see box).inte rvie ws with ex- stud ents , are stacked up and
compared (seethrough us whenever we- students Students should be
able to knowemployers and of course, the box). If it so happens
that aand teachers- make our way to the what the objectives are.
The coursestudents and faculty. Which brings particular Learning
Outcome is notclass we don't enjoy. Our minds is treated in a
modular fashion. Suchus to a major point of how these well
addressed, a new course may beshuffle, rearrange and play with work
is not an easy task, as facultyLearn in g Out com es wil l be
introduced by the department, orthese ideas as if they were a deck
of need to familiarize themselves withachieved in the first place
and a shift under collaboration with anothercards. These are
questions not many department. All departmentsstudents will raise a
hand in class to interact in this manner and takenask, but then how
many raise their together, the Institute rated.hand at all.
Learning and educationa re cha rged a rea s , fu l l o f A Long
Term Modelcounterviews and dissent, but How far the aims of the
Accord willhardly expressed in a form that be realised is an open
question atseeks to move forward and looks for this stage. In spite
of familiarity witha solution. It's like a vessel of the idea for
more than 10 years,supersaturated solution that is all major US
universities follow thebut waiting for a framework to clauses in
letter only, treating thecrystallize on. document as additional
paperwork.Spurred initially by interest in the In fact, companies
exist that willWashington Accord, we met Prof. write a sound
curriculum for you.AK Ray at the Center for The specialized
language and wordsEducational Technology. What we used are hollow
in the absence ofreceived in turn was an insight into intent.and an
overview of one of the The methods used seriously willmodels
attempting to address result in greater competition, andlearning-
pedagogy. there is a strong need to compete
and gear up with the rest of theOutcome Based Learning world.
The proposed changes areOne can see why a subject like long-term,
over a span of 10-15pedagogy is a difficult one. The years. As the
result of a first phase ofstudy of learning includes those
activity, many faculty members areaspects of human nature than now
aware of what the Washington
cannot be set into code, while Accord is, and some courses
arerecognizing that certain practices being restructured within
itscan be shown to be effective, f r a m ew or k , e . g . a M i n
i n g making it a mixture of an art and a Engineering course is
ready to go outscience. Prof. Ray, who has been and be tested in
the classroom.active on the national scene for Set your goals
clearly, let it bepedagogy for 30 years, says that debated.
Deciding what to do iscountries across the world are most
difficult. Then, you need totaking an interest in pedagogy, as
consider how best to go aboutseen by the Washington Accord (see
achieving it, says Prof. Ray. It is thebox for details) and other
similar spirit of the movement, to enableinternational agreements,
which outcome based learning, which isfocus on outcome-based
learning. A w h a t r e a l l y m a t t e r s . T h ecommon set of
requirements for pedagogical framework is a path toaccreditation
are related to reach that goal, though questionsinfrastructure-
class size, libraries remain and as a model it may evolveand so on.
But the spirit of the over time. Answers to how Learningprogram,
says Prof. Ray, is in Outcomes like an ethical sensibility
defining what the outcomes spoken will be realized are yet to be
found,of will be and how they will be anywhere across the globe.
Finally,tested. there's the matter of practicalAs adapted to
engineer ing results. Ask yourself the question:education, desired
Learning Will the implementation of toolsOutcomes (as in the
Washington from pedagogy by educators see inAccord) include generic
cognitive students the spark of sincerity andabilities, such as the
ability to interest?conceptualize a solution to a a style of
review. Designing a singlecomplex engineering problem and course
can take upto 900 hours.the ability to solve the problem. The We
asked Prof. Ray about the seaway these outcomes are phrased that
dilutes all attention andreflects pedagogy's emphasis on
concentration, the class size. Arelevels of cognitive ability.
students going to reduce inThe second half of listed Learning
number? Are you going to findin the way we think of
courses.Outcomes include the ability to many more good teachers? he
asksc om m un i c a t e w i t h f e l l ow in return. The answer,
as is known, isRethinking Coursesengineers, the development of
legal a no. These are then given
We treat our engineers like kids!and economic sensibilities and
constraints, and a way to deal withsays Prof. Ray, referring to
tests thatimportantly, the affected ability them is the greater and
intelligentcall on students to define, recall and(one that must be
cultivated) of use of technology. A possibility is astate rather
than analyse andlearning to learn, of being prepared 1-3-0 course,
with tests taken at thesynthesize. Today there are fewto acquire
knowledge lifelong. end of every class. An intelligentcourses where
students have an ideaStudents must be able to deal with multiple
choice quiz can beof what they are going to learn fromtwo kinds of
complexity- one designed (see box) that generatesit beforehand. How
often it is thewould be scientific, and the other quality feedback
and automaticallycase that we look to previous years't h e p r e s
e n c e o f e t h i c a l , mails it to the student. The class
is
The Science and Art of Education
C 5 LO 1 LO 2 LO n
O 1 3 - 2
O 2 4 - 3
... ... - ...
Overall 3.5 - 2
D 9 LO 1 LO 2 LO n
C 1 4 2 2
C 5 3.5 - 2
... ... ... ...
Overall 4 1 2
Q 1 2 3 4
Key D A B B
1 D A B B
2 D A B A
5 D D B C
9 C C B D
10 C B B B
The Washington AccordThe Washington Accord is an international
agreement signed in 1989between six countries with a view of
accrediting education at the 12+4level. Accredited courses from the
signatory nations will be recognizedamongst others. The scope is
limited to undergraduate courses for now.Over time, a second
version of the Accord has been released and morenations have woken
up the idea, including India. It is interesting to notethat the
implementation of the program takes a different form in
different
countries. In USA, ABET (Accreditation Board for Engg. And
Technology)is the recognized accredit or of college education
programs while in Indiait is the NBA (National Board of
Accreditation). The interpretation of'acceptance' of students is
interpreted differently as well, though the ideais to facilitate
mobility. Graduates from non-certified courses might not beeligible
to work, or pursue higher education in other countries. The
EHEA(European Higher Education Area) though not directly related,
housessome very similar ideas about education and technical skills.
It's gonefurther though, and extended guidelines to cover
postgraduate and PhDprograms.The Accord lists a number of clauses
which are guidelines orrequirements, and every signatory state must
ensure that these are met. Itis deciding what these clauses are,
and how skills will be tested that isdealt with the tools of
pedagogy. NBA inspectors in India will conduct theprocess of
review, and they are aided by Washington Accord observers
inobtaining familiarity with the process.
Course CurriculumTake for example a heat transfercourse. Poorly
decided objectiveswould be:State Fourier's Law of
heatconduction.Calculations based on standardformulae.Whereas
better objectives are:Given a complex set-up, identifythe governing
equations andboundary conditions.Identify a method of
solution.Similar thought must be given tolab courses. Students must
beable to propose experiments andanalyse readings.
Course AssessmentD: Department, C: Course, LO: learningOutcome,
O: Objective. On a scale of 5,the department is strong in LO 1,
weakin LO n and offers little scope of LO 2.
Intelligent TestsThe leftmost column representsstudent ranks.
All answers to Q1 are Dor C, showing that the distractionpower of
other options is low- a poor
test question. Q2 is said to have a highdiscrimination index as
it is seen toseparate the top students. Q3 could bean elementary
concept. Only onestudent gets Q4, which could meanthat the concept
is difficult or wastaught ineffectively. Meaning couldalso be
attached to why a studentselects a particular wrong
answer,identifying weaknesses. Technology isa tool, not the
solution. Automatedchecking reduces workload on theteacher.
