4 THE SCHOLARS’ AVENUE ² THURSDAY , NOVEMBER 10TH 2011EDITORIAL

ED U C A T I O N A V E N U ETHE SCHOLARS’ AVENUE ² THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 10TH 2011 5

The idea of education is a seed that constraints. Think about engineers' expected from us. A well designed such a system enables continuous each of us here carry, and while its mobility across nations, and these course must have a well defined evaluation and quality feedback.roots may extend far and deep into points begin to make sense. course curriculum, one which states At the time of review, how well the our heads, it often does not grow the learning outcomes with What is the proof of procedure that stated course objectives achieve the high up and flower. It will form the complete clarity and in a language outcomes have been met? Some of Learning Outcomes are rated. occasional basis of discussion we that demonstrates thinking in terms the methodolog ie s inc lude Different courses of a department undertake long into the evening. of learning hierarchy (see box). interviews with ex-students, are stacked up and compared (see Opinions will glide through us Students should be able to know employers and of course, the box). If it so happens that a whenever we- students and what the objectives are. The course students and faculty. Which brings particular Learning Outcome is not teachers- make our way to the class is treated in a modular fashion. Such us to a major point of how these well addressed, a new course may be we don't enjoy. Our minds shuffle, work is not an easy task, as faculty Learning Outcomes will be introduced by the department, or rearrange and play with these ideas need to familiarize themselves with achieved in the first place and a shift under collaboration with another as if they were a deck of cards. These a style of review. Designing a single in the way we think of courses. department. All departments are questions not many students interact in this manner and taken will raise a hand in class to ask, but together, the Institute rated.then how many raise their hand at all. Learning and education are A Long Term Modelcharged areas, full of counterviews How far the aims of the Accord will and dissent, but hardly expressed in be realised is an open question at a form that seeks to move forward this stage. In spite of familiarity with and looks for a solution. It's like a the idea for more than 10 years, vessel of supersaturated solution major US universities follow the that is all but waiting for a clauses in letter only, treating the framework to crystallize on. document as additional paperwork. Spurred initially by interest in the In fact, companies exist that will Washington Accord, we met Prof. write a sound curriculum for you. AK Ray at the Center for The specialized language and words Educational Technology. What we used are hollow in the absence of received in turn was an insight into intent.and an overview of one of the The methods used seriously will models attempting to address result in greater competition, and learning- pedagogy. there is a strong need to compete

and gear up with the rest of the Outcome Based Learning world. The proposed changes are One can see why a subject like long-term, over a span of 10-15 pedagogy is a difficult one. The years. As the result of a first phase of study of learning includes those activity, many faculty members are aspects of human nature than now aware of what the Washington cannot be set into code, while Accord is, and some courses are recognizing that certain practices being restructured within its can be shown to be effective, f r amework , e . g . a M in in g making it a mixture of an art and a Engineering course is ready to go out science. Prof. Ray, who has been and be tested in the classroom. active on the national scene for “Set your goals clearly, let it be pedagogy for 30 years, says that debated. Deciding what to do is countries across the world are most difficult. Then, you need to taking an interest in pedagogy, as consider how best to go about seen by the Washington Accord (see achieving it,” says Prof. Ray. It is the box for details) and other similar spirit of the movement, to enable international agreements, which outcome based learning, which is focus on outcome-based learning. A w h a t r e a l l y m a t t e r s . T h e common set of requirements for pedagogical framework is a path to accreditation are related to reach that goal, though questions infrastructure- class size, libraries remain and as a model it may evolve and so on. But the spirit of the over time. Answers to how Learning program, 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 practical As adapted to engineer ing results. Ask yourself the question: education, desired Learning Will the implementation of tools Outcomes (as in the Washington from pedagogy by educators see in Accord) include generic cognitive students the spark of sincerity and abilities, such as the ability to interest?conceptualize a solution to a complex engineering problem and course can take upto 900 hours. the ability to solve the problem. The

We asked Prof. Ray about the sea way these outcomes are phrased

that dilutes all attention and reflects pedagogy's emphasis on

concentration, the class size. “Are levels of cognitive ability.

students going to reduce in The second half of listed Learning number? Are you going to find Outcomes include the ability to many more good teachers?” he asks c o m m u n i c a t e w i t h f e l l o w in return. The answer, as is known, is Rethinking 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 with says Prof. Ray, referring to tests that importantly, the affected ability them is the greater and intelligent call on students to define, recall and (one that must be cultivated) of use of technology. A possibility is a state rather than analyse and learning to learn, of being prepared 1-3-0 course, with tests taken at the synthesize. Today there are few to acquire knowledge lifelong. end of every class. An intelligent courses where students have an idea Students must be able to deal with multiple choice quiz can be of what they are going to learn from two kinds of complexity- one designed (see box) that generates it beforehand. How often it is the would be scientific, and the other quality feedback and automatically case 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 papers to get an idea of what is e n v i r o n m e n t a l a n d o t h e r encouraged to form groups, and

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 1989 between six countries with a view of accrediting education at the 12+4 level. Accredited courses from the signatory nations will be recognized amongst others. The scope is limited to undergraduate courses for now. Over time, a second version of the Accord has been released and more nations have woken up the idea, including India. It is interesting to note that 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 India it is the NBA (National Board of Accreditation). The interpretation of 'acceptance' of students is interpreted differently as well, though the idea is to facilitate mobility. Graduates from non-certified courses might not be eligible to work, or pursue higher education in other countries. The EHEA (European Higher Education Area) though not directly related, houses some very similar ideas about education and technical skills. It's gone further though, and extended guidelines to cover postgraduate and PhD programs.The Accord lists a number of clauses which are guidelines or requirements, and every signatory state must ensure that these are met. It is deciding what these clauses are, and how skills will be tested that is dealt with the tools of pedagogy. NBA inspectors in India will conduct the process of review, and they are aided by Washington Accord observers in obtaining familiarity with the process.

Course CurriculumTake for example a heat transfer course. Poorly decided objectives would be:State Fourier's Law of heat conduction.Calculations based on standard formulae.Whereas better objectives are:Given a complex set-up, identify the governing equations and boundary conditions.Identify a method of solution.Similar thought must be given to lab courses. Students must be able to propose experiments and analyse readings.

Course AssessmentD: Department, C: Course, LO: learning Outcome, O: Objective. On a scale of 5, the department is strong in LO 1, weak in LO n and offers little scope of LO 2.

Intelligent TestsThe leftmost column represents student ranks. All answers to Q1 are D or C, showing that the distraction power of other options is low- a poor test question. Q2 is said to have a high discrimination index as it is seen to separate the top students. Q3 could be an elementary concept. Only one student gets Q4, which could mean that the concept is difficult or was taught ineffectively. Meaning could also be attached to why a student selects a particular wrong answer, identifying weaknesses. Technology is a tool, not the solution. Automated checking reduces workload on the teacher.

6 C A R E E R S A V E N U E THE SCHOLARS’ AVENUE ² THURSDAY , NOVEMBER 10TH 2011