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Outcome Based Learning Explained!

Apr 26, 2016 | 8:15 AM

Students today live in a quickly changing, highly interactive world. Education has had to change to keep up with the progress of society.

The Saskatchewan Rivers Public School Division recognized this a few years ago and introduced a way of teaching and assessing to help students reach mastery levels of learning. The goal is for students to integrate their academic teachings with high standards of flexibility, teamwork, and problem solving.

For roughly the past decade, students in the Saskatchewan Rivers Public School Division have been taught based on an Outcome Based Learning approach. Report cards now communicate learning based on achievement scales, specific outcome descriptors and Characteristics of Successful Learners for all Kindergarten to grade 9 students. Percentage grades are normally provided for grade 10 to grade 12 students only at the end of a block or semester.

“Recent research indicates that if a student is told they are smart, they will focus solely on receiving a high grade. We want to move the focus away from the grade or measure of learning and towards the learning itself. We want students and families to be concerned with what it takes to achieve mastery learning,” reflects the Sask Rivers Superintendent of Curriculum, Randy Emmerson.

In essence, this means that students and teachers work together. Teachers have high expectations and so continually monitor the successes and the challenges of each student’s understanding. Teachers provide specific feedback and opportunities for students to relearn and be reassessed so that students can continue to grow in their understanding, achievement and confidence.

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“Back with a more traditional method of assessment, a student would do a number of tests and assignments and the grades from each of those would be added up and a percentage would be calculated,” Emmerson says. “The percentage system does not accurately indicate the steps in the process of the learning of the outcome and averaging marks often misrepresents over-all achievement as well.”

“If a student starts a math section with a low degree of understanding, and maybe doesn’t score as well at the beginning, but through hard work he or she develops that understanding to a mastery level, the percentage that student would be given would show the average of all of the grades. There would be no indication of the progression of the learning. The percentage grade would not show an achievement of mastery.”

The Achievement Scale used in Outcomes Based Learning is based on a four point rubric. The four points are the following: Mastery, Proficiency, Approaching Understanding and Beginning to Achieve.

“Each student is assessed throughout the term in the different areas of learning by the teacher. If there is an outcome where the student is challenged, the teacher continues to work with the student to achieve. If there is a problem in learning an outcome, then the family is contacted by the teacher to determine the next course of action to ensure the student’s success.”

In essence, the Saskatchewan Rivers Public School Division is becoming a leader in mastery learning. It is striving to be a leader in educating children that grow into citizens that learn how to learn, that are able to be smart and effective at achieving a goal, and who are able to work well with others.

If you would like to continue the conversation about Outcomes Based Education or if you would like more clarification please visit the Parents Information Page of  the Saskatchewan Rivers Public School Division website at http://www.srsd119.ca/parentinformation.html or contact Randy Emmerson at Saskatchewan Rivers Public School Division – 306 764 1571 or remmerson@srsd119.ca .

Greater understanding will occur through the dialogue.