ENHANCING LEARNING THROUGH CONSTRUCTIVE ALIGNMENT(CA) IN MIDWIFERY COURSES AT A NURSING EDUCATION INSTITUTION MRS. N. L. RAMAGAGA & DR. S. P. VAN TONDER

BACKGROUND  Hands on education and training  Sound clinical judgments  Firm theoretical background  Best evidence available  Objective/Outcomes-based curriculum

CONSTRUCTIVE ALIGNMENT  Coined by John Biggs in 1999  Integral to the learning process  A form of outcomes based teaching and learning  Systematic alignment to outcomes/objectives  Aim - meaningful engagement of students in the learning process  Based on twin principles

LITERATURE STUDY  Teaching, learning and assessment  Outcomes-based education (OBE)  Constructive alignment (CA)  Relation of CA to OBE

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY  Qualitative, interpretative, descriptive and phenomenological case study  Document analysis  Focus group interviews  Data analysis – coding and identification of categories  Integration of data from document analysis and focus group interviews

CONCLUSION CONT… “In aligned teaching the assessment reinforces learning. Assessment is the key partner in learning and teaching. Get it wrong and the rest collapses” (Biggs 2003)

RESEARCH REPORT: DOCUMENT ANALYSIS AIMS AND OBJECTIVES  Clearly stated  Wide range of action verbs used – more in practical component  Content expected clear  Context and level of performance not always specified

REPORT CONT… TEACHING/LEARNING ACTIVITIES  Not clear if they addressed stated objectives  Difficult to tell if they were appropriate for stated ILOs  Those for clinical practice addressed stated ILOs  Same action verbs as in ILOs

REPORT CONT... ASSESSMENT TASKS (ATs)  Some action verbs in ILOs used in ATs  New, verbs in ATs  New verbs unrelated to those in objectives

REPORT CONT FOCUS GROUP INTERVIEWS  All participants familiar with outcomes/objectives  Responsibilities regarding objectives/ outcomes, content, TLAs and ATs clear  Awareness that TLAs should be aligned with objectives/outcomes  Achievement of alignment not clear

FOCUS GROUP INTERVIEWS CONT...  Some amount of alignment of ATs with objectives/outcomes  Perception that students do not meet objectives/outcomes: *Unclear links *Limited resources *Inadequate quality assurance *Surface learning

FOCUS GROUP INTERVIEWS CONT...  Opportunities created for knowledge construction by students  Assessment of knowledge construction inadequate  Expression of the need for a framework for future implementation

PRELIMINARY FRAMEWORK  State learning outcomes 1. Witten in future tense 2. Stated clearly 3. Use action verbs – classify according to levels of cognitive development 4. Determine what students should bring with them that you can build on

Preliminary framework cont…  Devise learning activities/experiences 1. To activate action verbs in ILOs 2. Active student engagement 3. Varied to accommodate different learning styles 4. Related to the real world (authentic)

Preliminary framework cont… 5. Allow constructive feedback by self, peers and lecturer  Design appropriate learning tasks 1. Authentic 2. Allow students to demonstrate the extent to which ILOs have been attained, and how well 3. Accompanied by assessment criteria

Preliminary framework cont… 4. Varied 5. Appropriate for ILOs 6. Action verbs used to be directly related to stated ILOs

CONCLUSION  Some essential ingredients for implementation of CA  Eagerness in the implementation to enhance learning a plus  Factors preventing proper implementation identified THANK YOU