There is certainly one question you are sick of hearing - "Is this going to be in the exam"?
And there is one sentence that learners are sick of hearing - "We're not learning for school, we're learning for life!"
Isn't it understandable that, with so much material to learn, students primarily prioritise learning the content that will be tested?
How can the above, almost contradictory starting points be reduced to a common denominator?
One approach is the so-called Constructive Alignment (by John Biggs):
A constructive alignment of learning objectives, learning methods and examination methods.
If what is tested is based on the teacher's own teaching objectives, it is perhaps most likely that what a teacher has in mind will be learned - but with the constructivist openness that learners acquire knowledge actively and independently and that unintended learning outcomes can also be achieved.
Example
Teaching/learning objective: At the end of the course, medical students will be able to conduct a medical history interview.
Learning activity/learning method: In group work, components of a medical history interview are first developed. This is followed by a video recording of a medical history interview based on a case study, which is discussed in plenary.
Examination method: A medical history interview is simulated in an oral examination.
However, this would not be a test method in the sense of constructive alignment:
Students name the phases of a case history interview.
Further reading
- Biggs J. & Tang, C. (2011). Teaching for Quality Learning at University: What the Student Does (4. Aufl.). Maidenhead: Open University Press.
- E-Teaching. Constructive Alignment. Online abrufbar unter https://www.e-teaching.org/didaktik/konzeption/constructive-alignment
Your contact persons
Are you also active in teaching and would like support and exchange?
Please get in touch with our Learning Services team: Email application is started:learning-services(at)hfu.eu