Learning outcomes based assessment in distance higher education. A case study

ABSTRACT

This study focuses on an analysis of assessment methods according to expected learning outcomes in courses taught at the Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED) in Spain. Based on the European Higher Education Area and its learning-centred approach, the TALOE webtool has been used to analyse the internal coherence of 10 Bachelor’s and Master’s courses. The TALOE tool was developed in a European project and is free and publically available. The article gives a detailed explanation of how the courses’ analysis has been carried out. The results indicate that, in general, the courses analysed are internally coherent. Nevertheless, we do indicate the mismatches in both the way the learning outcomes are written and the choice of assessment methods, conditioned by the mass character of certain courses. Finally, we give an example of improvements made in a course and we evaluate the utility of the TALOE tool in course design.

KEYWORDS:

• Assessment
• learning outcomes
• assessment method
• higher education
• distance education

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. A course refers to a subject. It corresponds to 5 or 6 ECTS (European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System) credits and lasts one semester.

2. The lecturers are the teachers responsible for the design and delivery of the courses. The six lecturers who participate in the study constitute a teaching innovation group at UNED.

3. Tutors are teaching support staff who are based in the regional centres and participate in the marking of the continuous assessment assignments in the Bachelor’s Degree courses.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED), Spain, Under Grant [GID2016-30-1].

Notes on contributors

Inés Gil-Jaurena

Inés Gil-Jaurena has a PhD in Education and is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Education at the National Distance Education University (Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia-UNED), Spain, where she has been teaching and researching since 2005. She has been involved in various European projects related to open and distance education, and is a member of e-ASEM, an e-learning network under the ASEM (Asia-Europe Meeting) Education and Research Hub for Lifelong Learning. She coordinates the CO-Lab teaching innovation group at UNED.

Daniel Domínguez-Figaredo

Daniel Domínguez-Figaredo has a PhD in Education and is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Education at the National Distance Education University (Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia-UNED), Spain. His research focuses on technological mediation and the theories that support digital learning and online socialisation. In his recent work he has delved into the analysis of social learning, open educational resources and knowledge management in digital and mixed environments. Currently he is on the Board of Directors of @CyberPractices and is an active member of the CO-Lab teaching innovation group at UNED.

Belén Ballesteros-Velázquez

Belén Ballesteros-Velázquez has a PhD in Education and has been an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Education at the National Distance Education University (Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia-UNED), Spain, since 1997. She works in the Department of Research Methods in Education. She is an active member of the CO-Lab teaching innovation group at UNED.