Experience in implementing learning outcome assessment methods according to output standards

MSc. Pham Thi Dung, PhD. Nguyen Thi Ngan

PROBLEM STATEMENT:

With the practical requirements of educational innovation in general and higher education in particular, the Ministry of Education and Training has issued the Vietnam National Qualifications Framework (Decision No. 1982/2016/QD-CP), which stipulates the requirements of the output standards (CDR) of the university training program (CTDT). These standards are included in the training objectives/CDR of the program and specified in each subject. In order to assess the standards of knowledge, skills, autonomy and responsibility as announced by a training program, universities need to improve in the organization of assessment, assessment methods and student assessment tools to determine the level of CDR achievement after the training process at the school.

The above improvement process, to be effective, needs to originate from each lecturer in charge of the course. This is the driving force and the main resource to change the school to meet practical requirements.

With that meaning, the group of authors would like to share their knowledge and experience in implementing the method of evaluating learning outcomes according to the output standards of a course at the Faculty of Tourism - the Reception Service course.

THEORETICAL BASIS OF ASSESSING LEARNING OUTCOMES ACCORDING TO OUTPUT STANDARDS

Output standards and some related theories

According to Circular No. 17/2021/TT-BGDDT, CDR is the requirement to be achieved in terms of qualities and capacities of learners after completing a training program, including the minimum requirements for knowledge, skills, autonomy and responsibility of learners upon graduation. The school commits to learners and society and publicly announces them with conditions to ensure implementation. CDR includes: Practical knowledge and theoretical knowledge; Cognitive skills, professional practice skills and communication and behavioral skills; Level of autonomy and personal responsibility in applying knowledge and skills to perform professional tasks corresponding to each training level [6].

In addition, there are many concepts of CDR in the world, but in general, CDR contributes to "quantifying" the level of accumulation of knowledge, skills and attitudes of learners gradually increasing through the training process. CDR is built for the purpose of:

- For teachers: CDR is the basis for designing teaching content, preparing teaching conditions and means; Designing teaching strategies and teaching methods; Building assessment and evaluation standards; Choosing appropriate and effective assessment methods and tools; Striving to meet the output standards for learners.

- For learners: CDR helps them to know what they will achieve, what they can do, and the level they need to achieve; Understand the purpose of assessment; Build a study and training plan according to output standards.

According to research by Doan Thi Minh Trinh [4], CDR has 4 levels as follows:

Figure 1: Levels of CDR.

With these 4 levels, the upper level allocates the CDR requirements to the lower level; at the lesson level, the CDR has been specified in each lesson to integrate the CDR of the subject, thereby integrating the CDR of the training program.

Evaluate learning outcomes based on output standards

Concept

The Dictionary of Education defines: “Assessing learning outcomes is to determine the level of knowledge, skills, and techniques that learners have acquired compared to the requirements of the training program. The assessment content is the daily learning results, as well as the results reflected in periodic tests and final tests on knowledge, skills, and techniques of each subject. The assessment requirement focuses on considering the level of understanding and sustainability of knowledge, skills, and techniques compared to the standards of the training program” [9].

Assessment of learning outcomes is the establishment of a process to measure student learning outcomes, provide students with feedback on their learning, and help them improve their performance. It also helps to evaluate the effectiveness of teachers' teaching.

Methods of assessing learning outcomes according to output standards

In the teaching and learning process, the following methods of evaluating learning outcomes are commonly applied:

Table 1: Methods of assessing learning outcomes according to CDR

Assessment information needs to be provided in a timely manner and shared among stakeholders including: teachers, students, administrators and parents. When assessing learning outcomes according to the CDR, the INFORM criteria must be ensured (CEE-HCMUS, 2010):

Table 2: Criteria for evaluating learning outcomes according to CDR

Based on the theory of higher education and the quality assessment standards of university-level training programs issued by the Ministry of Education and Training in 2016 (Circular 04/2016/TT-BGDDT), the framework for linking the training program's quality assurance with teaching and learning activities and assessment of learning outcomes can be summarized as shown in the figure.

2. Implement learning outcome assessment according to output standards

Framework for linking the training program's CDR with teaching and learning activities and assessment of learning outcomes [2]

In the teaching and learning process, assessment of learning outcomes is the final step. However, to achieve effective testing and assessment of learning outcomes according to the CDR, all three elements need to have a closed-loop interaction.

EXPERIENCE IN APPLYING THE METHOD OF EVALUATING LEARNING OUTCOMES ACCORDING TO OUTPUT STANDARDS

Based on the understanding in section 2, the group of authors has applied the method of evaluating learning outcomes according to output standards for specific courses. To apply effectively, the author believes that each lecturer needs to understand and implement some things:

Understand the entire training program of the faculty and the position and contribution of the course taught by the lecturer

First, each lecturer needs to understand the objectives and outcomes of the training program; moreover, he/she needs to deeply understand the position and contribution of the course he/she is in charge of to the general training program. For example:

- The training program of Tourism and Travel Services Management is built according to the orientation of professional capacity, in line with the vision, mission and core values ​​of Dai Nam University: "From knowledge-oriented training to competency-oriented training". In addition to effectively organizing teaching and learning activities, organizing activities to test and evaluate learners' capacity according to the learning outcomes of the course is extremely important, and is one of the factors contributing to determining the quality of training activities.

- Each course has an assessment form and assessment method suitable to the characteristics, content and training objectives; thereby forming a matrix of testing and assessment methods of the training program. The Reception Service course is a course belonging to a combination of specialized professional courses; there are 3 forms of assessment of learning outcomes according to training objectives applied including: assessment of diligence, assessment of the process and assessment of the end of the course. In which, the final assessment is carried out according to the method of practical examination at the School's practice hotel.

Grasp, proactively develop and implement evaluation plans

With the duration, teaching content and learning outcomes of the course, lecturers need to proactively comply with the assessment plan specified in the detailed syllabus. Or develop and propose a suitable assessment plan to submit to the Faculty Leader for review, supplementation and revision (if improvements are needed). The detailed syllabus of the course is publicly announced to students before studying with clearly defined objectives and learning outcomes, along with timelines for testing and assessment activities.

For example, in the 12 lessons of the Receptionist course, the learning contents are arranged according to the actual work progress of the staff in the reception department of a 5-star hotel (According to TCVN 4391-2005, Vietnam hotel classification standards) to achieve the learning outcomes of the course. During the assessment process, the lecturer needs to ensure the criteria listed in Table 2.

Identify appropriate evaluation criteria for each form of evaluation.

In order to accurately quantify the scores that students achieve, lecturers must determine the assessment criteria for each form of assessment. Here is some reference information :

Build appropriate assessment tools for each specific subject in the training program

Assessment and evaluation work does not stop at assessment methods and assessment criteria, but must be specified and integrated into specific assessment tools such as:

+ List of course attendance;

+ Course tracking book: clearly records positive points and points that need improvement of each student/group of students in each lesson;

+ Test structure/Practice plan/Assessment test guidance process: detailed description of requirements and tasks that students need to perform and achieve;

+ Student practical test score sheet: clearly showing each student assessment criterion according to the CDR.

It is the clarity and transparency of the assessment tools as well as the close recording and monitoring of the lecturers that allows the same course to be taught by many lecturers without creating subjective differences.

Conduct analysis of student scores to evaluate teaching and learning outcomes

Score distribution analysis is a regular task of the Examination Department, through these statistical results, to make recommendations to improve the quality of training. However, as a lecturer directly involved in teaching and evaluating students, each lecturer can preliminarily analyze the score distribution that his/her class of students achieves. Thereby reviewing: teaching content, teaching methods, assessment methods, assessment tools... are appropriate or not, helping to self-adjust and improve the quality of teaching. This is a regular task of lecturers of the Faculty of Tourism, and is one of the criteria for evaluating lecturers' completion of teaching tasks.

CONCLUDE

“If you want learners to change the way they learn, first change the way they evaluate” (Jenkin, 2001). The evaluation of learning outcomes according to the learning outcomes of the course is an important step in ensuring the quality of the training program of a particular major and of a university in general.

In addition to the direction and supervision of the School Council and the Board of Directors, there must be a combination of professional activities of lecturers, management activities of the Faculty, training management activities and assessment organization. Therefore, to do this, there must be active participation of each lecturer, orientation of the Faculty Professional Council and functional departments of the School.