In their current state, many students do not understand learning outcomes and how they relate to the unit outcomes. As a technical member of staff, I also often struggled to understand them – until I watched the UAL assessment criteria video. The explanations were clear and concise, with aligning imagery and a catchy phrase. When viewing this next to the current learning outcomes there is a sense of emptiness, covered in the mist of technical language that requires decoding.
“Briefs and briefings are familiar in art and design along with tutorials, interim crits and feedback forums. It is during these supportive scenarios that art and design students formulate their intentions and actions and come to understand what ‘imagination’, ‘creativity’, ‘risk-taking’, etc, (the very terms regarded as potentially ambiguous) actually mean for them.”
Davies, A (2012) Learning outcomes and assessment criteria in art and design
Tutorials and crits are a great environment for students to gain understanding on what is expected of them, particularly in the areas of knowledge, process, and realisation. However, these supportive scenarios tend to focus more on the project themes and physical outcomes than the communication of these ideas. Many students leave these supportive scenarios not understanding how the application of these skills can be utilised to evidence learning.
The UAL assessment criteria video is a great example of how context can be brought into learning objectives. The use of speech, imagery, and text, breaks down the information and communicates to are range of learning styles. Perhaps unit briefings should reinforce learning objectives using a range of activities to connect the project themes and unit outcomes to the learning outcomes. A more interactive briefing style combined with the UAL assessment criteria video placed in each Moodle unit would reinforce these ideas, creating regular exposure to the explanation of these terms. It would also help students understand what they are being assessed on, fostering transparent learning environments.
More thoughts on this topic can be found on the post Who are learning outcomes for?