Basic understanding of Outcome Based Education System: A Learner-Centric Approach
OBE: Need of the hour

Outcome Based Education (OBE) is a paradigm shift in traditional education model and a new learning methodology that helps teachers to plan content delivery and assessment to attain stated objectives and outcomes.

OBE basically focuses on planning and organizing the activities in an educational system keeping in mind the learning outcome of students at the end of their learning practices where activities include everything starting from structuring curriculum, teaching, assessment so that learning should actually happen.

Meaning of Outcome Based Education

Outcomes are vivid results that students are expected to reveal at the completion of substantial learning practices. These are tangible applications that show learner capabilities in using content, information, ideas, and tools efficiently. So, the approach Outcome Based Education signifies that accomplishments are the basis in organizing, structuring and operating education system.

In traditional education system time is the important determining factor in taking decision for all the components of education system. The six-month period of a semester has been the standard to decide the operations of the system while if the system is based on outcomes, decision making is consistent with learning, accomplishments and results.

Difference between Traditional Education System and Outcome Based Education System

The learner centric approach has become the buzzword in education system that necessitates the understanding of actual difference between the teacher-centered approach and learner-centered approach. In teacher-centered approach teacher is the leading factor in deciding When and How students learn. But in learner-centered approach learner is the at the center of learning process while the teacher is responsible for facilitating the learning. It is focused on WHAT is learned and WHETHER it is learned well. In this approach, the student an active participant, not a passive receiver in learning activities.

The main difference between both types of education systems fall into following important areas:

1. Planning and Designing of Educational Components: In Traditional Education System, there is predefined Curriculum and assessment strategies those are passed from previous generation to next generation with minor modifications, if needed while in Outcome Based Education System Curriculum, pedagogical approaches, assessments, and performance measures are flexible and alterable which are developed and implemented keeping the outcomes in consideration.

2. Defining Standards for Grading: The traditional system revolves around a relative approach to define standards which are already defined and linked to fixed graph of possible results while in Outcome-based system, standards are well-defined, identified, and based on students’ criterion.

3. Assessment approach : The grades of a student become metric to assess his knowledge in Traditional Education System . All past errors done by a student mistakes become part of his permanent assessment record, and constantly reminds students of past mistakes while mistakes are treated as predictable stages along the way to gain accomplishments. Here the knowledge of a student is assessed based on his qualities, skills and knowledge as their outcomes

Need of Outcomes Based Education

The main function of education is to facilitate learning than mere acquisition of knowledge of education as it can be easily sensed that one always likes to enjoy the reading of storybook rather just finishing the storybook. The beauty of a destination in life can never be soothing if the journey for the same is not good.

Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) of a learner,which is the key of Outcome Based Education, is the most desirable approach that gives opportunity to be at the highest level of performance and become more relevant to complex and challenging real-world environment after they leave institution.

Measurement of OBE in Educational Institutes

In order to generate a successful student for the challenging outside world, the higher education institutions started to adapt methodology of specifying the outcomes and accomplishments that can bridge the gap between academia and industry. To gain the global opportunities an engineering student from India can be employed in anyone of the countries who have signed the Washington Accord with the permanent signatory status of The National Board of Accreditation (NBA). OBE model is necessary to be followed by Engineering Institutes of India to get accredited by NBA according to the pacts of the accord.

The OBE model measures the performance of a graduate in three domains:

Program Outcomes (POs): Mentions the expectations that students need to know and be able to apply by the time they leave the institution.

Program Educational Outcomes (PEO):are broad statements that describe what the programme is preparing graduates for in their career and professional life

Course Outcomes (CO): are the quantifiable metrics which assesses each student’s performance with respect to blooms taxonomy levels for a particular course undertaken by student in each semester.

More on Blooms Taxonomy and the outcome can be found in our next article Implementation of OBE in Institutes.

Conclusion: In a nutshell it can be stated that OBE is a flexible, empowerment-oriented learning methodology in which all activities (curriculum, pedagogy, assessment, etc.) are geared towards outcome of teaching and what the learner is supposed to do at a particular level.

iCloudEMS is a highly integrated, more intelligent, collaborative and web enabled user-friendly interface that aims to furnish the requirements to model OBE in educational institutes as it is compliant with Blooms taxonomy and incorporate the automated mapping of program and the course into the criterion for assessment, making the assessor's task far easier to streamline the execution process quickly and efficiently.