PRINCIPLE OF OUTCOMES BASED EDUCATION (OBE)

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Outcomes Based Education is the principle that informs educational policy in the new South Africa. Understandably, there is some confusion as to what OBE means and entails.

Firstly, and most importantly, in means that education should always be outcomes based. Most educators would argue that their work has always had this feature in that the achievement of outcomes (knowledge and skills) has always been the central concern of their efforts. This is true, but in the past these outcomes have too often taken the form of ‘objectives’ or ‘aims’ that lacked specificity, failed to take account of learning differences, and/or were limited to knowledge acquisition for the purpose of passing standardised exams (e.g. Matric).

The issue of specificity deserves some elaboration. The aims of a lesson (educational activity) should be presented as ‘behavioral objectives’ that state precisely what students are expected to do that gives evidence of and provide a means of assessing the learning that takes place. The ‘doing’ (behaviour) needs to be identified in the setting out of the objective/outcome by an action verb. Verbs such as know, understand, and appreciate are not action verbs and should not be used therefore. Even though students obviously need to develop forms of knowledge, understanding and appreciation, these have little value unless they form the basis of some tangible action.

Below are outcomes that were written in respect of a two-part arrangement of the spiritual "Somebody’s Knockin’ at Your Door". The action verbs have been underlined.

OUTCOMES: At the conclusion of the lesson the students should be able to:

1. perform the song accurately and musically;

2. define what syncopation is and find the syncopated rhythms in the song;

3. describe what a pentatonic scale is and sing a major pentatonic scale in sol-fa;

4. sing the melody of the song in sol-fa up to the first double barline;

5. make at least three informative statements about the musical tradition from which the song has been taken.

While being outcomes-based is OBE’s defining characteristic, other characteristics are generally acknowledged. These are:

  1. increased pupil participation;
  2. the replacement of detailed and prescriptive syllabi with interdisciplinary ‘themes’;
  3. less emphasis on exams as a means of assessment;
  4. a change in the role of teacher from dispenser of knowledge to facilitator of self-directed learning in an optimally interactive environment;
  5. greater accommodation of individual differences in learning style and pace; and
  6. greater involvement of parents and public.

(See OUTCOMES BASED EDUCATION AND CURRICULUM 2005)