Development and Implementation of Evaluation Framework for Quality Enhancement of Outcome-Based Curriculum

Abstract

Evaluation to improve teaching and learning is essential for achieving the objectives of higher education programs. While structural and organisational aspects of teaching are frequently assessed, programme evaluation tools are rarely matched to specific learning objectives and competence levels that students are expected to achieve. Driven by the shortcomings of previous unstructured surveys on the quality of teaching at our Faculty, we created a curriculum improvement framework based on the evaluation tool that compares the level of competence that students perceive they achieved in each of the courses, and the level of competence that professors attribute to their courses by quantifying the learning outcomes using Bloom’s taxonomy. In our two year study, which included seven teachers who teach 16 courses and 38 and 24 students in two consecutive years, this framework provided the educators with the indicators for quality enhancement based on the difference between students’ and teachers’ evaluations. Based on indicator values, the teacher implemented improvements on two pilot courses. In the second round of surveys, we were able to measure the success of improvements. Our findings indicate that the proposed framework and evaluation tool are simple to implement and can be used as indicators and starting points for improving the quality of teaching. In this way, we provide a practical framework for others wishing to enhance their teaching and their students' learning.