ConstrutivismAligment Biggs 96

7/28/2019 ConstrutivismAligment Biggs 96

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Highe r Education 32: 347-364, 1996. 34 7~) 1996 Klu we r Academic Publishers. Printed in the Netherlands.

Enhanc ing teach ing through cons truc t ive a l ignmentJ O H N B I G G SDepartment of Educational Psychology, Measurement, and Educational Technology,University o f Sydney, N SW 2006, Australia

Abstract.Two lines of thinking are becoming increasingly important in higher education-al practice. The first derives from constructivist learning theory, and the seco nd from theinstructional design literature. Con structivism com prises a fam ily of theories but all ha ve incomm on the centrality of the learner's activities in creating meaning. These and related ideashave im portant implications for teaching and assessm ent. Instructional designers for the ir parthave em phasised alignment betw een the objectives of a course or unit and the targets forassessing student performance . "Constructive alignment" represents a marriage of the twothrusts, constructivism being used as a frame work to guide d ecision-ma king at a ll stages ininstructional design: in deriving curriculum objectives in term s of p erforma nces that representa suitably high cognitive level, in dec iding teaching/learning activities judged to elicit thoseperformances, and to assess and sum mativelyreport student performance. The "performancesof understanding" nominated in the objectives are thus use d to systematically align the teach-ing methods and the assessment. The process is illustrated with reference to a professionaldevelopment unit in educational psychology for teachers, but the model may be generalized tomo st units or program s in higher education.

Th inking about teaching and learningT e a c h e r s g e n e r a l l y e n a c t t h e i r t e a c h i n g d e c i s i o n s in l in e w i t h s o m e k i n d o fe x p l i c i t or , m o r e u s u a l ly , i m p l ic i t t h e o r y o f t e a c h i n g a n d l e a r n in g ( A r g y r i s1 9 7 6, R a m s d e n 1 9 92 ). A r g y r i s (1 9 7 6 ) d i s t in g u i s h e s b e t w e e n e s p o u s e d t h e o -r i e s, t h a t a r e h e l d t o b e t h o s e u n d e r l y i n g p r o f e s s i o n a l p r a c t ic e , a n d t h e o r i e s -i n - u se , t h a t g u i d e p r a c t i c e i n t h e e v e n t ; p r o f e s s i o n a l i s m r e q u i re s t h e e s p o u s e dt h e o r y t o b e t h e t h e o r y - i n - u s e .

E s p o u s e d t h e o r i e s a s t h e y a p p l y to h i g h e r e d u c a t i o n ar e b ro a d , e n c o m p a s s -i n g n o t o n l y t h e o r i e s o f t e a c h i n g a n d l e a r n in g , b u t a l s o t h e o ri e s o f t h e n a t u r eo f k n o w l e d g e . T w o b r o a d t h e o r e t ic a l t ra d i ti o n s c a n b e d i s t in g u i s h e d . T h ef i rs t , o b j e c t i v i s t , t r a d it io n is b a s e d o n a d u a l i s m b e t w e e n k n o w e r a n d k n o w n ;k n o w l e d g e e x is ts i n d e p e n d e n t l y o f t h e k n ow e r , a n d u n d e r s t a n d in g i s c o m i n gt o k n o w t h a t w h i c h a l r e a d y e x is t s (D u f f y 1 9 92 , M a r t o n i n p re s s) . K n o w l e d g ei s s e e n a s d e c o n t e x t u a l i s e d , s o t h a t it c a n b e l e a r n e d , t e s t e d , a n d a p p l i e d m o r eo r l e ss i n d e p e n d e n t l y o f p a rt i c u la r c o n t e x t s ( B r o w n , C o l l in s & D u g u i d 1 9 89 ).T e a c h i n g i s a m a t t e r o f t r a n s m i t ti n g t h is k n o w l e d g e , l e a r n i n g o f r e c e i v i n gi t a c c u r a t e l y , s t o r i n g i t, a n d u s i n g i t a p p r o p r i a t e l y . T h i s v i e w c o m p r i s e d t h e


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348e s pous e d t he o r y o f te a c h i ng f o r m a ny ye a r s , a nd one w he n l ooks a t m uc hcurr ent prac t ice , i t is s t i ll the d om inan t theory- in-use . Objec t ivi s ti c theor ies ,wi th the i r l inks wi th pos i t iv i sm, a re a l so grea t ly concerned wi th quant i t a -t ive m easu rem ent (Cole 1990), a conce rn t ha t le ads to a s se ssment po l ic i e sand prac t ices tha t of ten di s tor t the qua l i ty of t eaching and learning, and dovio l ence to a s sum pt ions about t he na ture o f kno wled ge (B iggs 1995 , 1996a,1996b, Fred er iks en & Col l ins , 1989; see a l so be low ).

Th e secon d t rad i ti on re j ec ts dua l i sm, c l a iming ra the r tha t me aning i s c rea t edby the learner , not imp osed by rea l i ty or transm i t ted by d i rec t ins t ruc tion. Thist radi t ion has two s t reams: constructivism (Duffy & Jonassen 1992, Ste ffe& Gale 1995) , and phenomenography (Marton 1981, in press ; Marton &Boo th , i n p res s ) . Cons t ruc t i v i sm and ph eno m enog raph y a re d i ffe ren t i n man yimportant respec ts , but for present purposes they a re s imi la r in tha t bothsee learning in qua l i t a t ive not quant i t a t ive te rms (Cole 1990) , and both seethe l ea rne r a s cen t ra l i n t he c rea t i on of meaning , no t t he t eache r , a s t het r ans m i t te r o f kno w l e dge . P he n om e nogr a ph y has ha d i m por ta n t i n f lue nc e s onthe im pro vem ent o f te r ti a ry t each ing , bu t it is con cep tua l l y iso l a ted f rom o the rdeve lop m ent s . Cons t ruc t i v ism has a l ong h i s t o ry i n cogni t i ve psychology , andi s rap id ly bec om ing t he dom inant e spoused t heory i n educa t i on ; i t r ema ins ,howeve r , t o see i t a s a common theory- in -use i n h ighe r educa t i on . In t h i spape r , I con cen t ra t e on t he im pl i cat ions o f cons t ruc ti v i sm for t each ing .

Steffe and Gale (1995) re fe r to s ix di f fe rent schools of cons t ruc t ivi sm,inc lud ing cogni t i ve , soc i a l cons t ruc t i on i sm, and pos tmodemism, each wi thdi f fe ren t imp l ica t ions for edu ca t ion a l prac t ice . Nu tha l l (in press) br ings so m eorde r t o b ea r by sugges t i ng t ha t cogni t ive cons t ruc t i v i sm re fe rs t o w ha t goeson i n i nd iv idua l minds , wi th soc io-cu l t u ra l and l i ngu i s t i c ve r s ions o f con-s t ruc ti v i sm re fe r ri ng mo re t o the con t ex t s and w ays i n w hich m inds cons t ruc tkn ow ledg e , wh ich i s t he v i ew t aken he re . Al l o f the se a re to be d i s t ingu i shedf rom na ive cons t ruc t i v ism, w hich confuses a t heory of l e a rn ing wi th a wayof c l a s s i fy ing t each ing m e thods ( "groupw ork l eads to cons t ruc t ive l ea rn ing ,bu t l e c tu r ing on ly i nvo lves t r ansmi ss ion" ) .

But w ha t eve r pa r t icu l a r cons t ruc ti v i st theor i e s may va r ious ly emp has i ze , acon sensus wo uld be t ha t l e a rne rs a r ri ve a t mean ing by ac t ive ly se lec t ing , andcum ula t i ve ly cons t ruc t ing , t he i r own kno wled ge , t h rough bo th i nd iv idua l andsoc i a l a c ti v it y . The l ea rne r b r ings an accum ula t i on of a s sumpt ions , mot ives ,i n t en t i ons , and prev ious knowledge t ha t enve lopes eve ry t each ing / l ea rn ings i tua t ion and de t e rmines t he course and qua l it y o f t he l ea rn ing tha t m ay t akep l ace . The t eache r m ay igno re o r use t h is l e a rne r - s truc tured f ramework , bu tt he cen t ra l i ty o f t he l ea rne r is g iven . Sh ue l l 's decep t i ve ly mi ld expre ss ion ofthi s persp ec t ive be l ies it s radica l i sm and i ts profun di ty:


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349I f s t uden t s a re t o l ea rn des i red o u t com es i n a r ea sonab ly e f fec ti ve man ne r ,t hen t he t eache r ' s fund am enta l ta sk i s to ge t s tuden t s to en gag e i n l ea rn ingac t ivi ti es tha t a re l ike ly to resul t in the i r ach ieving those o utco m es . .. I t i she lpfu l to r em em ber t ha t wh a t the s t uden t does is ac tua l ly mo re imp or t an ti n de t e rmin ing w ha t i s l e a rned t han w ha t t he t eache r does . (Sh ue l l 1986:429)

In thi s paper , I sugges t a f ramework tha t t rans la tes some important fea turesof cons t ruc t i v i sm in to c l a s s room dec i s ions on t each ing and a s se ssment .

C o n s t r u c t iv i s m a n d i n s tr u c t io n a l d e s i g nThe re have be en m any va luab l e app l ica t ions o f con s t ruc ti v i sm, pa r t icu l a r ly t osc i ence and m a th t each ing (e .g . Cob b 1994 , Dr ive r & Oldh am 1986 , Dr ive r,Aso ko , Leach , M or t imer & Scot t 1994, Sca rdam a l ia , Be re i t e r & L am on 1994 ,W es t & P ines 1985), b u t t he re have been few a t t empt s to p rov ide a f ramew orktha t would gene ra l i se beyond t he con t ex t s o r t op i c s fo r which t hey weredes igned . One needs t o be ca re fu l about t h i s a s a p re sc r ip t ive " cons t ruc t i vem e tho d" i s con t ra ry t o t he p r inc ip le s o f cons t ruc t iv i sm. W ha t i s i nvo lved he re

i s no t a pa r t i cu l ar me th od bu t an a t t it ude t owards t each ing w hich impl i e sa f oc a l a w a r e ne s s o f the l e ar ne r a nd t he le a r ne r' s w o r l d . . , e a c h t e a c he rhas t o t ack l e t he p r inc ip l e s and appropr i a t e t hem wi th in t he con t ex t o f h i sor he r ow n t each ing . (Mar ton & Booth , i n p res s )

But how i s t he teache r t o mov e f rom a " foca l awareness . . . o f t he l ea rne r 'sworld" , and appropr ia t ing pr inc iples , to doing things differently? This i s thefami l i a r h i a tus b e twe en e spou sed t heory and t heory- in -use . The re i s cur ren t l ym uch conc e rn about ac tua l i s ing t he p r inc ip l e s o f con s t ruc ti v i sm in a n onpre -scr ipt ive way. Duffy an d Jon assen (1992) c la im to be the f irst to address thel i nk be twee n cons t ruc t i ve l ea rn ing t heory and i ns truc t iona l de s ign ( ID) (No te2) , but in the event the cont r ibut ions in tha t pub l ica t ion tend to b e m eta- leve l ,exp lor ing t he ex t en t to w hich ID and d i f fe ren t ve r s ions o f cons t ruc t i v ism m ayor ma y no t sha re co m m on a ssumpt ions . Th e con t r ibu tor s t o S t ef fe and G a le(1995) repo r t spec i f ic appl ica tions o f th i s or tha t vers ion o f cons t ruc t ivi sm,w hich W ood (1995) a t tempt s t o b r i ng t oge the r in an un excep t ionab l e li s t o fw ha t te ache rs should do . They should :9 pro vid e ins t ruc t iona l s i tua t ions tha t e l i c i t subjec t approp r ia te ac t ivi ti es

9 v i ew s tuden t s ' conc ep t ions from the i r ( t he s tuden t s ' ) pe r spec ti ves9 s ee " e r ror s" a s r e f l ec ti ng the ( t he ir ) cur ren t l eve l o f dev e lopm ent9 reco gn ise tha t subs tant ive learning occurs in per iods o f conf l ic t , surpr i se ,ove r pe r iods o f t ime , and t h rough soc i a l i n te rac ti on .


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3 5 0An d so th ey sh o u ld , b u t t h e r e i s s t i l l a l a r g e s t ep in p u t t i n g th i s t o u se , i nco n tex t .In s t r u c t i o n a s a n i n t e r n a ll y a l ig n ed s y s t emT e a c h i n g f o r m s a c o m p l e x s y s t em em b r ac in g , a t t h e c l a s s r o o m l ev e l , t e ach e r ,s tu d en t s , t h e t each in g co n tex t , s tu d en t l e a r n in g ac tiv it i es , an d th e o u tco m e ;th a t c l a s s r o o m sy s t em i s t h en n es t ed wi th in th e l a r g e r i n s t i t u t io n a l sy s t em( Big g s 1 9 9 3 ). I n a sy s t em , th e co m p o n en t s i n t e rac t w i th each o th er , wo r k -in g to war d s a s t ab l e eq u i l i b r iu m ( v o n Be r t a l l an f f y 1 9 6 8 ) . Th u s , i f t h e se ta s s e ss m en t t a sk s ad d r e ss l o w er co g n i t iv e l ev e l ac t iv i t ie s th an th o se n o m in a t -ed in t h e cu r r i c u lu m o b jec t iv e s , eq u i l ib r iu m w i l l b e ach iev ed a t a l o we r lev e l ;t h e s y s t e m w i l l b e d r i v e n b y b a c k w a s h f r o m t e st in g , n o t b y t h e c u r r i c u l u m( F r e d e r i k s e n & C o l l i n s 1 9 89 ). A t t e m p t s to e n h a n c e t e a c h i n g n e e d t o a d d r es st h e s y s t e m a s a w h o l e , n o t s i m p l y a d d " g o o d " c o m p o n e n t s , s u c h a s a n e wc u r r ic u l u m o r m e t h o d s .

I n d e s i g n i n g a n i n s tr u c ti o n a l s y s t e m t h a t s u p p o r t s t h e s o r t o f o u t c o m e s t h ec u r r i c u l u m n o m i n a t e s , C o h e n ' s ( 1 9 87 ) i d e a o f " i n s tr u c ti o n a l a l i g n m e n t " isu s e f u l ; w h e n c u r r i c u l u m a n d a s s e s s m e n t m e t h o d s a r e a l i g n ed , th e r e s u lt s o fin s t r u c t io n a r e m a ss iv e ly im p r o v ed ; e f f ec t s ize s b ased o n a ch iev em en t t e s tsh av e b een r ep o r t ed u p to f o u r t im es g r ea t e r t h an in n o n - a l ig n ed in s t r u c t io n( Co h en 1 9 8 7 ). M as te r y l ea r n in g is a p a r ti cu l a rly in t e r e s tin g ex am p le . W h i l em a s te r y l ea r n in g p r o d u c es p o s i t i v e r e su lt s wh en d ea l in g wi th n a r r o w, q u an -t i t a t i v e ly d e f in ed p e r f o r m an ces , t h e r e i s n o ev id en ce th a t m as t e r y l ea r n in gi s o f v a lu e to t h o se in t e r e s t ed in ach iev in g b r o ad e r o u tco m es (S lav in 1 9 9 0) .Ra th e r , t h e ev id en ce i s t h a t s tu d en t s wh o a r e o r i en ted to war d s d eep l ea r n in gp e r f o r m b a d l y u n d e r m a s t e ry l e a r n in g ( L a i & B i g g s 1 9 94 ), b e c a u s e t h e s y s -t em su p p o r t s n a r ro w, lo w co g n i t iv e l ev e l g o a l s . Th e c r u c i a l q u es t io n i s : Wi l lt h e b e n e f it s o f a l i g n m e n t b e s o m a r k e d w h e n t h e s y s t e m is a l i g n e d t o h i g hco g n i t iv e l ev e l g o a l s?Th e s t a r ti n g p o in t i s t o d e f in e t each in g o b jec t iv e s a t a h ig h co g n i t iv e l ev e l.

F r o m a i m s t o o b je c ti v e s: T h e d e s c e n t fr o m r h e t o r icTer t i a ry t each e r s a lm o s t u n iv e r sa l ly e sp o u se h ig h l ev e l a im s f o r t h e co u r se sth ey t each ( E n twis t l e & P e r cy 1 9 7 4) . Ho w ev e r , g en e r a l i ti e s su ch a s "To th in kl ik e a m a th em a t i c i an " , o r "To b ec o m e a s tu d en t - cen t r ed t each e r, s en s i t iv e toi n d i v i d u a l s t u d e n t 's n e e d s " , d o n o t i m p l y a n y p a r t i c u la r t e a c h in g d ec i s i o n s ,w h ich l eav es o th e r fac to r s , su ch a s s tu d en t n u m b er s , o r ad m in i s t r a t iv e co n -v e n i e n c e , to d e t e r m i n e t e a c h in g a n d a s s e s s m e n t m e t h o d s . T h e m a s s l e c tu r e ,a n d f o r m a l e x a m i n a t i o n s , th u s c o n t i n u e a s t h e d e f a u l t m o d e s .


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351Al l t e ach e r s say th ey " t each f o r u n d e r s t an d in g " , b u t f ew d o in an y su s t a in -

ab le wa y ( Pe r k in s & Bly th e 1 99 3). On e r ea so n is th a t t h ey d o n o t k n o w h o wto d es cen d f r o m th e r h e to r i c o f t h e i r a im s to th e sp ec i f ic o b j eb t i ve s o f a g iv enco u r se o r u n i t ( th e t e r m "u n i t " i s u sed h en ce f o r w ar d to d esc r ib e a sem es te r -l e n g t h , f r e e -s t a n d i n g c o m p o n e n t i n a p r o g r a m , t h e s u m m a t i v e a s s e s s m e n t so f w h i c h m a r k s t u d e n t p r o g r e ss t h r o u g h th e p r o g r a m ) . T o d o s o , t h ey n e e d af r a m e w o r k o f s o m e k i n d t o h e l p t h e m o p e r a ti o n a li s e w h a t " u n d e r s t a n d i n g "m ig h t m ean in th e i r p a r t i cu l a r ca se .

M an y s tu d ie s p o in t to t h e h i e r a r ch ica l n a tu r e o f u n d e r s t an d in g . Th e h i e r a r -c h i es o f c o n c e p t i o n s p r o d u c e d b y p h e n o m e n o g r a p h i c r e sea r ch (M ar to n 1 9 8 1 )r ep r e sen t to p ic b y to p ic d esc r ip t io n s r an g in g f r o m m isu n d e r s t an d in g to a r ti c -u l a t ed u n d e r s t an d in g s o f a h ig h o r d e r. En twi s t l e an d En tw is t le ( 1 9 9 2 ) r e f e r t ot h e " f o r m s o f u n d e r s t a n d i n g " c o n s tr u c t e d b y s t u d e n ts w h e n s t u d y i n g f o r t h e ire x a m i n a t i o n s , m o s t f o r m s d e p e n d i n g o n t h e f r a m e w o r k c r ea t e d i n th e c o n t e x to f t h e e x p e c t e d m o d e o f a s s e s sm e n t . U n g e r ( 1 9 93 ) , i n a s k i n g h i g h s c h o o ls tu d en t s w h a t i t was l i k e to " r ea l l y " u n d e r s t a n d s o m e t h i n g , f o u n d a g e n e r a lh i e r a rc h y o f u n d e r s t a n d i n g , r a n g i n g f r o m " u n d e r s t a n d i n g b y r e m e m b e r i n g "to "p e r f o r m in g in n o v e l s i tu a t io n s" , t h e l a t te r a f o r m o f u n d e r s t an d in g n o tr ep o r t ed a s o ccu r r in g in sch o o l co n tex t s .

Th e Har v a r d P r o jec t Ze r o t eam ( Gar d n e r 1 9 9 3 , Pe r k in s & Bly th e 1 9 9 3 ,U n g e r 1 9 9 3 ) f o c u s o n th e p e r f o r m a t i v e a s p e c t o f u n d e r s t a n d i n g ; t h a t i f y o uu n d e r s t a n d s o m e t h i n g p r o p e r ly y o u a c t d i f f e r en t ly i n co n tex t s i n v o lv in g th ec o n t e n t u n d e r s t o o d , p a r ti c u la r ly u n f a m i l a r c o n t ex t s. S u c h " p e r f o r m a n c e s o fu n d e r s t an d in g " , a s t h ey t e r m th em , r eq u ir e s tu d en t s t o i n t e rac t t h o u g h t f u l lywi th a n o v e l t a sk , t o r e f l ec t o n ap p r o p r i a t e f eed b ack , t o sea r ch to see h o w th eyc a n i m p r o v e . T h e s e p e r f o r m a n c e s a r e n o t r e q u ir e d i n m o s t t as k s p r e s e n t e d insch o o l o r ev en in u n iv e r s i ty . I f th e co u r se o b jec t iv e s d id r eq u i r e su c h h ig hl e v e l u n d e r s t a n d i n g s , te a c h i n g a n d a s s e s s m e n t t a s k s w o u l d n e e d t o a d d r e sst h e m o n t h e p r i n c i p le o f a l i g n m e n t , a s t h e p e r f o r m a n c e a s s e s s m e n t l it e ra t ur eem p h a s i se s (e . g . Ar ch b a ld & New m an 1 98 8, B ig g s 1 9 9 5, M o ss 1 9 9 2) .Big g s a n d Co l l i s ( 1 9 8 2 ) d esc r ib e th e g r o w th o f co m p e te n ce in t e r m s o f , f irs t,a q u a n t i t a ti v e a c c r ua l o f t h e c o m p o n e n t s o f a t a s k , w h i c h t h e n b e c o m e q u a li -t a t iv e ly r e s t ru c tu r ed . SOL O, wh ich s t an d s f o r t h e S t r u c tu r e o f t h e Ob se r v edL e a r n i n g O u t c o m e , p ro v i d e s a s y s t e m a t ic w a y o f d e s c ri b i n g h o w a l e a r n e r 'sp e r f o r m a n c e g r o w s i n c o m p l e x i t y w h e n m a s t e r i n g m a n y a c a d e m i c ta s k s. F i v el ev e l s m ay b e d i s t i n g u i sh ed :

1 . P r es t r u c tu r a l . Th e t a sk i s n o t a t t ack ed ap p r o p r i a te ly ; t h e s tu d en t h a sn ' tu n d e r s t o o d t h e p o i n t.

2 . Un i s t r u c tu r a l . O n e o r a f e w a s p e c t s o f th e t a s k a r e p i c k e d u p a n d u s e d( u n d e r s t a n d i n g a s n o m i n a l) .


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3 5 23. Mult istructural . Sev e r a l a sp ec t s o f t h e t a sk a r e l ea r n ed b u t a r e t r ea t ed

s e p a r a te l y ( u n d e r s t a n d i n g a s k n o w i n g a b o u t) .4. Re lat ional . T h e c o m p o n e n t s ar e i n t eg r a te d i n to a c o h e r e n t w h o l e , w i t h

each p a r t co n t r ib u t in g to t h e o v e r a l l m ean in g ( u n d e r s t an d in g a s ap p r ec i -a t in g r e l a t io n sh ip s ) .

5. Ex tended abstrac t . Th e in t eg r a t ed wh o le a t t h e r e l a t io n a l l ev el is r eco n -cep tu a l i sed a t a h ig h e r lev e l o f ab s tr ac t io n , wh ich en ab le s g en e r a l i sa t io nto a n ew to p ic o r a r ea , o r i s t u r n ed r e f l ex iv e ly o n o n es e l f ( u n d e r s t an d in gas f a r t r an s f e r, an d a s i n v o lv in g m e tac o g n i t io n ) .

L e v e l s o f u n d e r s t a n d i n g s u c h a s t h e s e m a y b e u s e d f o r s t r u c tu r i ng c u r ri c u -lu m o b jec t iv e s h ie r a r ch ica l ly .

E x a m p l eI w i l l i l l u s t ra t e w i th a p sy ch o lo g y u n i t i n t h e th ir d y ea r o f a f o u r y ea r p a r t - tim eB a c h e l o r o f E d u c a t i o n p r o g r a m a t t h e U n i v e rs i ty o f H o n g K o n g , d e s i g n e d f o ri n - s er v i c e p r i m a r y a n d s e c o n d a r y t e a c h er s w i s h i n g to u p g r a d e t h e i r T e a c h e r s 'Co l l eg e q u a l i f ica t io n s . 8 2 s tu d en t s we r e en r o l l ed in t h e p r e sen t u n i t, wh ichw a s t a u g h t b y m y s e l f a n d a t e a c h i n g as s i st a n t ( N o t e 3 ). T h e g e n e r a l a i m w a sn o t t o t e a c h s t u d e n t s a b o u t p s y c h o l o g y , b u t to g e t t h e m t o t h i n k a b o u t t e a c h i n ga n d l e a rn i n g , a n d t o e n a c t c l a s s r o o m d e c i s i o n - m a k i n g , in a w a y e n r i c h e d b yp s y c h o l o g i c a l k n o w l e d g e . M o s t u n i t s i n p r o f e s s io n a l p ro g r a m s c o u l d p r o v i d epara l le l s .

I t was n ecessa r y th en to se t u p a h i e r a r ch ica l l i s t o f "p e r f o r m an ces o fu n d e r s t an d in g " f r o m m o s t d e s i r ab le t o b a r e ly sa t i s f ac to r y . Th i s was d o n eu s in g SOLO as a b a se l in e , f o cu s in g o n v e r b s ( i t a l i c i sed b e lo w) to d en o te ap a r t ic u l a r q u a l it y o f p e r f o r m a n c e :( a) M o s t d e s i r a b l e ( e x t e n d e d ab s tr ac t) : m e t a c o g n i t i v e u n d e r s t a n d i n g , s tu -

d en t s ab l e t o u se th e t au g h t co n ten t i n o r d e r t o reflect o n t h e i r o w nt e a c h i n g , evaluate t h e i r d e c i s i o n s m a d e i n t h e c l a s s r o o m i n t e r m s o fth eo r y , an d th e r eb y improve t h e ir d e c i s i o n - m a k i n g a n d p r a c ti c e . O t h e ro u t c o m e s : f ormula t ing a p e r s o n a l t h e o r y o f t e a c h i n g t h a t d e m o n s t r a -b l y d r i ve s d e c i s i o n - m a k i n g a n d p r a c t ic e , generat ing n e w a p p r o a c h e s tot each in g o n th e b as i s o f t au g h t p r in c ip l e s an d co n ten t .

( b ) Ve r y sa t i s f ac to r y ( r e la t io n a l ): s tu d en t s can apply co u r se co n ten t , an drecognise g o o d a n d p o o r a p p l ic a t io n s o f p r i n c ip l e s . T h e y " u n d e r s t a n d "in th a t co u r se c o n ten t is u sed a s a t h eo r y o f t e ach in g th a t d r iv e s ac tio n .

( c) M o d e r a t e l y s a t i s f a c t o r y ( m u l ti s tr u c tu r a l) : s tu d e n t s u n d e r s t a n d d e c la r a -t ive ly , in tha t they c an discuss c o n t e n t m e a n i n g f u l l y , th e y k now abou t ar ea so n a b le am o u n t o f co n ten t , b u t d o n ' t t r an s f e r o r ap p ly i t e as i ly .


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3 53(d ) B are ly sat isfactory ( u n i st r u c tu r a l ): sp a r se u n d e r s t an d in g s , ev id en ce o f

so m e e f f o r t i n t h e acq u i s i t i o n o f t e r m in o lo g y ; h ig h e r l ev e l u n d e r s t an d in go f f s et b y s o m e m i s u n d e r s t a n d i n g s .

(e ) U n s a t i s f a c t o r y o u t c o m e s : f u n d a m e n t a l m i su n d e r st a n d in g s , la c k o fe f f o r t / i n v o lv e m en t i n t h e u n i t.

Th e ab o v e o b jec t iv e s f o r m ca t eg o r i e s th a t m ay b e u sed f o r g r ad in g p u r p o ses :( a) t h r o u g h ( e ) b eco m in g "A", "B" , "C" , "D" , an d "F" , r e sp ec t iv e ly , t h e h ig h es tl ev e l ex em p l i f i ed in a s tu d e n t p e r f o r m an ce b ec o m in g th a t s tu d en t ' s f i n al g r ad e .I f f in e r g r ad in g w i th in a ca t eg o r y i s d e s ir ed , t h i s can ea s i ly b e acco m m o d a ted( Big g s 1 9 9 2) .

I n su m , a p e r f o r m a t iv e n o t io n o f u n d e r s t an d in g en ab le s t e ach e r s t o sp ec i f yt h e t h i n g s t h e s t u d e n t s n e e d t o do i n o r d e r t o d em o n s t r a t e p a r t i cu l a r l ev -e l s o f u n d e r s t a n d i n g . A c o m p e t e n t t e a c h e r s h o u ld b e a b l e to s a y i n w h a tway s a s tu d en t sh o u ld p e r f o r m in o r d e r t o sp ec i fi ca l ly ex em p l i f y th e d eep e s tu n d e r s t an d in g o f t h e co n ten t t au g h t , an d l e s s sa t i s f ac to r y l ev e ls . Cr i t e rio n -r e f e r en c in g in th e se t e r m s se t s b o th teach in g an d a ss e ssm en t ag en d as .

W h a t d o es th e t eac h e r n eed to d o in o r d e r t o f ac il it a te t h e ap p ea r an ce o ft h e s e d e s i re d p e r f o r m a n c e s ?

Teaching/ learning act iv i t ies (TLAs)T h e t e a c h i n g m e t h o d s w e c h o o s e n e e d t o e n g a g e s t u d en t s in a c t iv i ti e s th a ta r e l i k e ly to r eq u i re t h e m to p e r f o r m in th e way n o m in a ted in t h e cu r r i cu lu mo b jec t iv e s . Le t u s s t a r t b y tu r n in g th e q u es t io n a r o u n d . Wh a t ac t iv i t i e s a r es t an d a r d t each in g m e th o d s m o s t l i k ely to e l i c it ?

Th e ac t iv i t ie s c o m m o n ly a s so c ia t ed wi th l ec tu re s a re : l i st en in g , in t e r p re t -in g , co m p r eh en d in g , n o te - t ak in g , r e f lec t in g (? ). T h e c o m m o n th r ead i s receiv-in g i n an i so l a t ed co n tex t . Lec tu r in g i t se l f d o es l it tl e t o ch a l l en g e o r q u es t io ns tu d en t ' s i n t e r p r e t a t io n s ; i n d eed , s tu d en t s o f t en see im p l i c i t en co u r ag em en tto acc ep t t h e co n ten t an d th e in t e rp r e t a tio n g iv en .

Ar e th e se p e r f o r m an ce s o n es th a t u n iv e r s i ty teach e r s w an t f r o m th e i r s tu -d e n t s ? C o m p r e h e n d i n g a n d s u m m a r i s in g ce r ta i n ly a r e , b u t o n l y t o a p o i n t .Th e r ea l p r o b lem wi th l ec tu r in g is t h a t it is n o r m a l ly lo w o n s tu d en t ac tiv -i t y ; t h e s tu d en t i s p a ss iv e , p r ec i se ly in t h e sen se th a t a n a r r o w r an g e o fl ea r n in g - r e l a t ed ac t iv it i e s i s u su a l ly e l i c it ed , d ep e n d in g o n in d iv id u a l ab il -i t y an d in t e r e s t . Wh i l e o n e s tu d en t m ay f in d in a l e c tu r e th e k ey s to n e f o ra p a r t i cu l a r a r ch o f k n o w led g e sh e i s co n s t r u c t in g , h e r n e ig h b o u r p e r ce iv esju s t an o th e r b ri ck , w h ich h e d u ly r eco r d s in h is l e c tu r e n o te s . Ho wev e r , h ig hlev e l en g a g e m en t o u g h t n o t t o b e l e ft to se r en d ip i ty , o r t o i n d iv id u a l s tu d en tb r i ll i an ce , b u t sh o u ld b e ac t iv e ly en co u r ag ed b y th e t each e r. I n sh o r t , i f g o o d


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3 5 4teach in g i s t o s t im u la t e co m p e t en c e r a th e r t h an to r e f lec t i t, t e ach e r s n eed toac t iv a te an ap p r o p r i a t e ly w id e r an g e o f l e a r n in g - r e l a ted ac t iv i t ie s .

A f t e r l e c tu r i n g , t h e n e x t m o s t c o m m o n m e t h o d i s t h e tu t or ia l, w h i c h c o m -m o n ly e l ic i ts : e l ab o r a t in g , c l a ri f y in g , r em o v in g m isco n cep t io n s , ch a l l en g in ges t ab l i sh ed in t e r p r e t a t io n s , see in g h o w o th e r s tu d en t s i n t e r p r e t co n cep t s o rap p ly th e i r i n t e r p r e t a t io n s . Th e r e a r e h e r e th e b eg in n in g s o f a l o n g l i s t o fac t iv i t i e s n o t ad d r e ssed in t h e l ec tu r e , b u t wh e th e r o r n o t t h e ap p r o p r i a t eo n e s a r e e l i c it e d d e p e n d s o n t h e g r o u p s iz e , a n d t h e c o m p e t e n c e o f t h e t u to r.I n d ee d , i t is l i k e ly th a t i n m o s t u n i t s t h e r e wo u ld b e p l en ty o f h ig h co g n i t iv eleve l ac t iv i t ies ye t to be ac t iva ted .

I n th eo r y , i t sh o u ld b e p o ss ib l e t o se l ec t t e ach in g / l ea r n in g ac tiv i ti e s ( TLA s)th a t sp ec i f i ca l ly ad d r e ss a d e s i r ed p e r f o r m an ce o f u n d e r s t an d in g . It i s e a s i e rto b e n eg a t iv e th an p o s i t i v e ab o u t t h i s , a s a r e sea r ch b ase d o es n o t ex i s tr e l a t in g TLAs to t a r g e t p e r f o r m an ces ; i t i s e a s i e r t o say wh a t l e c tu r in g , f o re x a m p l e , d o e s n o t e n c o u r a g e t h a n w h a t i t d o es . S e l e c ti n g a p p ro p r i at e T L A si s a m a t t e r o f e x p e r i e n c e a n d j u d g e m e n t . Id e a s m i g h t b e g a i n e d f r o m a l o o k a tth e l i te r a tu re o n a l t er n a t iv e t each in g p r o c ed u r e s an d t ech n iq u e s ( e. g . G ib b s ,H a b e s h a w & H a b e s h a w 1 9 92 ; R a c e & B r o w n 1 9 93 ); t h e H i g h e r E d u c a t i o nBu l l e t in s an d New s le t t e r s co n ta in sh o r t a r ti c le s o f t h e "Th i s wo r k ed f o r m e ;w h y d o n ' t y o u h av e a g o ? " v a r i ety (e .g . F l em in g 1 9 9 3 ; Sab e r to n 1 9 8 5 ) ( b o tho f w h i c h a l s o w o r k e d f o r m e , s e e b e lo w ) . I t m u s t b e e m p h a s i s e d , t h o u g h , t ha tth i s sh o u ld n o t i n v o lv e th e s im p le ad d i t i o n o f a "g o o d " t ech n iq u e ; i t i s ch o senb e c a u s e i t s f u n c t i o n a n d p u r p o s e c o h e r e w i t h o n e ' s t o ta l t e a c h in g s y s t e m .

I t a l so h e lp s t o r eca l l t h a t t h e t each e r i s n o t t h e o n ly ag en t r e sp o n s ib l ef o r se t t i n g u p TLAs . Bo th in d iv id u a l an d so c i a l a c t iv i ty p l ay a r o l e i n t h ec o n s t ru c t io n o f k n o w l e d g e :

1 . The t ea ch er h as m a jo r co n t r o l o v e r f o r m a l t e ach in g ac t iv i ti e s : l e c tu r e s ,t u to r ia l s , l ab o r a to r ie s , f i e ld ex cu r s io n s , e t c . Th e t each e r can a l so se t u pf o r m a l co o p e r a t iv e ac t iv i t ie s i n v o lv in g p ee rs , su ch a s d i scu ss io n g r o u p s ,b r a in s to r m in g , o r l e a r n in g p a r tn e r sh ip s ( Sab e r to n 1 9 8 5 ) , an d o n ce th eac t iv i ty h as b een in i ti a ted , t h e r o le o f p ee r s b e co m es in c r ea s in g ly im p o r -tan t .

2 . Peer-con tro l led ac t iv it i e s r an g e f r o m f o r m a l o n es , i n i t ia t ed b y th e t each e r,s u c h a s v a r i o u s k i n d s o f g r o u p w o r k (C o l l ie r 1 9 8 5; J o h n s o n & J o h n s o n1 9 9 0 ), o r i n s t r u c t io n s to u se l ea r n in g p a r tn e r s , t o i n f o r m a l an d sp o n ta -n e o u s c o l l a b o ra t i o n b y s t u d e n t s o u t s id e th e c l a s s r o o m , w h i c h m a y h a v ep o s i t i v e e f f ec ts o n l ea r n in g ( Tan g 1 9 9 3) .

3 . Se l f -con tro l led ac t iv i t i e s , wh ich in c lu d es an y th in g th a t g o es u n d e r t h eh ea d in g o f i n d ep en d en t l e a r n in g an d s tu d y , i n c lu d in g sp ec i f ic s t r a teg ie sf o r e x t r a ct i n g m e a n i n g f r o m t e x t s u c h a s s u m m a r i z i n g a n d n o t e - t a k i n g( Hid i & An d e r so n 1 9 8 6 , K i r b y & Ped we l l 1 9 9 1 ) , g en e r a l s tu d y sk i l l s ,


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3 5 5a n d m e t a c o g n i t i v e s t r at e g y u s e ( B r o w n , B r a n s f o r d , F e r r a ra & C a m p i o n e1 9 8 3 ) .

C l e a r l y , t h e l e a r n e r ' s s p o n t a n e o u s a c t iv i t ie s a r e j u s t a s c r u c i a l i n a c o n -s t r u c t iv i s t i n s t r u c t i o n a l f r a m e w o r k a s t h o s e a c t i v it ie s t h a t a r e i n r e a c t io n t ot e a c h i n g ; th e t e r m " t e a c h i n g / le a r n i n g a c t iv i ty " o r T L A i s m e a n t t o e m p h a -s i se j u s t t h i s p o i n t . C o n v e n t i o n a l l y , te a c h e r s s e e s t u d y s k i ll s tr a i n i n g , s k i l l e dn o t e - t a k i n g , a n d t r a in e d o r s p o n t a n e o u s u s e o f s u c h m e t a c o g n i t i v e s tr a te g i esa s p l a n n i n g , m o n i t o r i n g , a n d s e l f - q u e s t i o n i n g , a s s i m p l y n o t t h e i r b u s i n e s s .H o w e v e r , s t u d e n t s d e p l o y t h e i r s t u d y s t r a t e g i e s w i t h i n a n d w i t h r e f e r e n c e t oa p a r t i c u l a r t e a c h i n g c o n t e x t . T e a c h i n g s t u d y s k i l ls w i t h o u t r e f e r e n c e t o th a tc o n t e x t m a y e v e n b e c o u n t e r - p r o d u c t iv e i f i t is n o t s u p p o r t e d b y t h e t e a c h -i n g e n v i r o n m e n t ( R a m s d e n , B e s w i c k & B o w d e n 1 98 6 ). T h is s u g g e s ts w e g of u r th e r , a s d o C h a l m e r s a n d F u l l e r (i n p re s s) , a n d e m b e d t h e l e a r n i n g / s tu d ys k i ll s r e l e v a n t t o l e a r n i n g p a r t i c u l a r c o n t e n t i n t h e t e a c h i n g o f th a t c o n t e n t .T h i s m u s t b e c o m e a n i n c r e a si n g l y i m p o r t a n t is s u e in d i s ta n c e o r " f l e x ib l e "l e a rn i n g m o d e s .E x a m p l eI n t h e B . E d . p s y c h o l o g y u n i t , t e a c h i n g w a s a l i g n e d t o t h e p e r f o r m a n c e si t a li c i s e d i n th e o b j e c t i v e s ( s e e a b o v e ) w i t h t h e f o l l o w i n g T L A s ( i ta l ic i se d ) :

1 . t o u n d e r s t a n d c e r t a i n p s y c h o l o g i c a l c o n c e p t s ( su c h a s e x p e c t an c y -v a l u e t h e o r y o f m o t i v a t i o n , q u a n t i ta t i v e a n d q u a l i ta t i v e a s s e s s m e n t th e o r y ,c o n s t r u c t i v i s t le a r n i n g t h e o r y ) : n o t e s a n d r ea d i n g s t o b e r e a d b e f o r e e a c hc l as s , ta k e n f r o m t h e r e c o m m e n d e d t ex t, B i g g s a n d M o o r e ( 1 9 9 3 ). Sel f -a d d r e s s e d q u e s t io n s o n b a s i c c o n t e n t : W h a t d o I m o s t w a n t t o f in d o u t int h e n e x t c l a ss ? W h a t is th e m a i n p o i n t I l e a rn e d t o d a y ? W h a t w a s t h e m a i np o i n t l e f t u n a n s w e r e d i n t o d a y ' s s e s s i o n ? ( F l e m i n g 1 9 9 3) . C l a ss t i m e w a su s e d f o r c la r i f ic a t i o n a n d e l a b o r a t io n , s o m e t i m e s f o r m a s s l e c t u r e . E a c hs t u d e n t c h o s e a l e a rn i n g p a r t n e r t o h e l p i n c l a r i f y i n g a n d e l a b o r a t i n g( S a b e r t o n 1 9 8 5 ) ; p a r t n e r s s a t n e x t t o e a c h o t h e r i n c l a ss , a n d c o m m u -n i c a t e d r e g u l a r l y w i t h e a c h o t h e r o u t s i d e c l a s s , i n w h a t e v e r w a y s t h e yt h o u g h t m i g h t b e h e l p fu l .

2 . t o a p p l y t o o w n t e a c h in g : t h e l ea r n i n g p a r t n er , a n d t o e x t e n d t h e r a n g eo f e x p o s u r e t o d i f f e r e n t v i e w s a n d p r o f e s s i o n a l e x p e r i e n c e s , g r o u p s o fa r o u n d 1 0 s t u d e n t s , te a c h i n g i n t h e s a m e g e n e r a l c o n t e n t a re a . E a c h g r o u ph a d a q u e s t i o n t o a d d r e s s , b u t w a s b a s i c a l l y s e l f - d i r e c t e d , a n d s t u d e n t sh a d t o d r a w t h e i r o w n c o n c l u s i o n s .

3 . t o r e f l e c t o n o w n t e a c h i n g : a diary , t o r e c o r d c r i t i c a l l e a r n i n g r e l a t e di n c i d e n t s , a n d t o r e f l e c t u p o n t h e m . T h e d i a r y a l s o c o n t a i n e d t h e s e l f -a d d r e s s e d q u e s t i o n s a n d w a s p a r t o f t h e a s se s s m e n t . R e f l e c t io n m i g h ta l so b e m a n i f e s t e d i n a v a r ie t y o f T L A s .


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356Th e po int i s tha t a co ns t ruc t ivi s t perspec t ive highl ights the need fo r in t ro-

duc ing a range of TL As , i nvo lv ing teache r , pee r s , and t he i nd iv idua l s t uden tas appro pr ia te , so tha t the h igh er l eve l objec t ives have a grea te r probabi l i ty o fbe ing addre ssed t han i f on ly one t each ing m e thod , such a s l ec tu r ing , is used .

A s s e s s m e n t a n d g r a d in gIn de c id ing t he a s se ssm ent ta sks , i t i s necessa ry to j udge t he ex t en t t o w hicht he y e m bod y t he t a rge t pe r fo r m a nc e s o f unde rs ta nd i ng , a nd how w e l l the y l e ndthem se lves t o eva lua t i ng i nd iv idua l s t uden t pe r forman ces . Aga in , i t wou ld beuse fu l t o r eve rse the qu es t ion and a sk wh a t l eve l s o f und e rs t and ing typ i ca lasses sm ent t asks a re l ike ly to ca l l out .Examinations

Tang (1991) a sked p hys io the rapy s tuden t s wh a t p repa ra t ion s tr a teg i es t heyused for an e s say exam . Th e fo l l owing w ere typ i ca l ly report ed : ro te l ea rn ing ,ques t i on spo t ti ng , go ing t h rough pas t pape rs , unde r l i n ing , o rgan i s ing s t udyt ime a nd ma te r i a ls , m em or i s ing i n me aningfu l con tex t , r e l at ing i n forma t ion ,v i sua l i s ing p a t ien t s ' condi t i ons , d i scuss ing w i th o the r s t uden t s. Few of t he seac t iv i ti e s app ea r t o addre ss h igh l eve l cur r i cu lum o bj ec ti ve s .

Th e prac t i ce o f m ark ing exam ina t ions " ana ly t i ca l l y" (by aggrega t i ng marksas po in ts a re mad e ) , wh ich is com m on in l a rge c la s se s wi th m ul t ip l e marke rs ,m eans t ha t h ighe r l eve l und e rs t and ing pe r formances t end no t to be i n focus ;s t uden t s know th is , and pre sen t w i th w ha t wi l l be i n focus . On e s tuden t i n agrade 11 A nc i en t Hi s to ry c la s s answ ered a " compare -and -cont ra s t " ques t i on( " I n w ha t w a ys w e r e the r e i gns o f T u te nkhm e n a nd A kh na t e n a li ke and i nw ha t w ays we re t hey d i f fe ren t? " ) s imply by l is t ing t he l i fe h i s to r i e s o f each(B iggs 1987). She d idn ' t a nsw er t he ques ti on , bu t mad e many po in t s , t he rebyobta in ing t he h igh es t mark i n the c la s s . Because of t he fami l ia r p rob l em o fbackwash , e s say exams typ i ca l l y e l i c i t l ower cogni t i ve l eve l pe r formancesthan m os t t e rt ia ry a ims w ould no mina t e . Th e fo l l owing quot a ti on by a Psy-cho logy un de rgrad ua t e makes t h is ve ry c lea r :

I ha te to say i t, but wh at you have got to do i s to have a l is t of ' fac t s ' ; yo uwr i t e dow n the impor t an t po in t s and m em or i ze those , then yo u ' l l do a l lr ight in the tes t . .. I f yo u can give a bi t of fac tua l informat ion - so and sod id t ha t, and con c lude d t ha t - fo r two s ides o f wr i ti ng , t hen you ' l l ge t agoo d mark . Quoted i n Ram sden (1984: 144)


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357S h o r t a n s w e r a n d m u l ti p le - ch o i ceS h o r t a n s w e r e x a m i n a t i o n s , a l l o w i n g o n l y b r i e f s e n t e n c e s o r p h r a s e s , a r ee v e n l e ss l i k e l y to e l i c it h i g h l e v e l e n g a g e m e n t t h a n t h e e s s a y . A n a s s u m e da d v a n t a g e o f t h e s h o r t a n s w e r , a n d t h e m u l t i p le c h o i c e t es t, i s t h a t c o v e r a g ec a n b e e x t e n d e d o v e r m o r e o f t h e u n i t c o n t e n t , b u t w e s h o u l d c o n s i d e r t h ef o l l o w i n g :

T h e g r e a t e s t e n e m y o f u n d e r s t a n d i n g is c o v e r a g e - I c a n ' t r e p e a t th a t o f t e nen o u g h .... O b v i o u s l y , i f p eo p l e t o o k t h is ap h o r i s m s e r io u s l y , t h e r e w o u l db e a t o ta l r e v o l u t io n i n e d u c a t i o n , a n d 9 5 p e r c e n t o f w h a t e d u c a t o r s d oe v e r y d a y w o u l d h a v e t o b e c h a n g e d . ( G a r d n e r 1 9 93 : 2 4 )

In d i v i d u a l i t em s i n o b j ec t i v e / m u l t i p l e - ch o i ce t e s ts c an a s s e s s h i g h l ev e lt h i n k in g , b u t i n p r a c ti c e t h e y ra r e l y g o b e y o n d B l o o m ' s c o m p r e h e n s i o n le v e l( A n d e r s o n 1 9 72 , M a r s o & P i g g e 1 99 1 ). I n d e e d , i f t h e y a r e a ss e s s in g k n o w l -e d g e , i t is i n t e r m s o f t h e l e a s t d e m a n d i n g p r o c e s s, r e c o g n i t i o n o f t h e c o r r e c tan s w er , n o t ev e n it s r eca l l. Bo t h m u l t i p l e - ch o i ce an d s h o r t an s w er te s t s f u r t h e re x e m p l i f y a n i n s u r m o u n t a b l e p r o b l e m w i th q u a n t i ta t iv e a p p r o a c h e s t o a s s e s s -m e n t : t h e c o n t e n t s o f k n o w l e d g e a r e t r e a te d a s h a v i n g b e e n l e a r n e d i n b i n a r yu n i t s ( c o r r e c t / i n c o r r e c t ) , w h i c h a r e t h e n s u m m e d , e a c h u n i t b e i n g s e e n a seq u i v a l en t t o an y o t h e r u n it . N o t o n l y d o es t h i s r e f l ec t a b i za r r e ep i s t em o l o g y ,i t n u d g es t h e s t u d en t t o fo cu s o n d e t a il s :

T h e re i s n o n eed t o s ep a ra t e ma i n i d eas f ro m d e t a i l s ; a l l a r e w o r t h o n ep o i nt . A n d t h e r e i s n o n e e d t o a s s e m b l e th e s e i d e a s in t o a c o h e r e n t s u m -m a r y o r t o i n t e g ra t e t h e m w i t h a n y t h i n g e l se b e c a u s e t h a t is n o t r e q u i r e d .( L o h m a n 1 9 9 3 : 1 9 )

A l l t h e a b o v e m o d e s o f a s s e s s m e n t , th e n , a r e in a d e q u a t e f o r m u c h t e r t ia r yt e a c h i n g . A p a r t f r o m t h e e a s e w i t h w h i c h c r e d i t i s g i v e n f o r l o w e r l e v e lp e r f o r m a n c e s t h a n a r e i n t e n d e d , t h e y s u f f e r f r o m a t l e a st t w o f u n d a m e n t a ld e f e c t s , i n t e r m s o f c o n s t r u c t iv i s t t h e o r y :

9 t h e p e r f o r m a n c e s a r e l i m i t e d t o d e a l i n g s ( b e t h e y n e v e r s o h i g h l e v e l )w i t h d e c l a r a t i v e o r p r o p o si t io n a l k n o w l e d g e , n o t w i t h p r o c e d u r a l k n o w l -e d g e . T h i s m a y m a t t e r le s s i n t e r ti a ry c o u r s e s t h a t f o c u s e x c l u s i v e l y o nd e c l a r a t i v e k n o w l e d g e , b u t i n p r o f e s s i o n a l c o u r s e s d e c l a r a t iv e k n o w l e d g et h e n b e c o m e s t h e s u r r o g a t e f o r p r o c e d u r a l o r f u n c t io n i n g k n o w l e d g e ; th et h eo ry - t o -p rac t i ce s h i f t is l e f t u p t o t h e s t u d en t t o ach i ev e u n a i d ed .

9 the t e a c h e r s e ts t h e l i m i ts o f w h a t m a y f a l l w i t h in t h e p u r v i e w o f " g o o dl e a r n i n g " , s o m a n y i m p o r t a n t o r a p p r o p r i a t e t r i g g e r i n g q u e s t i o n s a r eu n l i k e l y t o b e a s k e d , a n d m u c h g o o d l e a r n in g is l i k e ly t o g o u n n o t i c e d .I f t h e s t u d e n t i s co n s t ru c t i n g t h e k n o w l ed g e , c l ea r l y t h e s t u d en t i s i n a


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3 5 8b e t t e r p o s i t i o n th an th e t each e r to se l ec t an d r ep o r t o n th o se co n s t r u c t io n s .R e s p o n d i n g o n l y to h i g h l y f o c u s e d a n d c l o s e d q u e s t i o n s p o s e d b y t h et each e r is t o o l im i t in g .

I n su m , a te ach e r can n o t a lway s an t i c ip a t e w h a t v a l id fo r m s s tu d en t s ' co n -s t r u c t io n s m ay t ak e . Th i s i s ex p la in ed in a sp l en d id m e ta p h o r f o r a s se ssm en t ,s u p p l i e d r e c e n t ly b y a s t u d e n t (n o t f r o m t h e B . E d . u n i t u n d e r d i s c u s s i o n ):

W h e n I s t an d in f r o n t o f a c l a s s , I d o n ' t s ee s tu p id o r u n teach ab le lea r n e r s,b u t b o x e s o f t r e a s u r e s w a i t i n g f o r u s t o o p e n . ( C h e u n g C h i n - m i n g , ap a r t - t im e P .C .Ed . s tu d en t , Un iv e r s i ty o f H o n g Ko n g )

Le t us tak e th is a l i t t le fu r ther :Teacher: H o w m a n y d i a m o n d s h a v e y o u g o t ?Student: I d o n ' t h a v e an y d i a m o n d s .Teacher: Th en y o u f a il !Student: B u t y o u d i d n ' t a s k m e a b o u t m y j a d e!

L e a r n e r s a m a s s t r e a su r e , n o t j u s t d i a m o n d s .C o n s t r u c t i v i s m s t r o n g l y i m p l i c a t e s t h e u s e o f a n a s s e s s m e n t portfolio,

w h e r e t h e s t u d e n t s s e le c t a t le a s t s o m e o f t h e e v i d e n c e t h a t th e y c o n s i d e rm a tch es th e u n i t o b jec t iv e s . Th i s f u r th e r im p l i ca t e s t h e u se o f se l f - an d p ee r -a s s e s s m e n t . I n d e c i d i n g s u i t a b le m o d e s o f a s s e s s m e n t , th e n , t h e f o l l o w i n gi s s u e s h a v e t o b e c o n s i d e r e d :1. W h a t q u a l it i es o f l ea r n i n g a re w e l o o k i n g fo r ; w h a t p e r f o r m a n c e s n e e d t o

b e c o n f i r m e d i n th e a s s e s s m e n t ? T h i s q u e s t io n s h o u l d a l re a d y b e a n s w e r e din th e cu r r i c u lu m o b jec t iv e s an d th e t each in g ac t iv it ie s .

2 . S h o u l d t h e a s s e s s m e n t b e d e c o n t e x t u a l i z e d o r s i tu a t e d ? T h e a n s w e r h e r ed e p e n d s o n t h e n a t u r e o f t h e k n o w l e d g e ; p r o c e d u r a l k n o w l e d g e c le a r lyr e q u ir e s e n a c t m e n t in c o n t e x t , w h i l e d e c la r a ti v e k n o w l e d g e m a y o r m a yn o t , d e p en d in g o n w h y i t is b e in g t au g h t ( B ig g s 1 9 9 5) .

3 . W h o sh o u ld se t t h e c ri t e ri a f o r l e a rn in g , p r o v id e th e ev id en ce , an d a sse ssh o w w e l l t h e e v i d e n c e a d d r e s s e s t h e o b j e c t iv e s ? A l l t h re e i s s u e s c o u l d b ead d r e sse d b y t each e r , b y p ee r s , b y th e s tu d en t , o r b y a l l co l lab o r a tiv e ly .

T h e p e r m u t a t i o n s an d c o m b i n a t i o n s h er e g e n e r a t e a w i d e v a r ie t y o f a s s es s -m en t t e ch n iq u es . Th e f in a l ex am in a t io n , o b jec t iv e t e s t, an d s t an d a r d a s s ig n -m en t , a r e o b v io u s ly n o t t h e o n ly o p t io n s f o r a s se ss in g l ea r n in g .Example

I n th e B .Ed . u n i t , t h e a s se s sm en t s t a sk s n eed ed to ad d r e ss a r an g e o f lev e l so f u n d e r s t a n d i n g : f r o m c o m p r e h e n s i o n , t h r o u g h a p p l i c a ti o n , to r e fl e c ti o n a t ah i g h a n d p e r s o n a l l e v el ; a n d t o p r o d u c e e v i d e n c e s h o w i n g c o n c e p t u a l c h a n g ea n d i f a n d h o w p r o f e s s i o n a l d e c i s i o n - m a k i n g h a d c h a n g e d . A portfolio w as


13/18

3 5 9in d ica t ed . Th e s tu d en t s we r e a sk ed to p r o v id e f o u r it em s g iv in g ev id en c e th a tl ea r n in g r e l ev an t t o t h e u n i t o b jec t iv e s h ad t ak en p l ace , w i th a j u s ti f i c a tio nf o r t h e se l ec t io n ( w h ich in t u r n p r o v id es ev id en ce o f t h e d ep th o f th e l ea r n e r 'sm e t a c o g n i t i v e u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f h i s o r h e r l e a r n i n g ) , t h e r e m a i n i n g i t e m sc o m p r i s i n g t h e d i a r y an d a n s w e r s t o t h e s e l f- a d d r e s s e d q u e s t io n s .

A b r i e f i n d ic a t io n o f h o w w e l l c o n s tr u c ti v e a l i g n m e n t s e e m e d t o w o r k i nth i s u n i t sh o u ld b e g iv en . Th e b es t i n d ex i s th e ev id en ce p r o v id ed b y s tu d en t st h a t t h e ir c o n c e p t i o n s a n d t e a c h i n g p r a ct ic e s h a d c h a n g e d . S u c h e v i d e n c ec a m e i n t h r e e m a i n k i n d s :

1 . Diary en t r ies , and a popu lar por t fo l io i tem, the le t te r - to -a- f r iend (Tr igw el l& P r o sse r 1 9 9 0) , wh ich g iv es c lea r i n d ica t io n s o f co n c ep tu a l ch an g e an do f th e q u a l i t y o f r e fl ec t io n ( Tan g & Big g s 1 99 5).

2 . E v i d e n c e o f c h a n g e d c l a s s r o o m p r a c t i c e : p o r t f o l i o i t e m s c o m p r i s i n gle sso n s an d l e s so n p l an s , a s se ss m en t it em s , r ep o r ts o f c r i ti c a l i n c id en t sin th e c l a s s r o o m , a s se ssm en t s b y th e i r o w n s tu d en t s , e t c .

3 . Dec la r a t iv e k n o w led g e ab o u t t e ach in g an d lea r n in g : r ev i ews an d c r i ti q u ese o f r e l ev an t a r t ic l e s , o r ig in a l co n cep t m ap s o f t h e u n i t.On th i s b as i s , 3 7 p e r cen t o f th e 8 2 s tu d en t s p r o d u ce d ev id en ce m ee t in g

the c r i te r ia fo r "A" (ex tended abs t rac t ) , a fu r ther 40 per cen t the c r i te r ionfor "B" ( re la t iona l ) , l eve l learn ing . In o ther words , over th ree-quar te r s o fth e s tu d en t s we r e ab le t o d em o n s t r a t e a l ev e l o f u n d e r s t an d in g th a t we n tb e y o n d u n d e r s t a n d i n g p r o p o s i t io n a l o r d e c l ar a ti v e k n o w l e d g e a s s u c h , t od e m o n s t r a t i n g th a t t h e k n o w l e d g e c h a n g e d p e r f o r m a n c e s i n t h e ir e v e r y d a yp r o f e ss io n a l l i v e s . Th e r e m ay b e m an y r ea so n s wh y th i s h ap p en ed , b u t t h em o s t o b v io u s i s t h a t t h ey wer e r eq u i r ed to d o so b y th e d es ig n o f t h e u n i t :t h e o b jec t iv e s d e f in ed th e p e r f o r m an ces , th e t each in g m e th o d s e l i c i ted th em ,a n d t h e a s s e s s m e n t t a s k s b o t h c o n f i r m e d ( a n d n o d o u b t m o t i v a t e d ) t h o s ep e r f o r m a n c e s .

Sp ace a l lo ws o n ly two q u o ta t io n s f r o m s tu d en t s ' p o r t f o l io s t o i l l u s t r a t e :c o n s i d e r a b l y m o r e d e t a i l e d e v i d e n c e o f d e s i r e d c h a n g e i s g i v e n i n B i g g s( 1 9 9 6 b , Ch ap te r 9 ) an d Tan g an d Big g s ( 1 9 9 5 ) . Th e f i r s t i s an ex am p le o fh ig h l ev e l p r o f e ss io n a l r e fl ec tio n :

Th e b ig g es t p o in t I h av e l ea rn ed f r o m th i s co u r se is m y b ig g es t f law a s at each e r , t h a t i s , I d id n o t t r u s t m y s tu d en t s to b e ab le t o b eh av e th em se lv es... ( o r) .. . c ap ab le o f b e in g r e sp o n s ib l e f o r t h e i r o w n l ea r n in g ; an d b ecau s eo f t h is f law , I m ad e n u m er o u s r u l es i n c l a s s fo r t h em to f o l lo w so a s t om ak e su r e th a t t h ey "b e h av ed " , d id a l l t h e p r ep a r a t io n s an d p l an n in g f o rt h e m , g i v i n g t h e m m o u n t a i n s o f h o m e w o r k an d s h o r t t es t s to m a k e s u r eth a t t h ey r ev i se fo r t h e ir l e s so n s an d so o n - a ll r o o ted f r o m m y l acko f t r u s t i n t h em ! An d I d a r ed to b l am e th em f o r b e in g so p ass iv e an dd e p e n d e n t w h e n a l l a l o n g I h e l p e d t o e n c o u r a g e t h e m t o b e s o !


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3 6 0T h e n e x t q u o t a t io n i s a g r a t if y i n g c o n f i rm a t i o n o f a l i g n m e n t a t t h e c o n c e p t u a lleve l :

A s R o n a l d , o n e o f m y c l a s s m a t e s , s ai d, " T h e y a r e p r a c ti s in g w h a t t h e yp r e a c h . " H i s w o r d s r e c a ll m y m e m o r y o f M i c h a e l F u l l a n ' s p r e m i s e in h i sb o o k Change forces :Facul ti es o f educat ion shou ld no t be advocat ing th ings fo r t eachers

or schools that they are no t capa ble o f pract is ing themselves .

D i s c u s s i o n a n d c o n c l u s i o n s

T h e p r i n c i p l e o f " c o n s t r u c t iv e a l i g n m e n t " e v o l v e d w i t h t h e d e c i s i o n to u s ea p o r t f o l io t o a s se ss t h e ex ten t t o w h ich s tu d en t s f e l t t h ey h ad m e t t h e u n i to b j e c ti v e s . T h i s f o r c e d t h e m t o r e f le c t o n w h a t t h e y w a n t e d f r o m t h e u n it ,a n d h o w t h e y t h o u g h t th e y g o i n g to g e t it , w h i c h i n tu r n p u t p r e s s u re o n t h et each e r t o p r o v id e ap p r o p r i a t e t e ach in g / l ea r n in g ac tiv i ti e s to h e lp th em d o so .I n th i s way , al l co m p o n e n t s in t h e sy s t em b e cam e a l ig n ed to th e o b jec t iv e s .

T h e q u e s t i o n i s : C a n t h e p r i n c i p l e o f c o n s tr u c t iv e a l ig n m e n t b e g e n e r a l i s e df r o m th e co n tex t o f i n - se r v i ce t each e r ed u ca t io n ? I b e l i ev e so . I n f ac t , t h eau th o r s o f P r o j ec t Ze r o a r e d o in g ex ac t ly th a t ( Ga r d n e r 1 9 9 3, Pe r k in s & B ly th e1 9 9 3 ). T h e k ey i s su e i s w h e th e r t h e t each e r can o p e r a t io n a l i se d es i r ab ly h ig hl e v el s o f u n d e r s t a n d i n g i n w a y s t h a t d e n o t e p e r f o r m a n c e s t h a t c a n b e e l ic i t edb y t each in g / l ea r n in g ac t iv i t ie s , an d th a t c an b e a s se ssed au th en t i ca lly . It i s t h ena m a t t e r o f ap p ly in g th e p r in c ip l e s o f a l i g n m en t , an d o f c r i t e r io n - r e f e r en c in g ,th a t a r e a l r ead y we l l e s t ab l i sh ed in th e in s t r u c t io n a l d e s ig n l i t e ra tu re . To th ec r i t i c i sm th a t c r i t e r io n - r e f e r en ced a sse ss m en t is c lo sed , an d in im ica l to t h esp i r it o f co n s t r u c t iv i sm ( Du f f y & Jo n ass en 1 9 9 2) , o n e p o in t s to t h e p o r t f o l io ,w h e r e e v e r y en co u r ag em en t i s g iv en to s tu d en t s t o b e d iv e r g en t an d su r p r is in g ,a n d i n d e e d t h e y w o u l d n o t h a v e m e t t h e " A " c r it e ri o n h a d t h e y n o t b e e n s o .Th e m o d e l o f i n s t r u c t io n th a t em er g es i s s im p le , an d i t m ak es in tu i t i v esen se :

9 t e ach e r s n eed to b e c l ea r ab o u t wh a t t h ey wan t t h e i r s tu d en t s t o l e a r n ,a n d h o w t h e y w o u l d m a n i f e s t th a t l e ar n in g i n t e rm s o f " p e r f o r m a n c e so f u n d e r s t a n d i n g " . F o r .e x a m p le , m e m o r i s i n g a n d p a r a p h r a s i n g a r e n o tp e r f o r m a n c e s o f u n d e r s t a n d i n g , r e c o g n i s i n g an a p p l ic a t io n i n a n o v e lco n te x t i s.

9 t h e p e r f o r m an c e o b jec t iv e s t h u s em er g in g n eed to b e a r r an g ed in a h ie r a r-ch y f r o m m o s t accep tab le t o b a re ly sa ti s fac to ry , wh ich h i e r a r ch y b eco m est h e g r a d i n g s y s t e m .

9 s tu d en t s n eed to b e p l aced in s i t u a tio n s th a t a r e j u d g e d l i k e ly to e l i c i t t h er eq u i r ed l ea r n in g s .


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3619 s tu d en t s a r e t h en r eq u i r ed to p r o v id e ev id en ce , e i t h e r b y se l f - se t o r

t each e r - se t t a sk s, a s ap p r o p r i a t e , th a t t h e i r l e a r n in g can m a tch th e s t at -e d o b j e c t i v e s . T h e i r g r a d e b e c o m e s t h e h i g h e s t l e v e l t h e y c a n m a t c hc o n v i n c i n g l y .

S o m e t h i n g l ik e a n a l i g n m e n t m o d e l is a s s u m e d in a n y d i s c u s s i o n s a b o u tg o o d t each in g . Co u r se v a l id a tio n , t h e q u a l i ty en h a n ce m en t o f t er t ia r y t each in g( n o w a g en e r a l co n ce r n in m an y co u n t r i e s) , an d g en e r a l p r o ced u r e s o f s ta f fd e v e l o p m e n t u s e a t l e a s t i m p l ic i tl y t h e p r i n c i p l es o f c o n s t r u c t iv e a l i g n m e n t .G o o d t e a c h e r s a r e e x p e c t e d to b e c l e a r a b o u t w h a t t h e y w a n t s t u d e n t s to l e a r nan d wh a t s tu d en t s sh o u ld h av e to d o in o r d e r t o d em o n s t r a t e t h a t t h ey h av elea r n ed a t t h e ap p r o p r i a t e lev e l; t h ey sh o u ld k n o w an d en ac t w ay s o f g e t t in gth e i r s tu d en t s t o l e a rn e f f ec t iv e ly at t h e d es i r ed co g n i t iv e lev e l, t o b e m o r es tu d en t - cen t r ed in t h e i r t e ach in g - l ea r n in g ac t iv i t i e s , an d m o r e au th en t i c i nt h e i r a s s e s s m e n t s . T h e p r e s e n t m o d e l p r o v id e s a f r a m e w o r k f o r s y s t e m a t i c a ll yo p e r a t i o n a l is i n g t h e s e des ide ra ta .

Th er e i s h o wev e r an in s t i t u t io n a l s id e to t h i s , n o t t o say o b l ig a t io n . Th eq u an t i t a t i v e f r am ew o r k o f i n s t i t u t io n a l co n t r o l , a s r ea l i sed in t h e m an ag e r i a lm o d e l t h a t h a s r e c e n t l y b e e n i m p o s e d o n u n i v er s it ie s in m a n y c o u n t r i es , fr e -q u e n t ly r eq u i r e s a s se ssm en t r e la t ed p r ac ti ce s t h a t m ak e th e k in d o f q u a l it a t iv ec r i t e r io n - r e f e r en c in g th a t i s b a s i c t o co n s t r u c t iv e a l ig n m en t d i f fi cu l t t o im p le -m e n t ( B i g g s 1 9 96 a ). E c o n o m i c r at i o n a li s m m e a n s l a rg e r c la s s es , w h i c h i nc o n v e n t i o n a l t h i n k i n g m e a n s m o r e l e c t u ri n g a n d m o r e f in a l e x a m s , e s p e c i a l l ym u l t i p le - c h o i c e , r a th e r t h a n g r o u p w o r k a n d a s s i g n m e n t s o r o t h e r f o r m a t s t h ata r e t im e- c o n su m in g to m ar k ; i t n eed n o t b e so , b u t i t is e a sy to t h in k th a ti t m u s t . Man ag e r i a l t h in k in g in c r ea s in g ly r eq u i r e s t h e r ep o r t in g o f s tu d en tp e r f o r m an ce in t e r m s o f p e r cen tag es r a th e r t h an o f l e t t e r g r ad es o r o th e rq u a l i t a t iv e ca t eg o r i e s ; i n Au s t r a l ia , m an y in s t i tu t io n s ev en r eq u i re g r ad in g -o n - th e - cu r v e . Su ch p r o c ed u r e s s t r o n g ly d i sco u r ag e q u a li t a ti v e ap p r o ach es toa sse s sm en t . Th e r e i s a rea l t en s io n h e r e b e tw een ad m in i s t ra t iv e an d acad em icr e q u i r e m e n t s ( B i g g s 1 9 96 a , 1 9 9 6 b) . A c a d e m i c s n e e d t o b e c o m e m o r e p r o a c -t ive , pos i t ive ly ins i s t ing t h a t ed u ca t io n a l co n s id e r a t io n s sh o u ld p r ev a il o v e ra d m i n i s t r a ti v e c o n v e n i e n c e .

Ho wev e r , t h e se co n s id e r a t io n s l ead to a d i f f e r en t se t o f i s su es , wh ich i tw o u l d b e in ap p r o p r i a t e to p u r su e h e r e . M y m a in p o in t is th a t a wo r k in g v e r -s io n o f co n s t r u c t iv i sm can b e in t eg r a ted wi th in s t r u c t io n a l d e s ig n a t t h r eec r u c ia l p o in t s : t h e cu r r i cu lu m o r u n i t o b jec t iv e s a re c l ea r ly s t a t ed in t e r m s o fco n ten t sp ec i f i c l ev e l s o f u n d e r s t an d in g th a t im p ly ap p r o p r i a t e p e r f o r m an ces ,th e t eac h in g m e th o d s r eq u i r e s tu d en t s to b e p l ace d in co n tex t s t h a t w i l l li k e -l y e l i ci t t h o s e p e r f o r m a n c e s , a n d t h e a s s e s s m e n t t a s k s a d d r e ss t h o s e s a m ep e r f o r m an ces . On th e b as i s o f a t l e a s t t h e ex am p le g iv en , an d o f t h e in f e r -


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3 6 2e n t ia l e v i d e n c e f r o m t h e r e s e a r c h l i t e r a tu r e , t h e m o d e l p r o v i d e s a p o w e r f u lt e a c h i n g / l e a r n i n g c o n t e x t .

No t e s

Th is paper i s elaborated fro m presentat ions to the 20th International Con ference, Imp rovin gUnivers i ty Teaching , Ho ng Ko ng, 10 -13 Ju ly , 1995, and to the Annual Meeting , Hon g KongEdu cat ional Researc h Assoc iat ion, 11-1 2 November, 1995. I am indebted to M ark Constasand C atherine Ta ng for discussions helpful in const ruc t ing the ideas presented here.2 "Inst ru ct ion" i s used here and throu ghou t this paper in the North Am erican sense o f system at icteaching, inc luding cu rriculum and assessment, not in the Engl ish sense o f di rect instructionor training.31 ackn ow ledge m y great debt to Mabel Sieh, w ho assisted part icularly in the grou pw ork andthe assessm ent o f portfolios, and wh o provided valuable ong oing feedback during the teachingo f the uni t. For a m ore com plete descript ion of the uni t and i ts rationale, see Chapter 9, Bigg s(1996b).

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