Abstract:
Generic Intended Learning Outcomes (GILOs) represent the institutional expectations of all graduates to articulate generic abilities which encompass knowledge, skills, attitude, and dispositions. To facilitate the understanding of GILOs among students and academic and teaching staff, the institutional GILO Rubrics were developed as a tool (1) to give the University and all programmes an understanding of students’ progress in achieving GILOs during their studies at the University; (2) to help academic and teaching staff to improve learning and teaching and groom their students to develop generic abilities according to their need at the University; and (3) to help students to self-evaluate, set learning goals and move towards achieving GILOs. The GILOs are (1) Problem Solving Skills, (2) Critical Thinking Skills, (3) Creative Thinking Skills, (4a) Oral Communication Skills, (4b) Written Communication Skills, (5) Social Interaction Skills, (6) Ethical Decision Making and (7) Global Perspectives. Each GILO Rubric has four or five criteria and four performance levels of all Rubrics start from Level 4 (Outstanding), Level 3 (Mastering), Level 2 (Developing) to Level 1 (Beginning). Action verbs in Bloom’s taxonomy are used in the descriptions of each cell of the Rubrics and the Rubrics are formulated for University-wide implementation.
Code:
T0161
Principal Project Supervisors:
Keywords provided by authors:
- E-portfolio
- Generic Intended Learning Outcomes (GILOs)
- Higher Education
- Assessment rubrics for assessing GILOs
- Student Learning
Subjects:
Start Date:
01 Sep 2015
End Date:
31 May 2017
Status:
Completed
Result:
The Rubrics went through 17 rounds of revision in one and a half year with inputs from literatures, external consultants, academic and teaching staff as well as students. Two external reviews were conducted, followed by modifications of the descriptions of the Rubrics, and development of User Guide and a Chinese translation to supplement the English version of the GILO Rubrics. Additional internal review from assessment perspective was also carried out to refine the context of the Rubrics. A total of 46 academic and teaching staff as well as 272 students responded to a questionnaire survey and the results indicated that academic and teaching staff held a more positive perception than students in the understanding, helpfulness and user-friendliness of the Rubrics. A total of 34 academic and teaching staff as well as 62 students attended 30 focus group or individual interviews to express their perception, concerns and expectation of the Rubrics. Programme Leaders described the GILO Rubrics as feasible and beneficial to programme development. Teachers evaluated that the distinct level progression of the Rubrics supported assessment of students’ generic abilities. Students identified that the Rubrics serve as a useful and appropriate guide for them to set learning goals for their studies.
Impact:
Programme Leaders have started to integrate the Rubrics with the University-wide Programme Outcome Assessment (POA) for quality assurance. Further investigation of a closer relationship between GILOs and Programme Intended Learning Outcomes (PILOs), course assessment integration possibility, and a timeframe of integration into curriculum designs, will be essential for mapping GILOs onto PILOs in programme review occasions. Academic and teaching staff started to utilize the Rubrics to guide teaching activities and assess students’ generic attributes. Professional development activities, in the form of workshops and seminars in blended learning mode, will demonstrate the use of the Rubrics to integrate the University’s GILOs with coursework and teaching practices. Students regard the Rubrics as a guide in developing and improving their generic attributes under the supervision of academic and teaching staff in their formal curriculums such as learning of courses. Workshops in blended learning mode regarding the GILO Rubrics will be provided for senior year students. Besides, student work are selected and complied into three sets of exemplars to demonstrate students’ achievement in GILOs, enhance students’ understanding of the University’s expectations of graduates and guide them to attain GILOs in their academic, professional and personal development.
Financial Year:
2014-15
Type:
TDG