“Department Seminar on
Teaching & Learning”
IT University of Copenhagen
((( May 28, 2008 )))
Claus Brabrand
“Department Seminar on Teaching & Learning”
May 28, 2008
“Intro to Constructive Alignment
& The SOLO Taxonomy”
– Theory & Practice –
IT University of Copenhagen
((( May 28, 2008 )))
Claus Brabrand
“Department Seminar on Teaching & Learning”
May 28, 2008
Agenda (Morning)
09:00
Welcome & Presentation of Programme:
 by Mads Tofte & Claus Brabrand
09:15
Introduction to Teaching & Learning:
 “Constructive Alignment & The SOLO Taxonomy”
--- 15’ break ---
10:10
From Theory to Practice:
 “From Content to Competence”
--- 15’ break ---
11:05
Group Exercise (“heterogeneous groups”):
 “Discussion of Theory in Practice”
12:00
Lunch:
 “One hour lunch break”
Claus Brabrand
“Department Seminar on Teaching & Learning”
[3]
May 28, 2008
Agenda (Afternoon)
13:00
Course Descriptions:
 “Good advice on how to write course descriptions”
13:30
Main Group Exercise (“homogeneous groups”):
 “Application of Theory in Practice”
16:10
+ short breaks
Short presentations of Good Examples
--- short (10’) break ---
16:40
Poster Session (Tour I + Tour II)
+ short break
--- short (10’) break --18:20
End Note:
 by Mads Tofte & Claus Brabrand
18:30
Dinner + Bar:
 “Dinner + Bar”
Claus Brabrand
“Department Seminar on Teaching & Learning”
[4]
May 28, 2008
Agenda (Morning)
09:00
Welcome & Presentation of Programme:
 by Mads Tofte & Claus Brabrand
09:15
Introduction to Teaching & Learning:
 “Constructive Alignment & The SOLO Taxonomy”
--- 15’ break ---
10:10
From Theory to Practice:
 “From Content to Competence”
--- 15’ break ---
11:05
Group Exercise (“heterogeneous groups”):
 “Discussion of Theory in Practice”
12:00
Lunch:
 “One hour lunch break”
Claus Brabrand
“Department Seminar on Teaching & Learning”
[5]
May 28, 2008
T
First: Exercise

Before we start; “Focus exercise”:
1) Write down answer to:
"what is good teaching?"
2) Swap Post-Its...
Claus Brabrand
“Department Seminar on Teaching & Learning”
[6]
May 28, 2008
Teaching & Learning (theory)

Constructive Alignment & SOLO Taxonomy:
John Biggs’ world famous ”Bible of Teaching & Learning”:
“Teaching for Quality Learning
at University
- What the student does”
(see compendium in your ”registration bag” + paper)
“Teaching Teaching
&
Understanding Understanding”
19 minute short-film on Teaching & Learning
(available on DVD in 7 languages, epilogue by John Biggs)
Claus Brabrand
“Department Seminar on Teaching & Learning”
[7]
May 28, 2008
T
Exercise

Buzz Session:
1) Discuss w/ neighbour:
"which of the messages
of the film did you find
particularly relevant ?"
2) Write it on a Post-It
3) Swap Post-Its…
Claus Brabrand
“Department Seminar on Teaching & Learning”
[8]
May 28, 2008
Alignment
 Make explicit ILO’s
(Intended Learning Outcomes):
 Exam = ILO’s = Teaching
 (…and tell this to students)
Claus Brabrand
“Department Seminar on Teaching & Learning”
[9]
May 28, 2008
Student Motivation
 Susan: (”intrinsic motivation”)
- wants to…: learn !
 Robert: (”extrinsic motivation”)
- to…: pass exams !
Claus Brabrand
“Department Seminar on Teaching & Learning”
[ 10 ]
May 28, 2008
Constructivism
 ”Transmission is Dead…” :
!
active
teacher
&
(lectures risk
= passive students )
 Knowledge is…
Actively Constructed !
Claus Brabrand
“Department Seminar on Teaching & Learning”
[ 11 ]
May 28, 2008
SOLO Taxonomy
 Hierarchy for Competences:
5:
4:
3:
2:
generalize, theorize, predict, …
explain, analyze, compare, …
describe, combine, classify, …
recite, identify, calculate, …
 Deep learning (not surface) !
Claus Brabrand
“Department Seminar on Teaching & Learning”
[ 12 ]
May 28, 2008
Stud Learning Focus
 Focus on Student Learning !
(instead of ”what teacher does”
& labelling students: ’good/bad’)
 Student activitation  learning
Claus Brabrand
“Department Seminar on Teaching & Learning”
[ 13 ]
May 28, 2008
Break (until 10:10)
Please put the Post-Its on the wall
"What is good teaching?"
Claus Brabrand
“Film message(s)?"
“Department Seminar on Teaching & Learning”
May 28, 2008
Agenda (Morning)
09:00
Welcome & Presentation of Programme:
 by Mads Tofte & Claus Brabrand
09:15
Introduction to Teaching & Learning:
 “Constructive Alignment & The SOLO Taxonomy”
--- 15’ break ---
10:10
From Theory to Practice:
 “From Content to Competence”
--- 15’ break ---
11:05
Group Exercise (“heterogeneous groups”):
 “Discussion of Theory in Practice”
12:00
Lunch:
 “One hour lunch break”
Claus Brabrand
“Department Seminar on Teaching & Learning”
[ 15 ]
May 28, 2008
From Theory to Practice…
From Content to Competence:
1
 ”advocate a shift in perspective”
Elaborate on SOLO (for Competences):
2
 ”advocate SOLO for competences”
New Danish Grade Scale:
3
 ”show relation to new grade scale”
--- After lunch: --AFTER
LUNCH
Claus Brabrand
How to write Course Descriptions:
 ”concrete advice”
“Department Seminar on Teaching & Learning”
[ 16 ]
May 28, 2008
From Content to Competence

“Old way”: my ‘2004 Concurrency’ course descr:

Given in terms of a 'content description':

Essentially:
Goal is...:
To understand:
deadlock
interference
synchronization
...
Claus Brabrand
“Department Seminar on Teaching & Learning”
This is a bad idea
for 2 reasons...!
[ 17 ]
May 28, 2008
1) Problem with 'content' as aim

Problem with 'content‘ as learning goals ?!?
analyze ...
theorize ...
analyze systems
explain causes
define deadlock
describe solutions
Goal is…:
Stud. C
To understand:

deadlock
interference
synchronization
...
Teacher
analyze systems
explain causes
Stud. B
Stud. A
Censor
Claus Brabrand
name solutions
recite conditons
“Department Seminar on Teaching & Learning”
BUT, even if it were
possible to agree,
we know that the
exam will dictate the
learning anyways.
[ 18 ]
May 28, 2008
2) Problem with 'understanding'

Problem with 'understanding'
as learning goal ?!?
Goal is…:
To understand:
deadlock
interference
synchronization
...
concept of deadlock ?!
The answer is simple:
It cannot be measured (!)
Claus Brabrand
“Department Seminar on Teaching & Learning”

[ 19 ]
May 28, 2008
Competence := knowledge + capacity to act upon it
'Competence' as objectives !

'Competence' as learning objectives !

Evaluation = Have the student do something,
and then measure product and/or process
Objective !
To learn to:
analyze systems for...
explain cause/effects...
prove properties of...
compare methods of...
...
Note:
'understanding' is
(of course)
pre-requisitional (!)

Note': inherently operational (~ verbs)
'SOLO' = Structure of the Observed Learning Outcome
Claus Brabrand
“Department Seminar on Teaching & Learning”
[ 20 ]
May 28, 2008
T
Neighbour Discussion
Discuss with neighbour:
"does this make sense ?!?"
(content  competence)
Claus Brabrand
“Department Seminar on Teaching & Learning”
[ 21 ]
May 28, 2008
From Theory to Practice…
From Content to Competence:
1
 ”advocate a shift in perspective”
Elaborate on SOLO (for Competences):
2
 ”advocate SOLO for competences”
New Danish Grade Scale:
3
 ”relation to new grade scale”
--- After lunch: --AFTER
LUNCH
Claus Brabrand
How to write Course Descriptions:
 ”concrete advice”
“Department Seminar on Teaching & Learning”
[ 22 ]
May 28, 2008
Advantages of 'SOLO'
SOLO 5
SOLO 4
SOLO 3
SOLO 2
SOLO 1

"extended abstract"




to generalize
to hypothesize
to theorize
...
"relational"




to relate
to compare
to analyze
...
"multi-structural"




to classify
to combine
to enumerate
...
"uni-structural"




to identify
to do procedure
to recite
...
"pre-structural"
 no understanding
 irrelevant information
 misses point
 ...
Production of
new knowledge
Advantages of 'SOLO':


Claus Brabrand
Constructed for research-based university teaching
Converges on research (at SOLO 5)
“Department Seminar on Teaching & Learning”
[ 23 ]
May 28, 2008
Note: the list is non-exhaustive
Graphic Legend
SOLO (elaborated)
QUANTITATIVE
SOLO 2
SOLO 3
”uni-structural”
“multi-structural”
define
identify
count
name
recite
paraphrase
follow (simple)
instructions
…
Q
Claus Brabrand
R
combine
structure
describe
classify
enumerate
list
do algorithm
apply method
…
Q
R
Q
R1
R2
R3
SOLO 4
“relational”
problem / question / cue
known related issue - given!
hypothetical related issue - not given!
R student response
Q
QUALITATIVE
SOLO 5
“extended abstract”
analyze
compare
contrast
integrate
relate
explain causes
apply theory
(to its domain)
…
theorize
generalize
hypothesize
predict
judge
reflect
transfer theory
(to new domain)
…
R
Q
“Department Seminar on Teaching & Learning”
R
Q
R'
[ 24 ]
May 28, 2008
T
Post-It exercise
Write down 1-2 key
competences (i.e., verbs)
(for your course)
Claus Brabrand
“Department Seminar on Teaching & Learning”
[ 25 ]
May 28, 2008
From Theory to Practice…
From Content to Competence:
1
 ”advocate a shift in perspective”
Elaborate on SOLO (for Competences):
2
 ”advocate SOLO for competences”
New Danish Grade Scale:
3
 ”relation to new grade scale”
--- After lunch: --AFTER
LUNCH
Claus Brabrand
How to write Course Descriptions:
 ”concrete advice”
“Department Seminar on Teaching & Learning”
[ 26 ]
May 28, 2008
“The Danish 7 Step Scale”
12
Excellent
For an excellent performance which completely meets the course
objectives, with no or only a few insignificant weaknesses .
A
10
Very good
For a very good performance which meets the course objectives,
with only minor weaknesses
B
7
Good
For a good performance which meets the course objectives but also
displays some weaknesses
C
4
Fair
For a fair performance which adequately meets the course objectives
but also displays several major weaknesses
D
02
Adequate
For a sufficient performance which barely meets the course objectives
E
00
Inadequate
For an insufficient performance which does not meet the course objectives
Fx
-3
Unacceptable
For a performance which is unacceptable in all respects
F
Claus Brabrand
“Department Seminar on Teaching & Learning”
[ 27 ]
May 28, 2008
Intended Learning Outcomes !

Consequence:

Claus Brabrand
Every course has to explicitly define…:
Intended Learning Outcomes (!)
“Department Seminar on Teaching & Learning”
[ 28 ]
May 28, 2008
Break (until 11:05)
Please put the Post-Its on the wall
“Key competences for your course”?
Claus Brabrand
After break:
Heterogeneous group exercise
(meet here for instructions)
“Department Seminar on Teaching & Learning”
May 28, 2008
Agenda (Morning)
09:00
Welcome & Presentation of Programme:
 by Mads Tofte & Claus Brabrand
09:15
Introduction to Teaching & Learning:
 “Constructive Alignment & The SOLO Taxonomy”
--- 15’ break ---
10:10
From Theory to Practice:
 “From Content to Competence”
--- 15’ break ---
11:05
Group Exercise (“heterogeneous groups”):
 “Discussion of Theory in Practice”
12:00
Lunch:
 “One hour lunch break”
Claus Brabrand
“Department Seminar on Teaching & Learning”
[ 30 ]
May 28, 2008
Group Exercise

T
Note: Groups are
in the programme
Group Exercise (in ”heterogeneous groups”):
Discuss how ‘main messages’
of the film relate to your own
teaching (either given/received)
Claus Brabrand
“Department Seminar on Teaching & Learning”
[ 31 ]
May 28, 2008
LUNCH!
We resume here at 13:00
Claus Brabrand
“Department Seminar on Teaching & Learning”
May 28, 2008
Agenda (Afternoon)
13:00
Course Descriptions:
 “Good advice” & “How to…”
13:30
Main Group Exercise (“homogeneous groups”):
 “Application of Theory in Practice”
16:10
+ short breaks
Short presentations of Good Examples
--- short (10’) break ---
16:40
Poster Session (Tour I + Tour II)
+ short break
--- short (10’) break --18:20
End Note:
 by Mads Tofte & Claus Brabrand
18:30
Dinner + Bar:
 “Dinner + Bar”
Claus Brabrand
“Department Seminar on Teaching & Learning”
[ 33 ]
May 28, 2008
Example: Genetics 101 (at AU)

Old course description:
Purpose:
To give the students a basic understanding of the fundamental laws of genetics
and populational genetics and elementary knowledge of …:
Content:
- evolution, selection, mutation, variation, in-breeding, equibrilia, recombinations, …

New course description:
After the course, the students are expected to be able to:
locate genes on chromosomes
do simple calculations: (eg, recombination frequencies, evolutionary equilibria, ..)
describe and perform connexion-analysis
describe fundamental genetic concepts: (e.g., mutation, variation, selection, …)
describe and analyze simple inheritancies
analyze inheritance of multiple genes simultaneously
Claus Brabrand
“Department Seminar on Teaching & Learning”
[ 34 ]
May 28, 2008
Concrete Recommendations (4x)
Intended Learning Outcomes
[Genetics 101]
After the course, the students are expected to be able to:
locate V genes N on chromosomes
do V simple calculations N: (e.g., recombination frequencies,
in-breeding coefficients, Hardy-Weinberg,
evolutionary equilibria).
describe V and perform V connexion-analysis N
describe V fundamental genetic concepts N : (e.g., mutation
variation, in-breeding, natural selection).
describe V and analyze V simple inheritancies N
analyze V inheritance N of multiple genes simultaneously
V
Claus Brabrand
N
“Department Seminar on Teaching & Learning”
[ 35 ]
May 28, 2008
Another Example: Semantics

Old course description:
Purpose:
To give the students an understanding of :
- transition systems, big-step vs. small-step semantics, side-effects, laziness,
termination, types, static semantics, dynamic semantics, equivalence, bisimulation,
environment-store-model, and structural induction.

New course description:
After the course, the students are expected to be able to:
describe the meaning of a wide range of programming constructs
explain fundamental concepts, techniques, and results within semantics (…)
analyze the meaning of a wide range of programming constructs
compare semantic descriptions
reason about semantic descriptions
prove consequences of semantic descriptions
implement semantic descriptions (in familiar programming languages)
Claus Brabrand
“Department Seminar on Teaching & Learning”
[ 36 ]
May 28, 2008
Alignment Implementation Process

Process (course specific):
1) Think carefully about:
overall goal of course
(what are the stud. to learn?)
2) Operationalize these goals:
and express them as
intended learning outcomes
alignment
learning incentive
3) Choose carefully the
form(s) of examination
(~ intended learning outcomes)
Claus Brabrand
learning support
4) Choose carefully the
form(s) of teaching
(~ intended learning outcomes)
“Department Seminar on Teaching & Learning”
[ 37 ]
May 28, 2008
Starting Point

Content description (Concurrency '04+'05):
What is the overall goal of the course...?
(what are the students to learn)
“think big picture”
Claus Brabrand
“Department Seminar on Teaching & Learning”
[ 38 ]
May 28, 2008
Overall Course Philosophy

Example: ‘Concurrency’

Claus Brabrand
Philosophy: “Model-Based Design for Concurrency”:
“Department Seminar on Teaching & Learning”
[ 39 ]
May 28, 2008
Implementation Process

Process (course specific):
1) Think carefully about:
overall goal of course
(what are the stud. to learn?)
2) Operationalize these goals:
and express them as
intended learning outcomes
alignment
3) Choose carefully the
form(s) of examination
(~ intended learning outcomes)
Claus Brabrand
4) Choose carefully the
form(s) of teaching
(~ intended learning outcomes)
“Department Seminar on Teaching & Learning”
[ 40 ]
May 28, 2008
Learning Goals

Intended Learning Outcomes
(based on The SOLO Taxonomy):
Note:
explicitly
included 
as a non-goal
Claus Brabrand
“Department Seminar on Teaching & Learning”
[ 41 ]
May 28, 2008
Alignment Impl.

Process (course specific):
1) Think carefully about:
overall goal of course
(what are the stud. to learn?)
ILO’s:
 construct models
 apply methods
 relate specsmodels
 test models
 define properties
 verify models~props
 analyze models
 compare models
 implement models
 relate models~impl
2) Operationalize these goals:
and express them as
intended learning outcomes
alignment
learning incentive
3) Choose carefully the
form(s) of examination
(~ intended learning outcomes)
Claus Brabrand
4) Choose carefully the
form(s) of teaching
(~ intended learning outcomes)
“Department Seminar on Teaching & Learning”
[ 42 ]
May 28, 2008
On the Role of the Exam

"To the teacher, assessment is at the end
of the teaching-learning sequence of events,
but to the student it is at the beginning"
-- John Biggs (2003)
From:
Exam is a "necessary evil"
“Conceptual change”
To:
Claus Brabrand
Exam is a powerful motivational & learningguiding pedagogical tool (for the teacher) !!!
“Department Seminar on Teaching & Learning”
[ 43 ]
May 28, 2008
Alignment Impl.

Process (course specific):
1) Think carefully about:
overall goal of course
(what are the stud. to learn?)
ILO’s:
 construct models
 apply methods
 relate specsmodels
 test models
 define properties
 verify models~props
 analyze models
 compare models
 implement models
 relate models~impl
2) Operationalize these goals:
and express them as
intended learning outcomes
alignment
3) Choose carefully the
form(s) of examination
(~ intended learning outcomes)
Claus Brabrand
learning support
4) Choose carefully the
form(s) of teaching
(~ intended learning outcomes)
“Department Seminar on Teaching & Learning”
[ 44 ]
May 28, 2008
Questions?
S
The Short-Film
M
I
analyze
explain
?
Claus Brabrand
“Department Seminar on Teaching & Learning”
[ 45 ]
May 28, 2008
Tips'n'Tricks (activation)

Neighbour discussions:

Post-It exercise:
 focus: zoom in
 anonymous (!)
 swap'able
 everyone will engage
 empathetic control
 shared knowledge pool
 more questions
(students dare
ask them)
 better questions
(students had a
chance to discuss)
[Phil Race]
1-2 min timeout
Form variation:

lecturing blended with in-class activation exercises
Claus Brabrand
Frequent breaks:
pulse reader measurements:

“Department Seminar on Teaching & Learning”
[ 46 ]
May 28, 2008
Tips'n'Tricks (cont'd)

Use many examples:

Explicit structure:
(build on student pre-knowledge)
 self evident to you [ teacher ]
 not to a learner
[ student ]
(esp. during learning process)

"Less-is-more":
 analyze
 compare
 relate
vs.

Student 'recap' at end:
common deadlock, uncommon
deadlock, A-synchronization, Bsynchronization, hand-shake,
multi-party synchronization,
multi-party hand-shake, binary
semaphores, generalized
semaphores, blocking
semaphores, recursive locks, ...
now
after 1 day
after 1 week
after 2 weeks
after 3 weeks
Emphasize depth over breadth (coverage)
Claus Brabrand
“Department Seminar on Teaching & Learning”
[ 47 ]
May 28, 2008
Now, please: "3-minute recap"

Please spend 3' on thinking about and writing down
the most important points from the talk – now!:
Immediately
After 1 day
After 1 week
After 2 weeks
After 3 weeks
Claus Brabrand
“Department Seminar on Teaching & Learning”
[ 48 ]
May 28, 2008
Agenda (Afternoon)
13:00
Course Descriptions:
 “Good advice” & “How to…”
13:30
Main Group Exercise (“homogeneous groups”):
 “Application of Theory in Practice”
16:10
+ short breaks
Short presentations of Good Examples
--- short (10’) break ---
16:40
Poster Session (Tour I + Tour II)
+ short break
--- short (10’) break --18:20
End Note:
 by Mads Tofte & Claus Brabrand
18:30
Dinner + Bar:
 “Dinner + Bar”
Claus Brabrand
“Department Seminar on Teaching & Learning”
[ 49 ]
May 28, 2008
Common SOLO Competences
From a study of
632x courses at
NAT/(AU+SDU)
Claus Brabrand
“Department Seminar on Teaching & Learning”
[ 50 ]
May 28, 2008
Group Exercise

T
Note: Groups are
in the programme
Group Exercise (in ”homogeneous groups”):
Rewrite course description
(for “your group’s course”) &
incorporate recommendations
(Anna will distribute ’old course descriptions’ for your convenience)
Do NOT (under ANY circumstances) [in fact ever] use the verbs:
 to ’understand’ …
 internal cognitive structure !
 to ’know’ …
 non-operational !
 to ’be familiar with’ …
 cannot be measured !
 to ’have a notion of’ …
Claus Brabrand
“Department Seminar on Teaching & Learning”
[ 51 ]
May 28, 2008
Object-Oriented Prog. – Intro
After the course, the student is expected to be able to™:
 relate a given Java model to the real world phenomena that it models
 explain, use, and combine in programming: variables, types,
expressions, loops, …
 design and implement class hierarchies using single inheritance
comprising 3-5 classes.
 design and implement programs on the order of 500 lines of Java code.
 use and design generic classes and generic methods.
 explain and use recursive methods.
 construct classes that implement a given Java interface.
 identify and use packages.
 construct classes that adhere to given class invariants.
 describe and reason about simple class invariants.
 explain which methods are being called during execution of a given
program.
 explain the memory evolution during execution of programs.
 compare expected execution times (of simple algorithms).
Claus Brabrand
“Department Seminar on Teaching & Learning”
[ 52 ]
May 28, 2008
Digital Culture
After the course, the student is expected to be able to:
 explain the use of the concept of culture in a digital context
 relate new media culture to a broader historical context
 apply the concepts introduced on the course in a critical analysis of
cultural og social phenomena related to the use of the internet and
information technology in everyday life
 reflect on different methodological perspectives on the study of digital
culture and be able to select and then use them in their own practice
 use and compare relevant sociological and cultural theories on a broad
selection of topics within the areas of online media, digital culture and
digital communication
 independently identify and formulate a current and original
problem/question related to the use of IT and digital communication,
choose a relevant method to apply in the study, hypothesise the
expected results, and finally discuss and perspectivate the actual
results of the study in the final assignment
Claus Brabrand
“Department Seminar on Teaching & Learning”
[ 53 ]
May 28, 2008
Agenda (Afternoon)
13:00
Course Descriptions:
 “Good advice” & “How to…”
13:30
Main Group Exercise (“homogeneous groups”):
 “Application of Theory in Practice”
16:10
+ short breaks
Short presentations of Good Examples
--- short (10’) break ---
16:40
Poster Session (Tour I + Tour II)
+ short break
--- short (10’) break --18:20
End Note:
 by Mads Tofte & Claus Brabrand
18:30
Dinner + Bar:
 “Dinner + Bar”
Claus Brabrand
“Department Seminar on Teaching & Learning”
[ 54 ]
May 28, 2008
Key References

”Teaching for Quality Learning at University (what the student does)”
John Biggs
The Society for Higher Education and Open University Press, 2003
(Note: 3rd edition available)

”Teaching Teaching & Understanding Understanding”
Claus Brabrand & Jacob Andersen
19 minute award-winning short-film (DVD)
Aarhus University Press, Faculty of Science, University of Aarhus, Denmark

”Constructive Alignment and the SOLO Taxonomy:
A Comparative Study of University Competences in
Computer Science vs. Mathematics”
Claus Brabrand & Bettina Dahl
Keynote Paper for Koli 2007 Conf. on Computing Education Research
Koli National Park, Finland

”Evaluating the Quality of Learning: The SOLO Taxonomy”
John B. Biggs & Kevin F. Collis
New York: Academic Press, 1982
Claus Brabrand
“Department Seminar on Teaching & Learning”
[ 55 ]
May 28, 2008
Thank You!
Film's homepage:
((( http://www.daimi.au.dk/~brabrand/short-film/ )))
Claus Brabrand
“Department Seminar on Teaching & Learning”
May 28, 2008
BONUS SLIDES
Claus Brabrand
“Department Seminar on Teaching & Learning”
May 28, 2008
The New Danish Grade Scale
Conversion (between EU countries):
7 steps:
4 steps
4 steps
8 steps
8 steps
ECTS
10 steps
...
...
...
...
21 steps

10 steps
SCALE
A, B, C, D, E, Fx, F
21 steps
Problems (comparability ~ EU nations):

Information loss (10 steps  7 steps):

(13,11)  A; (9,8)  C; …
pigeon hole principle

The “13” (“exception grade”); doesn’t exist in other scales!


Some places only access if you have top grade (~ 13)
…and a number of other motivations
Claus Brabrand
“Department Seminar on Teaching & Learning”
[ 58 ]
May 28, 2008
The New Danish Grade Scale
++
-- Degree of realization of course objectives
A: 10%
B: 25%
C: 30%
D: 25%
E: 10%
Not passed
passed
ECTS Scale
10%
0
77,5
(interval-mid)
(interval-mid)
0
2
5
8
10%
100
(maximum)
Divide by 10
& round off
10
-2
Add 2
02
Claus Brabrand
50
25%
(interval-mid)
Avoid using “negative grades”
-3
22,5
30%
(minimum)
Symmetric transplacement
-5
25%
4
7
10
12
00
“Department Seminar on Teaching & Learning”
[ 59 ]
May 28, 2008
Grading ?
§10: Grade = degree of realization of course objectives (overall evaluation)
§9: Absolute grading only (i.e., no relative grading)
Learning Goals
After the course, the students are expected
to be able to:
locate genes on chromosomes
do simple calculations: (e.g., …).
describe and perform …-analysis
describe fundamental genetic concepts
describe and analyze … inheritancies
analyze inheritance of multiple genes …
12 Excellent
For an excellent performance which completely meets the course
objectives, with no or only a few insignificant weaknesses.
A
10 Very good
For a very good performance which meets the course objectives,
with only minor weaknesses
B
For a good performance which meets the course objectives
but also displays some weaknesses
C
For a fair performance which adequately meets the course
objectives but also displays several major weaknesses
D
02 Adequate
For a sufficient performance which barely meets the course
objectives
E
00 Inadequate
For an insufficient performance which does not meet the course
objectives
7
Good
4 Fair
-3 Unacceptable For a performance which is unacceptable in all respects
Fx
F
Karaktergivning:
12 = 'Udtømmende'
10 = 'Omfattende' (med nogle mindre væsentlige mangler)
7 = 'Omfattende' (med en del mangler)
osv...
...set gennem en forskers øjne (forsknings-baseret undervisning)
Claus Brabrand
“Department Seminar on Teaching & Learning”
[ 60 ]
May 28, 2008
”Top 10 Competences”

”Top 10 Competences” for:
Computer Science vs.
 Natural Science (= PHYS+CHEM+BIO+MOL.BIO) vs.
 Mathematics

Claus Brabrand
“Department Seminar on Teaching & Learning”
[ 61 ]
May 28, 2008
Notes on Skill Acquisition

From the world of psychoanalysis:

Skill acquisition progresses according to the following
stages of learning:





Claus Brabrand
1. Unconscious incompetence
2. Conscious incompetence
3. Conscious competence
4. Unconscious competence
5. Capacity for moving consciously
between stages 3. and 4.:
[ required by a teacher ]
“Department Seminar on Teaching & Learning”
[ 62 ]
May 28, 2008
Impersonalization

A taxonomy / language for teaching
impersonalizes teaching

Emotional detachment (aka. “dissociation”)



The teacher is good/bad
 identity: good/bad teacher
The methods are good/bad
 behavior: good/bad method
 knowledge: good/bad method
With dissociation:

Claus Brabrand
identity
convictions
capabilities
interaction
more capable of dealing with critique  better to listen
to constructive advice (…just like with our research)
“Department Seminar on Teaching & Learning”
[ 63 ]
May 28, 2008
UNALIGNED COURSE
Teacher’s
intention

e.g.
- explain
- relate
- prove
- apply
Student’s
activity
"Dealing with the test"
Exam’s
assessment
e.g.
- memorize
- describe
Claus Brabrand
“Department Seminar on Teaching & Learning”
[ 64 ]
May 28, 2008
ALIGNED COURSE

Teacher’s
intention
e.g.
- explain
- relate
- prove
- apply
Student’s
activity
Exam’s
assessment
e.g.
- explain
- relate
- prove
- apply
Claus Brabrand
“Department Seminar on Teaching & Learning”
[ 65 ]
May 28, 2008
Definition: “Good Teaching”

Definition:
”Good teaching is getting most students to use the higher cognitive level
processes that the more academic students use spontaneously”
-- “Teaching for Quality Learning at University”, John Biggs, 2003

Good news:

We now know how to do this:





Claus Brabrand
Alignment!!!
Explicitly defined course objectives (as verbs)!
Discourage surface-learning!
Encourage depth-learning!
“Less-is-more”: depth rather than breadth of coverage!
“Department Seminar on Teaching & Learning”
[ 66 ]
May 28, 2008
The BLOOM Taxonomy (1956)
The BLOOM Taxonomy:

Analysis
Synthesis
Evaluation
Application
Comprehension
Knowledge
”
”[…] really intended to guide the selection of items for a test rather
than to evaluate the quality of a student’s response to a particular item”
Claus Brabrand
-- (Biggs & Collis, 1982)
“Department Seminar on Teaching & Learning”
[ 67 ]
May 28, 2008