Understanding Different Learning Approach

Having understood all the main focus for instructional design, we can have a look at the difference between instruction based learning, competency based learning and outcome based education. These may help one to understand, the ways of learning and it may come handy in creating effective learning contents/materials. Let’s see some brief explanation of each.

1.?Learning Approach: Instruction Based Learning

What is Instruction Based Learning?

Instruction based learning (IBL) refers to the ability to immediately and efficiently learn a novel task from instructions. The human evolution gained evolutionary advantages from the ability to collaborate based on communicating instructions.

By definition, IBL involves three steps:

1 – Understanding the instruction with the motivation to learn

2 – Retrieving the instruction when seeing relevant stimulus in context

3 – Applying the learned rules when encountering corresponding stimuli

Relating Instruction Based Learning to Daily Situations

IBL is one of the fundamental human intelligences. Other ‘species’ may take tremendous time to learn a simple task while humans can easily learn it immediately via instructions. This difference between species might illustrate that IBL might be one of the cognitive/intellectual skills that have expanded with evolutionary changes producing the modern human species.

The human ability to flexibly adapt to novel circumstances is extraordinary. The ability to rapidly reconfigure our minds to perform new tasks from instructions, are important for our everyday life. For example, learning to use new devices such as smartphones and computers, as we are now living in the technology era. Other examples are learning a new recipe; how to cook a new kind of pasta or learning how to play an unfamiliar game; a new board game that one has never played.

In a Nutshell

To sum up everything, it shows the high frequency and importance of IBL use in everyday life. The key concept to this learning approach is to transfer knowledge to learners by giving specific directions to follow.

2. Learning Approach: Competency Based Learning

What is Competency Based Learning?

The goal of competency based learning (CBL) is to ensure that learners acquire the knowledge and skills required that are deemed to be essential for them to succeed in their career and life. If learners struggle to meet the expected learning standards during the training period, they should receive support or guidance from the trainer, to help them achieve it.

CBL is generally an alternative to more traditional educational approach in which learners may or may not acquire proficiency in a given course or topic although they attend a specific training.

For example, learners may earn a certificate for attending and completing a training, but did they obtain all the important knowledge and skills for the course or topic? The certificates given is based on a range of learning expectations, some may learn more and some learn less. Not all learners consistently learn and acquire the same level of education throughout the training although the standards applied to all in the group are equal.

To assist in measuring if they understood the training given, trainers could conduct related tasks and activities during the training session. But the most important part is assessments!

The crucial part of this learning approach

Assessment implementation is critical. Assessments with a predetermined set of performance criteria should be conducted in order to ensure that learners are rated to be competent in doing a specific task. This is for learners to indicate or prove their understanding on a more personal and genuine terms.

This is an important component that training providers sometimes may overlook, which is why the effectiveness of this learning approach becomes questionable. This puts a great deal of responsibility on trainers because the assessment must be accurate, consistent and measurable in means of demonstrating the given skill.

To Sum Up

The strength for this learning approach lies in its flexibility, as learners are able to move at their own pace. In which, it supports learners with diverse knowledge backgrounds, literacy levels, and other related aptitudes.

The challenges however, would include, the difficulty in identifying the most important competencies, how to best assess them and how to support learners that struggles.

The key concept of this learning approach is that, it allows learners to advance based on their ability to master a skill or competency, at their own pace. Since this type of learning varies according to topics and courses, it may require a large amount of time for trainers to plan, prepare and train.?

3. Learning Approach: Outcome Based Education

What is Outcome Based Education?

Outcome based education (OBE) is a system where all aspects of education are focused on the outcomes of the course. This system is usually used for students and higher learning institutions. Students take up courses with a certain goal of gaining knowledge, attributes, qualities and skills when they complete the educational process. There are no specific styles nor a time limit of learning. Students can learn as per their choice. The instructors or moderators will guide students based on the target outcomes.

The benefits of OBE are:

• It brings clarity among the teachers and students
• Students has the flexibility and freedom to learn as how they prefer
• There is more than one method of learning
• Reduces comparison among the students since everyone has a different target
• Each student completely takes responsibility of their own goals

Learning outcomes are what learners can demonstrate at the end of their learning experience, and what are expected from a certain subject which is assessed and evaluated through various measurement tools.

The primary aim is to facilitate the desired changes within the learners by increasing their knowledge, developing skills or positively influencing attitudes and values. It embodies the idea that the best way to learn is to first determine what needs to be achieved. With that, the rest follows; determining the strategies, processes, techniques and other factors needed to achieve the goal.?

OBE comprises of four major components:

1 – Curriculum design

2 – Teaching and learning methods

3 – Assessment

4 – Continual quality improvement and monitoring

It addresses the following key questions:

• What do you want the students to have and able to do after learning?
• How can you best help students achieve it?
• How will you know what they have achieved?
• How do you close the loop?

In conclusion

The key concept for this learning approach is to measure students’ performance through outcomes. To accomplish the list of what is expected, the intended learning outcomes to be achieved at the end of a learning period should be stated clearly.

The outcomes should provide clear guidance for the planning and development of the teaching process which includes; the design and organisation materials, the selection of the most appropriate teaching methods, along with providing a measure for quality assurance.

Following the brief explanations above on the learning approaches, here is a tabled-out summary to make it easier to differentiate between the three.

We at Access Ideas Malaysia take it serious, when it comes to understanding the fundamentals to provide the most practical approach, to learning and development. Our end-goal is to incorporate the strengths of these learning approaches to make our training programmes and the learning experience better for the participants of our training sessions.?