Assessment of Self-identified Learning Outcomes by Candidates in an Online Professional Program Curriculum Leadership Course

Olajide O. Agunloye

Abstract


Learning outcomes are expected actions depicting the knowledge, skills, and dispositions (KSD) students can demonstrate at the end of a course or a unit of study relevant to the context of professional practice and institutional expectations. In professional graduate courses, learning outcomes cannot be limited to scores on classroom assessments only. It is defined by what students are taking away, during and at the end of the course, to inform professional practice. Candidates in professional programs should be provided the opportunity to self-identify and self-define learning outcomes that are relevant to their respective contexts of professional practice in the courses they take. This makes the assessment of learning outcomes a bit more challenging in professional programs and courses than non-professional programs. This is particularly so in an online course-delivery format for professional programs. This Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) study analyses and assesses specific self-identified learning outcomes by candidates in an online professional graduate course. The study categorizes and describes specific learning outcomes that candidates self-identified and suggest ways these can be used to improve the content, design, learning outcomes, and expectations in an online graduate-level professional program course. The need for further research in this area is emphasized.


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DOI: https://doi.org/10.5430/irhe.v3n2p26

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