EFFECTS OF LEARNING OUTCOMES ON TEACHING, LEARNING AND ASSESSMENT IN SOCIAL STUDIES IN TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS: ANALYSIS OF SELECTED OBE COMPLIANT COURSE OUTLINES AT THE UNIVERSITY OF BOTSWANA

This study was conducted to find out if the selected courses at the University of Botswana that have been prepared to meet the compliance standards of the Botswana Qualifications Authority (BQA) have any effects on teaching, learning and assessment processes with respect to the use of lesson outcomes. The study was guided by three research questions and these were: (1) What is the difference between lesson (or learning) outcomes and lesson objectives? (2) How are learning outcomes used in writing question items for tests and examinations? (3) How do learning outcomes improve teaching and learning or academic achievement and assessment in comparison with the use of learning objectives? These research questions were converted into three research objectives and these were: (1) To find out the difference between lesson (learning) outcomes and lesson objectives. (2) To find out how lesson (learning) outcomes are used to write question items for tests and examinations. (3) To find out how lesson outcomes improve teaching, learning or academic achievement and assessment in comparison with the use of lesson objectives. The courses that were analyzed to find answers to research questions and research objectives that guide this study were purposively sampled and they were five (5) of them. The study found that there was no clear difference between lesson outcomes and lesson objectives. It found that lesson outcomes were not used to write test or examinations questions unless they had been written as lesson objectives. The study also found that in comparison to lesson objectives, lesson outcomes did not improve teaching, learning (or students’ academic achievement) and assessment. The study recommended that lesson outcomes be phased out and be replaced with lesson objectives as the latter (lesson objectives) were effective in ensuring that there is proper (or effective) teaching, learning and assessment instead of causing confusion to students, teachers and other stakeholders as learning outcomes do. Article visualizations: