"This book is a sophisticated and insightful conceptualization of outcomes-based learning developed from the concept of constructive alignment. The first author has already made a significant contribution to the scholarship and practice of teaching and learning in universities…Together with the second author, there is now added richness through the practical implementation and practices. The ideas in this book are all tried and shown to contribute to more successful learning experience and outcome for students." Denise Chalmers, Carrick Institute of Education, Australia Teaching for Quality Learning at University focuses on implementing a constructively aligned outcomes-based model at both classroom and institutional level. The theory, which is now used worldwide as a framework for good teaching and assessment, is shown to: Assist university teachers who wish to improve the quality of their own teaching, their students' learning and their assessment of learning outcomes Aid staff developers in providing support for teachers Provide a framework for administrators interested in quality assurance and enhancement of teaching across the whole university The book's "how to" approach addresses several important issues: designing high level outcomes, the learning activities most likely to achieve them in small and large classes, and appropriate assessment and grading procedures. It is an accessible, jargon-free guide to all university teachers interested in enhancing their teaching and their students' learning, and for administrators and teaching developers who are involved in teaching-related decisions on an institution-wide basis. The authors have also included useful web links to further material.

This book explores some of the central issues in the definition and evaluation of excellence and quality in education. Using comparative and international methodology, the contributors from around the world highlight and discuss some of the key factors of the quality debate at national, institutional and classroom levels. Excellence and Quality in Education offers an invaluable insight into the current polemics surrounding the technocratic push for quality in education.

Educational Psychology Series: Evaluating the Quality of Learning: The SOLO Taxonomy (Structure of the Observed Learning Outcome) focuses on the approaches, methodologies, and techniques employed in the valuation of the quality of learning. The publication first offers information on the quality and quantity of learning and origin and description of the Structure of the Observed Learning Outcome (SOLO) taxonomy. Discussions focus on general intellectual development and the growth of quality; some assumptions and applications of stage theory; from developmental stage to levels of learning quality; and general intellectual development and the growth of quality. The text then examines the teaching of history, elementary mathematics, English, and geography. Topics include interpreting a map and drawing conclusions, explaining a natural phenomenon, appreciation of poetry, implications for the teaching of history, English, and mathematics, numbers and operations, and general application of SOLO to history. The manuscript takes a look at modern languages, place of the taxonomy in instructional design, and some methodological considerations. Concerns include alternative formats for obtaining SOLO responses, instructional processes, curriculum analysis, remediation, and teacher intentions. The publication is a vital source of data for educators interested in the SOLO taxonomy.

Frustrated by her students’ performance, her relationships with them, and her own daughter’s problems in school, Susan D. Blum, a professor of anthropology, set out to understand why her students found their educational experience at a top-tier institution so profoundly difficult and unsatisfying. Through her research and in conversations with her students, she discovered a troubling mismatch between the goals of the university and the needs of students. In "I Love Learning; I Hate School," Blum tells two intertwined but inseparable stories: the results of her research into how students learn contrasted with the way conventional education works, and the personal narrative of how she herself was transformed by this understanding. Blum concludes that the dominant forms of higher education do not match the myriad forms of learning that help students—people in general—master meaningful and worthwhile skills and knowledge. Students are capable of learning huge amounts, but the ways higher education is structured often leads them to fail to learn. More than that, it leads to ill effects. In this critique of higher education, infused with anthropological insights, Blum explains why so much is going wrong and offers suggestions for how to bring classroom learning more in line with appropriate forms of engagement. She challenges our system of education and argues for a "reintegration of learning with life."

A bestselling book for higher education teachers and adminstrators interested in assuring effective teaching.

This "provocative and personally searching"memoir follows one mother's story of enrolling her daughter in a local public school (San Francisco Chronicle), and the surprising, necessary lessons she learned with her neighbors. From the time Courtney E. Martin strapped her daughter, Maya, to her chest for long walks, she was curious about Emerson Elementary, a public school down the street from her Oakland home. She learned that White families in their gentrifying neighborhood largely avoided the majority-Black, poorly-rated school. As she began asking why, a journey of a thousand moral miles began. Learning in Public is the story, not just Courtney’s journey, but a whole country’s. Many of us are newly awakened to the continuing racial injustice all around us, but unsure of how to go beyond hashtags and yard signs to be a part of transforming the country. Courtney discovers that her public school, the foundation of our fragile democracy, is a powerful place to dig deeper. Courtney E. Martin examines her own fears, assumptions, and conversations with other moms and dads as they navigate school choice. A vivid portrait of integration’s virtues and complexities, and yes, the palpable joy of trying to live differently in a country re-making itself. Learning in Public might also set your family’s life on a different course forever.