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By MORDECAI BAINE
OBE approach suitable for PNG
THERE remains a lot of controversy
and confusion over the Outcome Based Education (OBE) approach,
with many ill-informed commentators painting a negative picture.
I believe that there is both good and bad.
Critics should bear in mind that times have changed and there is
pressure on our public schools to also change and improve, due
in part to the growing population and the people’s expectations.
The pressure to change increased significantly after the Matane
Report (1984) was tabled in Parliament.
The Matane Report highlighted the fact that although more young
people were going to school, the number proceeding to tertiary
institutions was still low because of limited places. As a
result, many dropped out of school and most struggle to earn a
living.
The OBE is part of the education reform that our leaders have
initiated to address the problem.
Some think it is unfortunate that in our education reform, we
opted for the OBE approach.
The fact of the matter is that this reform has been driven by
educators in response to demands for greater accountability.
It is a vehicle to break away from traditional ideas about how
we teach our children.
If implemented well in the development of the curriculum, it
could change our schools and raise standards in both academic
ability and skills competency.
All along, we have placed too much focus on academic competency,
and little on the application of cognitive skills which will
also serve students well when they leave schools.
At present, the school calendar dictates what a student may do
at any moment of any school day. Core subjects are treated
superior than the non-core subjects.
We rely on the cognitive (theory) tests and the ability of
students are compared and ranked.
With the American OBE approach, time, content and teaching
methods are altered to fit the needs of each student and credit
is given based on what he accomplishes, not for the time spent
in class.
Each student progresses at his own pace, with the teacher as the
coach.
Students who meet the required outcomes are moved to next level
while those who do not remain.
The philosophy is that feelings and attitudes are just as
important as learning information and the objective is to
prepare students for the future.
In our OBE approach to education reform, the teacher is the
facilitator or instructor and all subjects are allocated equal
time except for Mathematics A and PD in the upper secondary
school. The school calendar remains.
The teacher is to impart content and skills directed by learning
outcomes for each unit of study in each approved syllabus
There is a cut-off point at Grade 10 and Grade 12 and those who
cannot go into tertiary institutions can be absorbed into formal
and informal employment.
Some can also do bridging courses through FODE, university
centres, RPL, etc, and can still enter tertiary institutions at
a later stage.
Learning outcomes (what each student should know and be able to
do at the end of each unit topic) are written by curriculum
writers from the Curriculum Develop and Assessment Division with
the help of secondary school teacher.
The unit of study is stated in the syllabus for each
nationally-approved subject. Each unit of study prescribes the
content to be taught, indicate assessment tasks and the criteria
by which the assessment tasks are marked.
Each assessment task has specific marks allocated. Student
evaluation is based on portfolios approach, practical skills
activities, theory tests and external examinations.
Students are evaluated using a criterion-based approach where
cut-off marks are indicated. This issue is, however, still under
discussion.
Feelings and attitudes are also considered just are important as
learning.
In PNG, the OBE approach is used for developing lower and upper
secondary curriculum.
Last month, about 100 upper secondary school teachers,
university lecturers and professors, curriculum writers from
Department of Education and some curriculum advisers from
Australia gathered for a two-week long workshop and discussions
in Madang.
The practising secondary teachers emerged from it very happy
because of the subject flexibility (except Language &
Literature, Mathematics A and Personal Development which are
compulsory subjects).
There is also flexibility in teaching methods and the choice of
materials they can use to meet both current and future needs of
our society.
Teaching methods are designed around clearly-defined measurable
learning outcomes that all students must demonstrate.
The reform in education refocuses from theory examinations to
practical skills, and accordingly, from mandatory procedures to
purposeful learning activities.
Administrators are to be seen as team leaders while teachers are
to spend quality time to ensure that students accomplish the
desired learning outcome. Teachers will need to determine how
well their students are performing to help them evaluate the
effectiveness of their teaching methods and materials which may
require changing from time to time.
They will set purposeful goals for the learners instead of just
teaching, and students moving from grade to grade.
They will still mark students’ work including some peer
assessments. Credits will still be awarded, records still to be
kept, reports still to be distributed to stakeholders, and
students will still be promoted accordingly.
In an OBE approach, components discussed above are defined,
focused and organised around clear demonstration of learning as
essential for all students and not around the clock and calendar
as currently is the case with our education system.
Note: The author holds a Master of Learning Innovation
degree from the Queensland University of Technology, Australia
and is a curriculum officer with the Department of Education.
The views expressed here are those of the author and do not
necessarily reflect the opinion of the Education Department.
 
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