Enhancing the effectiveness of the implementation of the outcome-based learning: Meeting the learners’ needs

This paper investigates the implementation of outcome-based learning (OBL) in a core course entitled Enhancing Teaching in Small Classes of the Professional Development Course for Small Class Teaching in Primary Schools and makes recommendation based on an effective OBL implementation. The course is introduced to in-service primary teachers as a response to the policy on small class teaching which has come to effect in Hong Kong primary schools since 2000. Originally designed in a non-OBL Format to meet the needs of the local primary teachers, the course objectives and contents are prepared with reference to the relevant literatures, overseas as well as local studies on small class teaching. The course has then been revised according to the principles of OBL and then offered to the in-service primary teachers. Near the completion of the course, data were collected from the teachers using questionnaires and individual interviews. It was found that the teachers were highly motivated to learn and they agreed that the course intended learning outcomes (CILOs) could enrich their knowledge and skills of a professional teacher, and the teaching and learning activities and assessment tasks could help them to achieve the CILOs. The result suggests that learners' needs are significant to the effective implementation of OBL.