**8. Designing teaching strategies, assessment strategies, and learning outcomes for improved students' success rate**

#### **8.1. Learning outcomes**

Industrialization is also critical in the absorption of human capital that is produced through constructively aligned and technology-driven mediated ODL curriculum. Wong [45] supported by Baumol [46] is of the view that "the production of adequate industrialists and graduates who are innovation driven by Higher Education through ODL settings is critical in achieving the goal focusing on industry, innovation and infrastructure." Improved graduation rates are critical in helping in the achievement of sustainable development goals. The British Council [42] claims that the quality of graduates who are produced by HE lacks requisite industrial knowledge needed to boost business performance and confidence. University education provides students with an opportunity to achieve innovative skills that are needed in maintaining sustainable development. Wang [41] contends that universities play a critical role in the training of technically talented graduates for local economic development and innovation and entrepreneurship education. In the next section, the need for designing constructively aligned ODL curriculum shall be explored.

This section provides insights and understanding in the development of constructively aligned and technology driven open and distance education curriculum. The notion curriculum encompasses a number of educationally related aspects, in this chapter without ignoring other critical aspects of this concept; the focus is on the learning outcomes, teaching and assessment strategies. In designing a curriculum in ODL settings, designers should always apply the principles of constructive alignment [7, 8]. Developing a fit-for-purpose curriculum requires the designers to think of the nature and the contexts in which ODL institutions operate. This involves selecting appropriate technology [47] that will enhance students' success rates because technology in ODL settings has proven to be of great help to both students and lecturers [48]. The purpose of using technology in ODL curriculum is to provide opportuni-

In improving the graduation rates at ODL institutions, it is very important to reconsider teacher development. ICT training should constitute the critical part of teacher development and training because introducing technology in education will change the manner in which teaching and learning takes place. The millennial generation understands better when technology becomes part of their studies. Curriculum developers should take into cognizance that for tuition to be effective, the principles of constructive alignment and technology-driven pedagogical practices constitute part of the process because Tadesse et al. [24] postulate that the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) can be beneficial for the pedagogy in ODL systems. Supporting the assertion, Henderson et al. [47] contend that "digital technologies currently form an integral feature of the university student experiences and as such, academic research has understandably focused on the potential of various digital technologies to enable, extend and even 'enhance' student learning." For this reason, in this chapter, it is argued that constructively aligned teaching, learning, assessment and using appropriate

**7. Rethinking ODL curriculum development: the need for constructively aligned and technology-driven ODL curriculum**

38 Trends in E-learning

ties for students to master the content to improve their graduation rates.

technological tools improves the graduation rates of students.

Learning outcomes are foundational, and poorly developed learning outcomes defeat the purpose and the rationale of the program and contribute toward high failure rate. Learning outcomes are foundational in the sense that they predict the kind of teaching and assessment strategies that are supposed to be developed. They also provide opportunities for students to develop their capabilities [49]. It is therefore critical that in designing, defining, and specifying learning outcomes, critical analysis of the nature and the context of ODL be taken into consideration. Designing effective learning outcomes should not be detached from developing the teaching and assessment strategies. This means that the process should not be an isolated process where the three components involved in constructive alignment are individually formulated. Learning outcomes should indicate the content that students are expected to know at the end of the lesson. The learning outcomes are written statements of what the students are expected to know, understand, and be able to do after completion of a learning unit [50]. The learning outcomes should be linked to the purpose and the rationale of the program and take into considerations the nature and mode of learning and teaching which is targeted at ODL students. In designing learning outcomes, developers should avoid crafting vague statements. "Good learning outcomes focus on the application and integration of the knowledge and skills acquired in a particular unit of instruction (e.g., activity, course program, etc.), and emerge from a process of reflection on the essential contents of a course" [51, 52]. According to Centre for Teaching Support and Innovation [53], the following characterizes good learning outcomes: they should be "smart, meaning manageable, applicable, realistic, time-bound, transparent, and transferable. Technological consideration is very critical in the design of learning outcomes [27]".

#### **8.2. Teaching strategies and activities**

Developing well-designed components of pedagogical practices such as teaching and learning strategies is very critical, particularly in ODL settings. These teaching strategies and activities should be guided by the learning outcomes that have been defined from the beginning. Teaching, learning, and assessment strategies should be demonstrated by appropriate activities that are intended to help students achieve well-defined learning outcomes. Teaching in an ODL environment is conducted differently from ordinary universities or other institutions of higher learning because as indicated earlier, students are not full time in classes. They are geographically detached from the classes. It is critical that teaching in these contexts take into account that the environments in which learners find themselves differ, they face different challenges and barriers, and because of that, teaching should employ different approaches and strategies that will make learning easier. In their pedagogical practices, teachers should always bear in mind the principles of technology-driven and constructivealignment curriculum.

#### **8.3. Assessment strategies and activities**

Assessment is critical in ODL curriculum [54]. In administering assessment, academics must ensure that the process enhances students' learning experiences and their academic achievement. Assessing students forms an important part of teaching and learning process. It also assists in the identification of the weakness in the teaching process, and the areas which needs improvement. "Assessment also helps students to become more self-regulated, reflexive, independent individuals with the skills to exercise high-level assessment on their own and others' work that enhances lifelong learning" [54]. Cain and Babar [21] identify the following benefits of assessment: making the difference to student motivation, informing students' future study choices, providing a means of measuring the effectiveness of the module content and teaching methods, and providing information to teachers to help facilitate quality assurance and improvement. Cain and Babar [21] are of the view that assessment feedback is critical in constructive alignment and helps students understand their progress. Sadler [49] contends that "assessment should not be poorly designed, should not be ambiguous, should be interpreted the same by different students, should be clearly spelt out and specified and its intentions should be to assist students achieve the intended outcomes." Poorly designed assessment tasks and activities contribute toward low student success rate. Evans et al. [54] point out that even though students might be able to escape the effects of poor teaching, they are unlikely to succeed in escaping the effects of poor assessment. Technology-driven assessment strategies and activities are critical in improving student success rates. Mafenya [55] believes that the use of technology supports assessment and also feedback. The technology tools that are selected in assessing students should not be barriers to students' achievements, and they should rather make it easier for students to understand what they have learnt.

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#### **9. Conclusion**

This chapter has argued that designing a constructively aligned pedagogy and mediating it through technological tools in ODL settings improve students' success rate. In this chapter, it has been indicated that most of the countries of the world massified higher education through distance education. Yet, despite providing higher education services to the majority of students, there remains a challenge of international proportions of low student success rates. Various critical themes were explored, and among them were included the description of ODL settings, theorization of the principles of constructive alignment, technology enhanced ODL, perspectives on students' success rate, benefits of students' success rate and designing electronically mediated constructively aligned ODL curriculum. It was argued that constructively aligned and technologically mediated pedagogical practices can help improve students' success rates.

### **Author details**

Shuti Steph Khumalo Address all correspondence to: ekhumass@unisa.ac.za University of South Africa, Republic of South Africa
