Deans, Head of the Departments, and Faculty Members from Higher Educational Institutions across the Indian States and from abroad.
Outcome Based Education (OBE), a pedagogical approach emphasises defining specific learning outcomes before designing and delivering educational programs. This method shifts the focus from traditional input-based teaching to a more result-oriented approach, where the ultimate goal is to ensure that students achieve predetermined and measurable outcomes. OBE encourages educators to clearly articulate what students should know, understand, and be able to do by the end of a course or program. This approach is essential in fostering a more student-centric and goal-driven educational system.
In the context of Outcome Based Education, the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools for teachers has become increasingly crucial. AI tools offer innovative solutions to enhance the teaching and learning experience by providing personalised and adaptive approaches. These tools can analyze vast amounts of data to identify individual student strengths and weaknesses, allowing teachers to tailor their instruction accordingly. Artificial Intelligence can also automate administrative tasks, freeing up valuable time for educators to focus on more meaningful aspects of teaching. Moreover, AI-powered tools facilitate continuous assessment and feedback, contributing to a more dynamic and responsive educational environment.
One significant advantage of incorporating AI tools in Outcome Based Education is their ability to support differentiated instruction. With AI algorithms, educators can develop customized learning paths for students, addressing their unique learning styles and pace. This personalised approach promotes better understanding and retention of concepts, ultimately aligning with the outcomes defined in the OBE framework. Additionally, AI tools enable real-time monitoring of student progress, allowing teachers to intervene promptly if a student is struggling or requires additional challenges.
Furthermore, AI tools play a pivotal role in the assessment and evaluation process within Outcome Based Education. These tools can effectively analyze student performance, providing insightful data on individual and collective achievements. This data-driven approach not only aids teachers in assessing the effectiveness of their teaching methods but also assists in refining and adapting instructional strategies to better meet the predetermined outcomes. In this way, AI tools serve as valuable partners in the continuous improvement cycle inherent in the OBE framework.
Integrating AI tools for teachers in Outcome Based Education is not merely a trend, but a necessity in preparing students for the demands of the 21st century. As the educational landscape continues to evolve, embracing technology becomes imperative to equip students with the skills and knowledge required in a rapidly changing world. By leveraging AI tools within the OBE framework, educators can create a more dynamic, adaptive, and student-focused learning environment, ultimately enhancing education’s overall quality and relevance. Thus, the synergy between Outcome Based Education and essential AI tools for teachers marks a significant leap towards fostering a progressive and effective educational system.
Dr Mendus Jacob
Professor & Director, MCA, Marian College Kuttikkanam (Autonomous) and MD & CEO of ipsr solutions limited.
A former Director of the School of Applicable Mathematics, MG University, Dr Mendus Jacob is an Academician and Entrepreneur with 35+ years of experience and a well-known resource person for FDPs in OBE, NEP and Accreditation.
Dr Sunil Job KA:
Adjunct Faculty, Marian College, Kuttikkanam (Autonomous and Chief of Academics, ipsr solutions limited.
A resource person for several FDPs in OBE, Data Science, E-Learning etc., Dr Sunil has served as a Visiting Team Member of NCTE for ‘Grant of Recognition’ and as a resource person for the Affiliation Renewal Committee of MG University.
Dr Suresh Namboothri:
The Founder Member of Espoir Technologies Pune.
A former Chief Operating Officer with Tata Motors, he was part of the team that developed the first Indian car – Indica. A well-known resource person for FDPs on OBE, Critical and Creative Thinking, Dr Suresh Namboothiri, a designer and developer of 200+ products with over 30 years of industry experience, is also the founder of Espoir Technologies, Pune. He is a Mentor, Researcher, and Educator in addition to a senior Corporate Consultant.
The opening day session of the one-week National Level Online Faculty Development Programme of Outcome Based Education and Essential AI Tools for Educators organised by the Internal Quality Assurance Cell of St Thomas College, Palai in association with The Kerala State Higher Education Council began at 19.00 Hrs, 10 January 2024 with the inaugural ceremony.
Prof Dr James John, Principal, St Thomas College Palai delivered the welcome speech. Dr James John is a former Executive member of the Xavier Board of Higher Education in India and the former President of Xavier Board South Kerala Region. He is at present the Joint Secretary of All Kerala Private College Management Association and an executive member of Kerala Principals Council. During his speech, Dr James mentioned that this occasion marks a significant milestone in the commitment to academic excellence and continuous improvement in the education sector. He mentioned that Outcome Based Education stands as a beacon guiding us towards a more effective and learning-centric approach. Dr James stressed that educators must liberate these innovations to empower the teaching methodology and that Artificial Intelligence offers a wealth of opportunities to revolutionize how one engages with students and prepare them to face the challenges ahead.
During the welcome speech, Dr James John welcomed Dr Rajan Gurukkal, Vice-Chairman of the Kerala State Higher Education Council, Dr Rajan Varghese, the Member Secretary of the Kerala State Higher Education Council, Dr Joseph Thadathil, the Manager of St Thomas College, Palai, the resource persons, the academic and non-academic members of St Thomas College, ipsr team members, and above all, the distinguished participants from all over the country and from abroad who took part in the Faculty Development Programme with great enthusiasm.
Dr Rajan Gurukkal, Vice Chairman of the Kerala State Higher Education Council delivered the Inaugural. In his speech, Dr Gurukkal mentioned that Outcome Based Education as a strategy has made a big return and has become a necessity for all faculty members to make a proper assessment based on measurable outcomes, and for students to know beforehand the expected learning outcomes which will help them to be in a position to make a concurrent self-evaluation about the attainment of the expected learning outcomes.
Dr Gurukkal further went on to say that earlier examinations were meant only to analyse whether students could recollect certain matters mainly memorising or recollecting. In contrast, true learning involves systematic understanding conceptually through procedure. Learning has been globally recognised as a process of deeper understanding and always involves a higher level of understanding using higher-order cognition.
In his speech, Dr Gurukkal stressed that when there’s a challenge to maximize/massification higher education, certain templates/parameters are required for assessment to ensure the students have acquired certain competencies which should be properly assessed. He also mentioned that course designing has become a rigorous exercise that will make a distinction between academically challenging topics and simple easy aspects and that the examination should be a continuous process and not something mechanically made at the end of a semester. Dr Gurukkal concluded his speech by mentioning that Artificial Intelligence applications in education will be of great challenge to teachers as AI help students prepare their notes, essays and other matters in an expert manner that even experienced faculty may find difficult to identify from where it has been drafted and hence it’s important for the faculty to have a clear understanding about these modern tools which are becoming common in the education sector.
Dr Rajan Varghese, Member Secretary of the Kerala State Higher Education Council who delivered the Presidential Address started his speech by greeting all the dignitaries, resource persons, and participants. He mentioned that this Faculty Development Programme is taking place at a very crucial point in the development of Higher Education. Dr Varghese went on to say that a new curriculum – the four-year undergraduate programme based on the recommendations of various commissions and committees – will be unfolded. According to him, this new curriculum will offer a wide choice for the students, institutions, and faculty. He also expressed his concerns about the problems faced by colleges and universities regarding the mass-scale migration of students to foreign countries and that it’s necessary to come up with a curriculum which can compete with that of any leading university in India or abroad, or in other words, an introduction of a quality higher education in line with the development at the global level.
Dr Varghese went on to mention that this curriculum will deliver several possibilities, like the credit distribution, that provides the students with a chance to study from different areas apart from their own chosen area and the basic foundational training in all branches of knowledge which in turn will enable them to go further, and different pathways in respect to major and minor courses which makes immense choice for the students. He also mentioned that the new curriculum will provide students with a chance to do research in the fourth year of the undergraduate programme which will enable them to go for PhD directly or the second year of the PG Program and that institutions providing these facilities will be of greater demands in the future compared to the current situation. Dr Varghese further went on to add that the new curriculum will provide a chance to study courses not only from the parent institution but also from other colleges or from outside the country and that colleges can bring up with courses which are unique thereby providing autonomy for the institutions and faculty, and freedom and flexibility for the students to select courses of their choice. Dr Varghese concluded his speech by mentioning that the integration of AI and OBE in academics has brought a major leap in the education sector and that reports from universities and institutions state that Kerala is at the forefront of training faculty in the art and science of teaching.
Dr Mendus expressed his pleasure in witnessing the overwhelming response received from the FDP from across India representing a diverse range of institutions and backgrounds which leads to rich interactions and insights that will enhance the teaching-learning process and assessment activities in turn help the implementation of OBE in a better manner. Dr Dendus further went on to state that the practical insights, especially from the industry interactions by the resource persons provide a unique perspective on the skills acquired by the students during their time of study and that by keeping with the theme of innovation, the Learning Management System (LMS) stands as a testament to the effective usage of online platforms for Outcome Based Education.
Dr Mendus said that the sessions on AI platforms are poised to be transformative for teachers offering strategies to streamline workload while enhancing the quality of assessments and research work. He further mentioned that to ensure a comprehensive learning experience, the FDP has been structured in a balanced approach ensuring the participants can learn at their own pace. Dr Mendus took time to thank the Kerala State Higher Education Council for the support provided in promoting online education through platforms like Moodle and mentioned that the support by the Council adds substantial weightage to the programme. He concluded his speech by thanking Dr Rajan Gurukkal, Dr Rajan Varghese, the team members of St Thomas College, and all the participants.
Dr Thomas P Varghese, IQAC Coordinator of St Thomas College, Palai. In his words of thanks, Dr Thomas expressed his sincere gratitude to Dr Rajan Gurukkal, the Vice Chairman of KSHEC for inaugurating the online Faculty Development Programme and Dr Rajan Varghese, Member Secretary, KSHEC for the Presidential Address and sharing insights on OBE. Dr Thomas expressed his gratitude to Rev Fr Dr Joseph Thadathil for his valuable presence and blessings and thanked Dr Mendus Jacob, Professor and Director, MCA, Marian College Autonomous, Kuttikkanam for introducing the programme.
Dr Thomas also took time to express his gratitude to the resource persons, Dr James John, Principal, St Thomas College, all the supporting staff members of St Thomas College Family, all team members of ipsr solutions limited, and last but not least, the participants from all across India and abroad for their active participation.
The opening day technical session was handled by Dr Sunil Job on the topic of Learning Domains concerning Bloom’s Taxonomy. Dr Sunil started the session by mentioning that Dr Rajan Gurukkal and Dr Rajan Varghese had set the stage during their inaugural and Presidential Addresses where they had given a clear-cut perspective on Bloom’s Taxonomy as evolved from the 1956 original level to the revised version by Mr Anderson, an associate of Benjamin Bloom in 2001, the transformation occurred in taxonomical perspective, and how it is relevant in the present context.
During the interesting and informative session, Dr Sunil explained Bloom’s Taxonomy, a significant factor and guidance in formulating Outcome Based Education. He started the session with ‘What is Learning’ and proceeded to the main topic. Dr Sunil explained in detail the three hierarchical models – Cognitive Domain, Affective Domain, and Psychomotor Domain – used to classify educational learning objectives into levels of complexity and specificity. He also explained the six taxonomy levels, classified as Remembering, Understanding, Applying, Analyzing, Evaluating, and Creating. Dr Sunil took time to explain in detail the Revised Version of Bloom’s Taxonomy. He also took time to clarify the doubts/queries of the participants.
After the informative session on Bloom’s Taxonomy by Dr Sunil Job, the task “Question Paper Analysis based on Bloom’s Taxonomy” was assigned to the participants to analyze their depth of understanding of the topic.
The second-day session of the week-long Faculty Development Programme was handled by Dr Sunil Job based on the topic of Architecture of OBE and Design of Outcomes. Dr Sunil started the session with a brief introduction about the previous day’s topic Bloom’s Taxonomy just to provide a foundation for the second day’s proceedings and explained how significant is Bloom’s Taxonomy in the way of implementation of Outcome Based Education.
Dr Sunil in his session mentioned that Outcome Based Education was mainly confined to websites and portals in the form of POs and PSOs for a long but due to the New Education Policy 2020, OBE is going to be implemented in the educational system. Major changes are expected in the methodologies, strategies, and the process of marching through the educational processes along the lines of the New Educational Policy. In his session, Dr Sunil explained the Program Educational Objectives, Graduate Objectives, Program Outcomes, Program Specific Outcomes, Course Outcomes, and Writing-Learning Outcomes. He mentioned that Outcome Based Education is based on the four principles of Clarity of Focus, Designing Down, High Expectations, and Expanded Opportunities. Dr Sunil also explained the importance of the requirements of quality checks for the attainment of a good outcome.
A Workshop Activity “Course Outcome and Quality Check” was assigned to the participants on the second day of the Faculty Development Programme.
Dr Mendus Jacob was the resource person on the third day’s session of the week-long Faculty Development Programme on Outcome Based Education and Essential AI Tools for Teachers. Before entering into his main topic, Mapping of Outcomes, Calculation of Attainment and Analytical Reports, and I-AssistedAssessments, Dr Mendus briefed the participants about the previous two day’s topics and assigned simple tasks to provide a better understanding of what was ahead. He further went on to take feedback regarding which activities/assessments are more suitable for OBE.
Feedback Analysis:
Dr Mendus started the day’s session based on the topic OBE Process – Levels of Mapping by demonstrating a BCom Programme as an example for easy understanding of the process. He further went on to explain the major difference between the traditional system of teaching and the Outcome Based Educational method where, the Traditional System is more Teacher-Centric and importance given to Teaching and Content, Knowledge-Driven and Rote Learning, while the OBE System is more Student-Centric giving more importance to Learning and Process thereby ensuring Knowledge and Performance.
He also briefly introduced the 12 attributes formulated by the NBA for the UG Engineering Program. Dr Mendus concluded the session by explaining the process of attainment calculation and took time to clarify the queries of the participants.
After the session’s conclusion, a task, “CO Computation Prototype Model” was assigned.
No technical sessions were conducted on these days. The participants were given the task of working on the LMS platform and solving the activities and Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) so that they get more familiarised with the topics which in turn enhance engagement and active participation among participants. These activities provided interactive opportunities for educators to apply theoretical knowledge, fostering a deeper understanding of the content and promoting a more effective transfer of skills into their teaching practices.
Additionally, MCQs offer a formative assessment method, allowing participants to gauge their progress and identify areas for improvement, ultimately contributing to a more comprehensive and personalized learning experience.
The fourth day’s session was handled by Dr Suresh Namboothiri based on the topic Underlying Threads of OBE, ChatGPT and AI Tools. Dr Namboothiri mentioned that it’s essential to understand why OBE has become a very crucial matter not just for ourselves, but for the whole country.
On day four, Dr Namboothiri discussed about underlying threads of OBE and the usage of Artificial Intelligence for pedagogical excellence to improve the teaching-learning process. He mentioned that it is very important for OBE to raise the standards of students from the bottom level to a higher level and when a student passes out after graduation, he/she is expected to have certain attributes, otherwise known as Graduate Attributes.
Dr Namboothiri discussed the five major principles of Lev Vygotsky’s Theories, which are:
1- Students construct their knowledge
2- The learning is mediated
3- Language plays a crucial role in mental development
4- Learning appears twice, and,
5 – Development cannot be separated from its social context.
Dr Namboothiri continued his session with the topic 100 plus smart ways to use ChatGPT for an exciting classroom. In his talk, Dr Namboothiri mentioned that teachers can create exciting, contextual and relevant content for the classroom. He also mentioned that Artificial Intelligence is a tool that learns, reasons, solves problems, and understands natural language, thereby leveraging vast amounts of data and intricate algorithms to improve over time.
The session concluded with an assignment of a task namely “Generate your Question Paper with the Assistance of AI”.
The final day saw two sessions, The Underlying Threads of OBE, ChatGPT and AI Tools – the final part by Dr Suresh Namboothiri and, OBE for Accreditation and Useful Tools by Dr Mendus Jacob. A feedback analysis was also conducted about the FDP by Dr Mendus after the conclusion of his session, Dr Mendus also took the feedback from the participants which assists in a better understanding of what needed to be done and how in future.
Research was the main topic during the first session, Artificial Intelligence for High-Impact Research handled by Dr Suresh Namboothiri, and he mentioned that high-impact research can be achieved only through a cognitive approach which is not done by any AI Tools but through correct prompting and critical thinking. In between his session, Dr Namboothiri also took time to answer the queries the participants had put forward.
After the informative session by Dr Suresh Namboothiri, the second session OBE for Accreditation and Useful Tools by Dr Mendus took place. The second session focused mainly on the processes involved in implementing Outcome Based Education with assistance from Artificial Intelligence platforms. Dr Mendus informed the participants that the first step in the implementing process of OBE is the constitution of an OBE Implementation Committee and further proceed to the initial training in Bloom’s Taxonomy, OBE Architecture and Preparation of OBE Manual and so on. He also took the time to provide some additional tips for a smooth OBE implementation and give a brief overview of all the criteria and OBE as a best practice.
A task, submitting an article on “Innovative Practices in Teaching and Learning for Publishing Online” was assigned to the participants.
After the informative session on ‘OBE for Accreditation and Useful Tools’, Dr Mendus Jacob introduced “QuestionPaper.ai” – a powerful tool with a user-friendly interface and incorporated multiple features to streamline the process of quality question paper generation.
Dr Mendus introduced “QuestionPaper.ai” to the participants as a revolutionary tool designed to streamline the process of question paper creation in the realm of education. With QuestionPaper.ai, one can generate question papers, create Course Outcomes by providing the syllabus, and also create assessment activities. He mentioned that with this platform, educators will have the power to craft their templates by drawing from a diverse gallery of quick templates, efficiently generate question papers and that these templates can be copied, modified, and archived for future use, ensuring maximum flexibility. On mentioning question generation, Dr Mendus said what truly sets this software apart is its flexibility in generating questions from any topic, or discipline, or accommodating various levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy. He also mentioned that as the systems are aligned with Outcome Based Education, it allows input of Course Outcomes and maps questions accordingly facilitating the assessment process. Regarding the cost-effectiveness of the software, Dr Mendus mentioned that it’s a time and cost-efficient solution as it lets to archive question papers for future reference, thereby saving valuable time. He also mentioned that “QuestionPaper.ai” aids in generating accurate answers for the questions generated, simplifying the preparation of scoring keys and valuation schemes, making it an indispensable tool for crafting multiple-choice questions with distracting options and correct answers. In his concluding words, Dr Mendus mentioned that these platforms will be a game-changer for educators looking to enhance their efficiency in question paper creation and assessment.
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