Call for book chapters

We call upon teachers, researchers and relevant professionals in higher education to submit a BOOK CHAPTER for inclusion in the book ENHANCING LEARNING OUTCOMES IN HIGHER EDUCATION to be published worldwide by Libri Publishing Ltd., Oxfordshire, UK.

About the book, we’re going to publish worldwide

We are to publish a high-quality book worldwide with the title ENHANCING LEARNING OUTCOMES IN HIGHER EDUCATION.

We invite faculty members at higher education institutions to write a BOOK CHAPTER showcasing an example of an enhanced learning outcome at the university level and participate in the symposium in Copenhagen, Denmark – where authors collaborate to finalise the book manuscript for publication.

Why Learning Outcomes are Important in Contemporary Higher Education

Worldwide, higher education is being transformed, whereby long-established traditions in learning and teaching are challenged by a complex of often competing strands of influences. As part of this flux, in many western and many western-influenced countries, higher education has undergone a transformative philosophical shift, resulting in institutions in higher education becoming increasingly corporatised. One result of this shift has been a change in emphasis from the education processes toward perceiving education as more of a measurable product.

One commensurate focus of that product lies in the anticipated student learning outcomes (Harden, 2002, p. 151), which are increasingly aligned to the broader university achievement measures, namely graduate attributes. Under this scenario, learning outcomes represent a sea change in higher education philosophy, whereby quality measurements, as determined through assessment processes, are increasingly foregrounded.

Higher education is shifting from being supply-driven – faculty determines what is optimal for their students – towards being demand-driven – the job market and society more broadly determine the most optimal for students (Nygaard & Holtham, 2009) in a more student-centred environment. Learning outcomes, which “…are statements of what a learner is expected to know, understand and be able to demonstrate at the end of a learning experience” (Adams, 2006, p. B2.3-1), appear to be symptomatic of this movement toward demand-driven higher education.

In higher education, the validity of learning outcomes is multifaceted, covering both learners and teaching staff, and sitting alongside institutional, prospective employers and society perspectives:

• For students, learning outcomes signal which competencies they are supposed to attain in their ongoing study.
• For teaching staff, the learning outcomes indicate what competencies need to be facilitated throughout their course curricula (Nygaard and Holtham, 2009).
• From an institutional perspective, learning outcomes allow for measurable student achievement comparison between programmes.
• Beyond the institution, learning outcomes signal to prospective employers what competencies they can anticipate from graduates.
• Learning outcomes have a sector-wide influence in terms of accreditation on a national scale, indicating the foci of any given higher education institution. Indeed, stated learning outcomes are increasingly becoming legally mandated in many higher education sectors to ensure quality assurance and compliance.
• In line with market-driven philosophy, learning outcomes can allow for measurable and discernible competencies that integrate well with contemporary higher education’s product-driven perspectives.

Against this backdrop, we invite chapter proposals showcasing theory-informed pedagogical methodologies that enhance espoused learning outcomes effectively and, in so doing, demonstrate how such learning outcomes are mapped to explicitly espoused institutional graduate attributes.

References

• Adam, S. (2006). An introduction to learning outcomes. In Froment, E., Kohler, J., Purser, L. and Wilson, L. (Eds), EUA Bologna Handbook, Raabe, Berlin. (p. B2.3-1).
• Harden, R. M. (2002). Learning outcomes and instructional objectives: is there a difference? Medical teacher, 24(2), 151-155.
• Nygaard, C., & Holtham, C. (2009). Learning outcomes – politics, religion or improvement? In Nygaard, C., Holtham, C. & Courtney, N. (Eds.) Improving students’ learning outcomes. (pp. 1-14). Copenhagen Business School Press.

YOUR SUBMISSION

Submit a 13-15 page chapter documenting your case of ENHANCING LEARNING OUTCOMES IN HIGHER EDUCATION. Follow the SUBMISSION GUIDELINES, which are downloadable from this website.

Your case must be clear and descriptive. Think of your chapter as a formative description, enabling readers of the BOOK to learn from your example and try to mirror your enhanced learning outcome methodology.

The deadline for submitting your CHAPTER for double-blind review is March 31, 2023.

REVIEWING YOUR CHAPTER

Reviewers will refer to the following questions when reviewing your CHAPTER:

Does the chapter show a clear case of enhancing learning outcomes in higher education?

• Writing tip: describe clearly how your teaching and learning practice helped enhance students’ learning outcomes. Follow academic conventions and be to the point. Think of your case as one that has to be of inspiration to faculty members in higher education when they work with enhancing students’ learning outcomes in their context.

Is the case methodology compelling and concise?

• Writing tip: describe your methodology so compelling and concise that readers can implement a similar practice in their university settings.

Is the chapter informed by relevant learning theory?

• Writing tip: see to that your case of enhancing students’ learning outcomes is informed and reflected within the framework of a learning theory such as behaviourism, cognitivism, constructivism, or similar. The book we publish must contribute to the field of learning theories.

Is the chapter rooted in learning outcome-related methodology?

• Writing tip: root your case of enhancing students’ learning outcomes in relevant learning outcome-related methodology such as active learning, problem-based learning, inquiry-based learning, etc. The book we publish must be anchored in appropriate methods.

As a participant, you are guaranteed a publication in a rigorously reviewed international book from a recognised British publishing house.

Libri Publishing Ltd. is a member of the Publishers Licensing Society.