Implementing an Outcome-based Education (OBE) Curriculum in the Faculty of Education at Vongchavalitkul University

Abstract

          This academic article focuses on designing a curriculum that prioritizes learners' outcomes, known as outcomes-based Education (OBE), within higher education institutions. The objective is to provide comprehensive guidelines for curriculum preparation by leveraging knowledge management as a framework for acquiring and generating knowledge relevant to curriculum development. The process begins with the following steps: 1) Defining the specific knowledge in curriculum preparation that needs to be acquired; 2) Gathering desired knowledge from various internal and external sources through diverse methods; 3) Enhancing and creating a body of knowledge suitable for systematic curriculum development; 4) Processing and distilling the accumulated knowledge; 5) Facilitating knowledge exchange through the application of experiences and seamless access to information; 6) Recording and refining knowledge for practical use, with an emphasis on sharing and dissemination; and; 7) Continuously learning, improving, correcting, and developing curriculum practices for better outcomes. This approach aims to foster an iterative and dynamic curriculum development process, ensuring that learners' needs, and educational effectiveness remain at the forefront.

          The study's findings reveal that the process of developing a curriculum focused on student learning outcomes at the Faculty of Education, Vongchavalitkul University, can be summarized as follows: 1) Conducting a stakeholder needs analysis; 2) Establishing the expected learning outcomes (ELOs) and curriculum learning outcomes (PLOs); 3) Designing the curriculum and structuring course content (CLOs); 4) Preparing lesson-level learning outcomes (LLOs) for each subject and yearly learning outcomes (YLOs); 5) Formulating guidelines for assessing learner quality; 6) Initiating the curriculum approval process; 7) Presenting the curriculum proposal to academic committees and university councils; 8) Seeking curriculum accreditation from relevant authorities and professional councils; 9) Implementing the approved curriculum; and 10) Conducting evaluations and research on the curriculum's effectiveness to facilitate improvements.