1.1 Traditional education or constructively aligned curriculum

Many of the courses and programmes of study that a learner embarks upon require them to achieve learning outcomes. To achieve these learning outcomes the educator must make some deliberate attempts to impart information to a learner. This can involve using tutorials, lectures or perhaps even books to read or study notes. The focus of the constructively aligned curriculum is to help the learner acquire information about the subject. The learner is subsequently evaluated on their understanding of this information using a variety of assessment techniques including assignments, examinations, presentations or a written essay, amongst others. As a result, within a curriculum that is constructively aligned, learning and assessment should:

• have clearly defined learning outcomes
• demonstrate teaching and learning activities and methods that lead to the achievement of the defined learning outcomes
• objectively assess what learners have learned against the outcomes
• enable arriving at a grade based upon standardised assessment (assessing a learner’s understanding of a subject area which results in a formal grade being given is known as ‘summative assessment’).