Abstract

Higher Education Institutions realize their roles in nation building by providing educational experiences that shape individuals’ technical, personal and social skills that enable them to be effective and efficient human resources responsive to the demands of the communities they serve. Using the prototype syllabus from the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and the course syllabi from two State Universities, the present qualitative study aims to categorize the learning outcomes and assessment activities found in the course syllabi in Purposive Communication. Following Kratwohl’s (2002) Taxonomy for Teaching, Learning and Assessment, learning outcomes were classified based on the six cognitive skills (i.e., remembering, understanding, applying, analyzing, evaluating and creating). Learning outcomes were also grouped as Higher-Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) and Lower-Order Thinking Skills (LOTS). The same classification (i.e., HOTS and LOTS) was used for the assessment activities. Comparison on the learning outcomes and assessment activities in CHED and SUC’s syllabi was also done to determine SUC’s adherence to the CHED prototype syllabus. Reasons for the discrepancies on the percentage of learning outcomes and assessment activities between the CHED prototype syllabus and SUC’s syllabi were explored and discussed.

Key words: Cognitive thinking skills, learning outcomes, assessment, activities, course syllabus