Learning Approaches and Outcome-based Teaching and Learning: A Case Study in Hong Kong (China)

Outcome-based education is a pedagogical process which as the name suggests, focuses on the achievement of certain specified results. Outcome-based teaching and learning (OBTL) therefore is concerned with curriculum design and ensuring that the contents, delivery, activities and assessments are all aligned to help facilitate students to attain those intended learning outcomes. Earlier researches on the effects of outcome-based education on students’ learning approaches indicated a consensus in reporting that styles appear to be discipline-dependent. Business students were generally seen to favour the surface learning approach. This current study focuses exclusively on business students, and we propose that contrary to existing findings by other scholars, business students will be more likely to display an achieving approach to learning. We explore whether and how outcome-based teaching impacts on the learning approaches of the first cohort of undergraduate BBA students at City University of Hong Kong China, to undergo outcome-based teaching, newly introduced this academic year as part of a University-wide policy to adopt OBTL. The learning approaches of these business students will be measured using John Bigg’s (1987) Study Process Questionnaire (SPQ) to determine whether these BBA students tend to favour surface learning approaches, deep learning approaches, or achieving learning approaches upon initial entry into University. Furthermore, changes in learning approaches will be tracked over time by conducting a longitudinal study, which will start surveying them from the first week of their first semester, followed by the first week of their second semester, and so forth. The process of change in learning strategies and learning styles will also be better understood by the collection of data through the conduct of focus group interviews with samples of this student population. The intensive reasons for the transference of learning approaches are characterized in this study.