Learning Outcomes
Setting course learning outcomes or objectives may be the most crucial step in designing a course because they dictate all other steps. Resources are selected based on what we want participants to achieve. Activities and assessment decisions are meant to give participants the experiences they need to fulfill the objectives. Time considerations are determined by the time participants will need to fulfill the objectives.
Understanding
Let us briefly explore the concept of understanding. The Universal House of Justice indicates that the spiritual empowerment of junior youth program is "imbued with a strong twofold purpose, both to develop their inherent potentialities and to contribute to the transformation of society" (12 December, 2011; Ridván, 2010). Beyond the junior youth program, individual responsibility to transform one's character and contribute to an ever advancing civilization is central to Bahá'í practice. It is also the starting point for all Bahá'í educational endeavors.
Another foundational concept for Bahá'í education is that the mind is a faculty of the soul, "the power of the human spirit." In the words of 'Abdu'l-Bahá,
The human spirit, which distinguishes man from the animal, is the rational soul, and these two terms—the human spirit and the rational soul—designate one and the same thing. This spirit, which in the terminology of the philosophers is called the rational soul, encompasses all things and as far as human capacity permits, discovers their realities and becomes aware of the properties and effects, the characteristics and conditions of earthly things (Some Answered Questions, ch. 55).
How does this affect education and the elaboration of objectives?
Intelligence ceases to be defined merely as the capacity of the brain, but more broadly as the combined capacity of a number of interacting faculties of the human soul. Objectives of curricula are formulated so as to include the sharpening of these faculties, allowing the powers of the spirit to flow and bring harmony and prosperity to the life of the individual and of humanity (Sona Farid-Arbab, Moral Empowerment, pg. 79).
To be brief, we need to be wary of the tendency to blur the distinction between assimilation of information and true understanding. For example, WI course developers have often proposed courses based on a book or a topic, and so they choose readings and other resources first and then elaborate course objectives as an afterthought. This is backwards. It assumes that contact with the resources, and some class discussion, helps participants achieve full understanding. While it may help achieve cognitive understanding, which is absolutely necessary, our courses should also explicitly aim to nourish the soul and cultivate spiritual qualities, as this targets achieving full understanding. We can also identify actions like service to others that participants should take to demonstrate and strengthen their new understanding. Service opportunities also allow participants to reflect on their own spiritual growth.
If WI courses aim to directly contribute to strengthening the twofold purpose of each participant, they will treat cognitive comprehension of concepts as a means to this end, and not as an end in itself. Some WI courses may focus more on individual transformation (Bahá'u'lláh's Revelation, for example, or The Secret of Divine Civilization), and others may focus more on social transformation (Film in Society, Cultivating Transformative Leadership, or The Bahá'í Faith and the Arts). Others may seek a balance. All WI courses should keep the twofold purpose front and center.
Setting Course Objectives
The mission of our extension courses is our guiding light for all of our courses. The mission statement has been broken down into Program Learning Outcomes (see below). By aligning all course learning outcomes with one or more of the program learning outcomes, our courses will align directly with our mission statement. Aligning all of our courses with our mission statement provides coherence among our courses and clarity for our faculty and participants regarding our aims and methodology. Here are the program learning outcomes:
Bahá'í History, Texts, and Tenets, and Comparative Religion Courses:
PLO 1: Develop skills to become change makers through consultation, discourse, and/or through the application of their knowledge to service.
PLO 2: Analyze critically ethical and social issues from a historical and Bahá'í perspective; develop an evolving self-knowledge (which includes an awareness of one's own ethical values; deepen one's familiarity with one's own sources for personal renewal, aesthetic experiences and experience of the Divine), develop compassion towards self and others, and acquire a stronger desire to serve others
PLO 3: Compare and contrast Baha'i tenets and structures with parallels in other religious traditions.
Social Transformation Courses:
PLO 1: Analyze local and global issues through critical systems thinking.
a. Engage in state of the art thinking about social issues from physical sciences, social sciences and spiritual writings
b. Gain an appreciation for the intimate connection between local and global challenges
c. Relate the inherent interconnectivity of social issues through systems thinking to their personal and local contexts
PLO 2: Explore the intricate connections between spiritual and material solutions to personal prosperity and social issues through research, praxis, and the arts.
a. Engage in our twofold moral purpose - a reciprocal process of personal and collective transformation
b. Critically examine root causes for issues and explore lasting solutions
c. Engage in a process of study, consultation, action and reflection to address interconnected social issues
PLO 3: Engage in public discourse and social action on significant social issues.
a. Develop an attitude of learning with and from others through genuine dialog
b. Identify effective means to contribute to the unfolding public discourse conducive to human prosperity.
c. Engage effectively in social action that enables people to become protagonists of their own personal and collective development
(This list was approved in June 2022 and is gradually being applied to our extension courses. Not all outcomes will apply to all courses.)
Further, it is important to achieve balance among the different levels of Bloom's Taxonomy to encourage critical thinking and active learning. For some courses, three course objectives may be sufficient, while others may need up to ten. Objectives are set for the entire course, and not for each unit, and each unit should aim to fulfill at least one of the course objectives. Beyond these basic concepts, there is no formula to setting effective WI course objectives. Reflecting on and answering the following questions may assist course designers in this task.
Is the subject more appropriate for focusing on individual, collective transformation, or both?
What experiences could the participants have during the course to enhance such transformation?
What is (or are) the best practical application of the subject for participants?
How can concepts studied in the course be effectively brought into today's social, economic, or religious context?
What vital connections can participants make among key concepts?
If participants will be asked to carry out significant and uplifting conversations, which topics suggested in Ruhi Institute, Book 2 best frame those conversations?
Are there specific spiritual qualities that go naturally with the course subject?
Beyond cognitive understanding of key concepts, or achieving awareness of specific ideas, what do you really want participants to achieve through the course?
What can this course do to allow the "powers of the spirit to flow and bring harmony and prosperity to the life of the individual and of humanity"?
Examples of Effective Course Objectives
Use: Relate mystical aspects of the Bahá'í Faith to the nature of the soul and its journey towards its Creator.
Instead of: Read and understand one of the Seven Valleys.
Use: Identify the implications for social progress of the Bahá’í concepts of the lesser and greater Covenants.
Instead of: Explain the lesser and greater Covenants.
Use: Grapple with the ethical and social implications of unity and justice.
Instead of: Demonstrate understanding of unity and justice.
Revised: 06/23/2022