William Spady is the head of ChangeLeaders.

William Spady is a sociologist and is the father of Outcome-

Based Education (OBE). OBE is referred to by over 20 different names including Systemic education
restructuring, Performance Based Education, Standards based education reform, High Performance
Learning, Total Quality Management, Transformational Education, and Competency-Based Education.
Spady was honored for his OBE work in the Philippines in 2015.

Outcome-based education is about preparing students for life, not simply getting them ready for college
or employment.

There are different definitions for outcome-based education. The most widely used one is the four
principles suggested by Spady (1994).

An OBE curriculum means starting with a clear picture of what is important for students to be able to do,
then organizing the curriculum, instruction and assessment to make sure this learning ultimately
happens. The four basic principles are (Spady, 1994):

Clarity of focus

This means that everything teachers do must be clearly focused on what they want students to know,
understand and be able to do. In other words, teachers should focus on helping students to develop the
knowledge, skills and personalities that will enable them to achieve the intended outcomes that have
been clearly articulated.

Designing down

It means that the curriculum design must start with a clear definition of the intended outcomes that
students are to achieve by the end of the program. Once this has been done, all instructional decisions
are then made to ensure achieve this desired end result.

High expectations
It means that teachers should establish high, challenging standards of performance in order to
encourage students to engage deeply in what they are learning. Helping students to achieve high
standards is linked very closely with the idea that successful learning promotes more successful learning.

Expanded opportunities

Teachers must strive to provide expanded opportunities for all students. This principle is based on the
idea that not all learners can learn the same thing in the same way and in the same time. However, most
students can achieve high standards if they are given appropriate

Twentieth century education provided a teacher-centered classroom with compartmentalized curriculum

and students working independently to memorize facts. The teacher operated as the “sage on the
stage;” the giver of all knowledge. Students sat at desks in neat rows. In upper grades, students moved
from classroom to classroom at the sounding of a bell. This form of education worked well for an
industrialized nation and a world that depended on standardized products. In 21st Century Education,
the world has changed drastically in the past twenty years. Digital technology revolutionized
communication and collaboration opportunities. Change happens at rapid pace. Divergent thinkers and
critical thinkers contribute to our world of knowledge. Our world has become more dependent on
knowledge-workers who can solve problems. These changes demand a change in the educational
process. Twenty-first century education promotes a student-centered classroom with authentic, relevant,
collaborative project-based learning. The teacher serves as the “guide on the side;” the facilitator of
learning. Student seating is informal or in learning groups. Classrooms are spaced around a learning
center where students freely move about to gather the information needed to solve problems. This form
of education is needed in a world that changes continuously and is connected globally. Learning moved
from a passive state to an active state in the 21st century. Rather than focusing on content contained in a
specifically chosen textbook, students can now gather content through their own research. Rather than
working in isolation to find answers within the pages of an assigned book, students can now work
collaboratively with classmates and even with others around the world through the advances in
educational technology. In the past, too often, students did not connect what they had learned in one
subject with another. Twenty-first century education curriculum is integrated and interdisciplinary.
Literature, math, science, and writing for example can all be interwoven. Twentieth-century education
focused on literacy in reading, writing, and mathematics. Multiple literacies such as media, computer,
digital, information and technology are recognized in 21st century learning. Assessments transitioned
from the teacher judging the accuracy of the work produced by students to more authentic forms of
assessments. These include self-assessments, assessments by peers, and even assessments by a public
audience in some cases.
FILL IN THE TABLE (20TH VS. 21ST)

• Classroom management

20th Century

Teacher centered, fragmented curriculum, students working in isolation, memorizing facts, passive
learning

21st Century

Student centered, integrated and interdisciplinary curriculum, learners work collaboratively with
classmates, research-driven, active learning

• Teaching method and techniques

20th Century

•Classroom presentation and materials are typically developed in advanced outside of the class with
teachers as primary developer

•Classroom activity often focuses on teacher as presenter and students as audience

•Classroom activity emphasizes exposition: displaying, organizing, summarizing and explaining

information

•Teacher is the one who present, discuss and reinforce the lesson

21st Century

•Classroom presentation and materials are developed dynamically both inside and outside of class with
students as co-developers or as primary developers

•Classroom activity focuses on students as participants and agents and the teacher as guide or mentor

•Classroom activity emphasizes discovery and application: finding, assessing, synthesizing and utilizing
information

•Teacher let the student to share their ideas about the topic
• Modes and Form of Assessment

20th Century

Pencil-paper test, teacher judges because no one else sees students work

Teacher - Centered

Advantages

When education is teacher-centered, the classroom remains orderly. Students are quiet, and you retain
full control of the classroom and its activities.

Because students learn on their own, they learn independence and make their own decisions.

Because you direct all classroom activities, you don’t have to worry that students will miss an important
topic.

Disadvantages

• When students work alone, they don’t learn to collaborate with other students, and their
communication skills may suffer.

• Teacher-centered instruction can be boring for students. Their minds may wander, and they may miss
important facts.

• Teacher-centered instruction doesn’t allow students to express themselves, ask questions, and direct
their own learning.

Student-Centered

Advantages

• Students learn important communicative and collaborative skills through group work.

• Students learn to direct their own learning, ask questions, and complete tasks independently.

• Students are more interested in learning activities when they can interact with one another and
participate actively.

Disadvantages
• Because students are talking, classrooms may often be noisy or chaotic.

• Teachers may have to attempt to manage all students’ activities at once, which can be difficult when
students are working on different stages of the same project.

• Because the teacher doesn’t always deliver instruction to all students at once, some students may miss
important facts.

• Some students prefer to work alone, so group work can become problematic.

Partnership for 21st Century Skills

NEA is a founding member of the Partnership for 21st Century Skills, a national advocacy organization
that encourages schools, districts, and states to infuse technology into education -- and provides tools
and resources to facilitate that effort.

The six elements of 21st century learning are:

• Emphasize core subjects

• Emphasize learning skills

• Use 21st century tools to develop learning skills

• Teach and learn in a 21st century context

• Teach and learn new 21st century content

• Use 21st century assessments that measure core subjects and 21st century skills

Skills and literacy are;

•Critical thinking

•Creativity

•Collaboration

•Communication

•Information literacy

•Media literacy
•Technology literacy

•Flexibility

•Leadership

•Initiative

•Productivity

•Social skills