The expected learning o significant are those achievements that students are expected to achieve when studying a subject as a result of the work carried out both inside and outside the classroom. They are one of the most important parts of the educational system, since they serve to determine whether teaching is being effective or not.
The expected learning can be of a different nature: it can include theoretical knowledge, competences, skills or ways of thinking. In addition, they usually exist within a scale, in such a way that they can be partially or totally achieved depending on the quality of the student's learning..
In addition to planning the contents of education, the expected learning is used to adjust the teaching to the individual needs of each student.
On the other hand, they also serve as a template to design evaluation systems for the knowledge acquired by students..
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Expected learning is a series of objectives that students are supposed to achieve by following a certain educational program.
As such, they must be expressed in a concrete, simple and easy to understand way, in such a way that they can be used to verify the knowledge acquired throughout the course..
In general, they are directly related to one of the three types of learning that can be carried out in an educational process: knowing, knowing how to do and knowing how to be. Next we will see what each of these consists of.
This type of learning has to do with the knowledge acquired related to concepts, theories or ideas..
They are characteristic of subjects and subjects without a strong practical component, although they are present in almost all existing educational processes.
Significant learning of this type is usually measured with an objective test that evaluates how much of the minimum knowledge set by the Ministry of Education the students have acquired. This test usually takes the form of a written or oral exam..
This type of learning is the counterpart of the first, and has to do with the knowledge that allows students to apply what they have learned in a practical way.
It is not present in all subjects, although in recent times an attempt has been made to implement the practice in more areas of knowledge.
To measure meaningful learning of the “know-how” type, students usually have to do practical work. In the case of subjects such as mathematics, it is common for them to solve a series of problems that show that they have acquired the necessary skills.
The last type of learning is also the least known and worked on. It has to do with all those values, attitudes and ways of being that should be acquired as a result of the teaching process.
Meaningful learning of this type is not as easy to measure as that of the other two types, but its evaluation would have to do with the way students behave in the classroom and with their environment.
The expected learning is one of the fundamental components of the entire educational process. If well constructed, they serve different functions that facilitate the education of students and the role of teachers..
The first function that significant learning fulfills is to show the teacher what knowledge their students must acquire in order for the educational process to be considered effective..
In this way, they become a kind of map that helps teachers decide which aspects need to be worked in more depth and, on the contrary, which ones are not necessary and can be studied without spending excessive time on them..
The expected learnings of each subject not only serve to help separate what is important from what is not; they can also be helpful in choosing when to work on each aspect of the system.
In a well-constructed education process, each of the knowledge worked is based on all the previous ones.
The expected learning must reflect this reality, in such a way that they help the teacher to select the most appropriate order so that a greater acquisition of knowledge takes place..
When a teacher knows the expected learning that must be achieved by his students, it will be much easier for him to choose how to plan his classes so that they learn as much as possible.
Thus, they become a very useful tool to make the educational process more efficient and effective..
Finally, the expected learning also serves as a guide when evaluating the effectiveness of the teaching program. The more expected learning has been achieved by the students, the better the educational process is considered to have been.
Therefore, meaningful learning can be used to build all kinds of exams and tests that allow measuring the level of knowledge of students.
Some of the expected learning considered for the sixth year of primary school in the subjects of language arts and mathematics will be described below..
It is not all those described by the Ministry of Education, but only a sample that serves as an example.
At the end of the sixth year, the student must be able to:
- Use appropriate language depending on the type of audience.
- Use notes and diagrams to plan the writing of a text.
- Identify the characteristics of different types of texts, including reports, stories and news.
- Gather information from different sources to be able to explain a topic in a coherent way.
- Use literary resources to write different types of texts, such as poems, stories or letters.
At the end of the sixth year, the student will have to be able to:
- Handle different types of numbers with ease, such as natural numbers, integers or decimals, being able to solve problems with these.
- Calculate areas and volumes of simple geometric figures, such as rectangles, pyramids, or cubes.
- Calculate percentages using different methods.
- Find the least common multiple and greatest common divisor of two or more numbers.
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