Expected learning: what are they and how do they influence education?

We develop the meaning of this concept linked to education.

Human development is a long and complex process. Although there is a tendency for this process to take place in certain periods, we all have our own pace of physical and mental maturation, and the learning we acquire throughout life also takes place at different rates.

This is taken into account in the field of education, although this does not prevent the fact that as a general rule the different school courses take into account that it is necessary to possess certain knowledge, aptitudes or skills to be able to overcome them. This is the concept of expected learning.of which we will speak throughout this article.

Expected learning: what is it and what does it imply?

Expected learning is understood as all that set of knowledge that a subject in a learning situation (for example, at school) is expected to attain within the educational level he/she is studying. It is considered that such learning must be expressed in a concrete and operative way, and be able to be applied and generalized later on.

Such concreteness implies that the concept of expected learning is usually very concise, referring to a specific activity or knowledge that the subject should possess. These are indicators regarding the achievements that each student is expected to attain in different facets during the in different facets during the formative period.

Technically speaking, these expected learning are used to evaluate what has been achieved through the evaluations that are carried out throughout the school year. It does not only refer to theoretical concepts but can also incorporate attitudes, perspectives, skills, actions and other competencies that can be demonstrated through evaluation. Basically, if we look at the objectives of a teaching plan, we will generally see the expected learning to be achieved.

Expected learning are not limited to early childhood educationIn any educational or training process, certain objectives are intended to be achieved. For example, also in university education the acquisition of certain contents and competences is expected in order to guarantee a good professional performance in the future, or even in non-official courses in order to evaluate if the process has been followed and what was expected to be achieved has been acquired.

The need for good sequencing

Expected learning does not arise merely on a whim, nor is it organized in a haphazard manner: the fundamental aspects to be acquired must be carefully evaluated and take into account both the capabilities of the subjects following the course and the learning they have already acquired previously and those they plan to achieve later. This is essential if we want this expected learning to be meaningful (i.e., that we can attribute meaning to it), although expected learning could also be merely rote learning.

In this sense, they must be organized in a logical way and the contents must be organize the contents in such a way that the demand and difficulty for the student gradually increases.. In this way, we would go from the fundamental and basic to the complex.

In this sense, there are a great number of guides elaborated regarding the knowledge that students of different grades should have, although it is necessary to take into account and adapt each one of them to the conditions of the students themselves, the country and culture, and the educational and socioeconomic conditions of the members of the group.

Three fundamental areas of expected learning

As we have said, expected learning is used as an indicator of the achievements attained by the students and allow for the assessment of their learning capacity and the fulfillment of educational objectives.. In other words, that they have learned what was intended to be learned. And as we have seen, they are not limited only to theoretical knowledge: there are different elements that they are expected to acquire.

For example, if we group them by formative fields we can find those that are part of language and communication, mathematical thinking, nature, art, social and physical development. But although generally each subject has its own objectives and expected learning, in general the fundamental areas or factors that are considered to be learned can be included in three large groups.

1. Knowledge

Knowledge refers to the theoretical knowledge acquired during the school year. It does not require practical application or even generalization, but rather the acquisition of the knowledge itself is sufficient. It is probably the most easily assessed according to whether the content is learned or not, being the most representative of academic training..

Know-how

This refers to the practical use of knowledge. It necessarily involves an understanding of the processes necessary to reach an end, although sometimes theoretical knowledge is not essential. sometimes it is not essential to have a theoretical knowledge of what they of what they entail is not essential. Applied mathematics, music, carpentry or mechanics are some of the skills that usually require learning more associated with know-how.

3. Knowing how to be

This last factor brings together the set of attitudes, ways of acting and integrating beliefs and values in daily life, positively linking oneself and maintaining motivation and direction towards a goal. It is something that can be worked on in emotional educationIt is something that can be worked on in emotional education, or that is intended to be achieved through the implementation of various activities. Many of the competencies required in university education or in professional fields such as psychology (e.g. empathy, unconditional acceptance, etc.) would be part of this group of expected learning.

Advantages and cautions

The development of a learning system based on expected learning is very useful for both students and educators. First of all, it it allows for an adaptive organization of the training, structuring what, how and when to introduce the different concepts to be learned and facilitatingThe first is that it allows for the adaptive organization of training, structuring what, how and when to introduce the different concepts to be learned and facilitating the generation of strategies.

However, it should be noted that these objectives are generalized for the average age group or school year, but individualized plans or adaptations should also be taken into account and elaborated for those people with functional diversity at a psychic, physical or sensory level, whether it is by defect or by excess.

In addition, it must be taken into account that learning must be operable, clear and relevant, otherwise it would be complicated or absurd to incorporate it as expected.