Affective Learning Competencies

Learning Outcomes
At the end of this chapter the students should be able to:
1. Define the different concepts related to assessing affective learning outcomes;
2. Determine different levels of affective domain;
3. Differentiate the three methods of assessing affective learning outcomes;
4. Formulate objectives in the affective domain.

Affect - a number of non-cognitive variables such as a person’s attitude, interests and values.
According to William James Popham (2003), the reasons why it is important to assess affect are:
1. Educators should be interested in assessing affective variables because these variables are excellent
predictors of students’ future behavior, 2. teachers should assess affect to remind themselves that
there’s more to being a successful teacher than helping students obtain high scores on achievement
tests; 3. Information regarding students’ affect can help teachers teach more effectively on a day-to-day
basis.

Importance of Affective Targets

• Students are more proficient in problem-solving if they enjoy what they do.
• A more positive environment fosters good student engagement and learning than in a classroom with
negative climate (Fraser, 1994).
• Motivation and involvement of students in learning activities are affected by students’ attitude toward
learning, respect for others, and concern for other.

Why most teachers do not utilize any kind of formal affective assessment?
• School routines are organized based on subject areas; and
• Assessment of affective targets is fraught with difficulties. (McMillian,2007).
• Many potential sources of error in measuring affective traits often result in low reliability.

Positive Affective Traits and Skills are Essential for:

• Effective learning
• Being an involved and productive member of our society
• Preparing for occupational and vocational satisfaction and productivity (ex; work habits, willingness to
learn, interpersonal skills)
• Maximizing the motivation to learn at present and in the future
• Preventing students from dropping out of school

Affective Traits and Learning Targets

• The word affective refers to variety of traits and dispositions that are different from knowledge,
reasoning, and skills (Hohn,1995).
• Technically, this term means the emotions or feelings that one has toward someone or something.
• Nevertheless, attitudes, values, self concept, citizenship, and other traits are usually considered to be
non-cognitive, include more than emotions or feelings.
Affective Traits Trait Description
Attitudes Predisposition to respond favorably or unfavorably
to specified situations, concepts, objects,
institutions, or persons
Interests Personal preference for certain kinds of activities
Values Importance, worth, or usefulness of modes or
conduct and end states of existence
Opinions Beliefs about specific occurrences and situations
Preferences Desire to select one object over
another
Motivation Desire and willingness to be engaged in behavior
including intensity of involvement
Academic self-concept Self-perception of competence in school and
learning
Self- esteem Attitudes toward oneself; degree of self-respect,
worthiness, or desirability of self-concept
Locus of Control Self-perception of whether success and failure is
controlled by the students or by external
influences.
Emotional Development Growth, change, and awareness of emotions and
ability to regulate emotional expression
Social relationships Nature of interpersonal interactions and
functioning in group setting
Altruism Willingness and propensity to help others
Moral Development Attainment of ethical principles that guide
decision-making and behavior
Classroom Development Nature of feeling tones and interpersonal
relationship in a class

Attitude Targets

• McMillan (1980)defines attitudes as internal states that influence what students are likely to do.
• The internal state can in some degree determine positive or negative or favorable or unfavorable
reaction toward an object, situation, person or group of objects, general environment, or group of
persons.
• In a learning institution, attitude is contingent on subjects, teachers, other students, homework, and
other objects or persons.
A Positive Attitude Toward A Negative attitude Toward
Learning Cheating
Math, Science, English other subjects Drug use
Assignments Bullying
Classroom rules Cutting classes
Teachers Dropping out

Three Components of Attitudes (Contributing Factor)

• Affective Component - consists of the emotion or feeling associated with an object or a person
• Cognitive Component - is an evaluative belief (such as thinking something as valuable, useful,
worthless, etc.).
• Behavioral Component - is actually responding in a positive way.
Value Targets
• End states of existence - refer to a conditions and aspects of oneself and the kind of world that a
person wants such as safe life, world peace, freedom, happiness, social acceptance, and wisdom.
• Mode of conduct - are manifested in what a person believe is appropriate and needed in everyday
existence such as being honest, cheerful, ambitious, loving, responsible, and helpful.
Value Sample Value Target
Honesty Students should learn to value honesty in their dealing with others.
Integrity Students should firmly observe their own code of values.
Justice Students should support the view that all citizens should be the recipients of
equal justice from government law enforcement agencies.
Freedom Students should believe that democratic countries must provide the maximum
level of freedom to their citizens.
 McMillan(2007) suggested that in setting value targets, it is necessary to stick to non-
controversial and those that are clearly related to academic learning and school and department
of educational goals.
 McMillan (2007) and Popham (2005) suggested other non-controversial values (aside from those
mentioned) like kindness, generosity, perseverance, loyalty, respect, courage, compassion, and
tolerance.
 It is better to an excellent job assessing a few important traits than to try to assess many traits
casually.

MOTIVATION TARGET
• Expectancy X Value Framework - implies that motivation is determined by students' expectation, their
belief about whether they are likely to be successful, and the relevance of the outcome.
• Expectations - refers to the self-efficacy of the students.
• Values - are self-perception of the importance of the performance
Kinds Of Motivation
• Intrinsic Motivation - when students do something or engage themselves in activities because they
find the activities interesting, enjoyable, or challenging.
• Extrinsic Motivation - is doing something because it leads rewards or punishment.

Academic Self-concept Targets

• Self-concept and self-esteem are multidimensional.
• Each person has a self-description in each area, that form one's self- concept or self image.
• Moreover, individuals have a sense of self regards, self affirmation, and self worth in each area.(self-
esteem)
 peer relations friendship cooperation collaboration taking a stand conflict resolution functioning
in group assertiveness Pro social behavior* empathy

5. Social Relationship Targets

• A complex set of interaction skills, including identification of and appropriate responses to social
indication, defines social relationship.

Social Relationship Target Concern Example

Peer Relationship showing interest in others Students will share their ideas in
listening to peers a small group discussion
 sharing to a group
contributing to group activities
Cooperative Skills Sharing Students will demonstrate that
Listening they are able to negotiate with
Volunteering ideas and others and compromise
suggestion
supporting and accepting others'
ideas
Taking turns
Criticizing constructively

CLASSROOM ENVIRONMENT TARGET

In every classroom there is a unique climate that is felt at every point in time. Some manifest a
comfortable atmosphere, others have relaxed and productive ambiance. As a result, there are classes
that are happy and content while others are serious and tensed due to the effect of the classroom
climate. It follows that students behave differently as dictated also by the classroom climate, some
shows warm and supportive class while others register as cold and rejecting.
Characteristics Descriptions
Affiliation The extent to which student like and accept each other
Involvement The extent to which students are interested in and engaged in learning
Task Orientation The extent to which classroom activities are focused on the completion of
academic task
Cohesiveness The extent to which students share norms and expectation
Favoritism Whether each student enjoys the same privileged
Influence The extent to which each student influences classroom decisions
Friction The extent to which students bicker with one another
Formality The emphasis on imposing rules
Communication The extent to which communication among students and with teacher is honest
and authentic
Warmth The extent to which students care about each other and show concern

Affective Domain of the Taxonomy of Education

In 1964, David R. Krathwohl, together with his colleagues, extended Bloom's Taxonomy of
Education Objectives by publishing the second taxonomy of objectives, this time giving emphasis on he
affective domain.
• Krathwohl and his collaborators attempted to subdivide the affective realm into relatively distinct
divisions.
KRATHWOL’S TAXONOMY OF AFFECTIVE DOMAIN
Level Description Example
Receiving (Attending) Concerned with student's Students does mathematics
sensitivity to the existence of activities for grades
certain phenomena and stimuli
that is, with student's willingness
to receive or to attend to this
stimuli It is categorized in three
 subdivisions that shows the
different levels of attending to
phenomena Awareness of the
phenomena Willingness to
receive the phenomena
Controlled or selected attention
to phenomena
Responding Concerned with responses that Student gives special attention
go beyond merely attending to to the discussion of Mathematics
phenomena. Students are lessons to be able to answer the
sufficiently motivated that they activities
are not just “willing to attend”
but are actively attending.
Valuing Reflects the students’ holding of Student actively and consistently
a particular importance and participates in the discussion and
value. Students display behavior interestingly answers all
with sufficient consistency in activities in Mathematics.
appropriate situations that are
perceived as holding this value.
Organizing Students successively internalize Student integrates the lessons
values; they encounter situations learned in Math with Science.
in which more than one value is
relevant. This requires the
necessity of organizing their
values into a system such that
certain values exercise greater
control.
Characterizing by a value or Internalization has taken place in Student applies the lessons
value complex an individual’s value hierarchy to learned in Mathematics in daily
the extent that he or she can be activities such buying, cooking,
characterized as holding a and others.
particular value or set of values.