18th March 2004Ginny Saich - Course Design1 Course Design Workshop Ginny Saich Division of Academic Innovation and Continuing Education (DAICE)

18th March 2004 Ginny Saich - Course Design 1

Course Design Workshop

Ginny SaichDivision of Academic Innovation and Continuing

Education (DAICE)


Content of the workshop

Course development: Stirling context

Course design: influences, features and practice

Course design: curriculum elements

Course design documentation

Course evaluation: Stirling context

Course evaluation: techniques and selection


Stirling Course Development: Procedures

Programme and Unit Proposals (see Stirling templates available fromhttp://intranet.stir.ac.uk/Quality/index.htm):

Department(s) Course teams (may involve several departments, possibly cross-faculty)

Faculty Learning and Teaching Committee(s) Faculty Board(s) Iteration as appropriate back to department(s)

Academic Affairs Committee Recommendations and iteration back to Department(s)/Faculty as

required Academic Council

Formal ratification and entry into University Calendar


Course Development at Stirling: Context

Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF) - Level descriptors:

ongoing harmonisation of University degree regulations QAA institutional audit (forthcoming 2005-2006):

system of programme reviews at department/faculty level (ongoing) revisions to departmental review (in light of programme review) programme specifications review of Stirling’s compliance with QAA code of practice (ongoing) review of Stirling’s QA for on-line course development and delivery (ongoing)

Legislation providing external drivers for inclusive curricula: Disability and special educational needs legislation (DDA part IV/SENDA):

Accessibility Indicators Stirling course documentation Racial Equality Legislation:

ongoing Academic Quality Guide - pending (for distribution to departments)

(Source: Action Plan in Stirling’s Learning, Teaching & Quality Enhancement Strategy: 2003-2005 at http://intranet.stir.ac.uk/Quality/LTQE_Strategy/index.html)

http://intranet.stir.ac.uk/Quality/LTQE_Strategy/index.html








Designing a Course: Influences

market needs/drivers (employers/professional bodies) national education policy (national administration) institutional education policy (institutional

administration) departmental administration individual learning and teaching philosophy

Considering any influences on course/subject design in your own area will help to identify any restrictions or limitations on course design

What influences prevail within your own discipline?

Are there specific niche markets you are considering?


Designing a course: exemplar influences

University philosophy, history and policy, including graduate attributes (see Stirling’s learning, teaching and quality enhancement strategy)

Departmental characteristics (including staffing/research profile) Academic standards (QAA subject benchmarks, QA procedures) Student characteristics (diversity, location etc.) Accessibility (inclusive curriculum - including assessment) Degree programmes (all defined in the calendar) Examination requirements (internal and external) Available teaching resources (including technologies) Market-driven requirements eg. from prospective employers Demands of professional bodies eg. professional

accreditation/recognition Availability of resources (cost, services, collaboration etc.) Health and safety issues


Course Design and Development: Features

An ongoing (iterative) process

Requires educationally sound, and logical, links (alignment) between: planned intentions, course content, teaching and learning methods assessment of student learning

while taking full account of student characteristics (links to recent

legislation for inclusive curricula).

Some form of consultation with others is very desirable and beneficial (links to peer review proposals and student involvement in the new QAA institutional audit system )


Reflecting on Practice

The following questions may be used to guide self-reflection on the course design process:

1. How do/would you typically go about planning a course/module?

2. Why do/would you do it the way you do?3. What strengths and weaknesses are presented by such

an approach? (any problems?)

Many different approaches to course design exist, however this workshop only provides time to focus specifically on one of these.


Designing a Course: Getting Started

“If you don’t know where you’re going, then any bus will do”

Starting point:

- what is the purpose of your course?

- what is your philosophy of teaching and supporting learning? (departmental culture?)


Philosophy of learning and teaching:process or content?

An academic rationalist model of education aims to enhance intellectual abilities in those areas considered most worthy of study

A cognitive processes model of education aims to provide skills and processes needed to learn how to learn (lifelong learning skills)

To what degree do courses within your Department reflect each model? (This may reflect a departmental philosophy to build upon)

The University of Stirling is increasingly aiming for its graduates’ attributes to reflect those deriving from a cognitive processes model.


Designing a course: curriculum elements

Aim/Description: broad purpose of the course (teacher-focus)

Course Objectives: what the student will do on the course (student focus)

Learning Outcomes: what learning achievements the students will be able to demonstrate on successful completion of the course

Course Content: knowledge, skills and attitudes covered by the course

Teaching and Learning Methods: learning and teaching methods to be used in enabling students to achieve the learning outcomes

Assessment of Student Learning: assessment tasks to be used to provide valid information about students’ achievement of the learning outcomes

Evaluation process: what techniques will be used to evaluate the course, including where, from whom and when information will be collected


Designing a course: fundamental questions

1. What do I want my students to learn and how can I express this? 2. How should I arrange teaching and learning to maximise students’

chances of learning what I want them to learn?

3. How can I find out whether they have learned what I hoped they would learn?

4. How can I estimate the effectiveness of my teaching and use the gathered information to improve it?

5. How should the answers to the above be applied to measuring and improving the quality of learning at Stirling?(Adapted from Ramsden, 1992)


Course aims and objectives

All state the intentions of a course, but from different perspectives

Aims reflect the teacher’s view of education and provide a general statement of intent for the course.

Objectives are more specific statements of what the course of study, via the tutor, will do for/with the students.

Student learning outcomes specify what achievements students will be able to demonstrate as a result of successfully completing the course.

Course aims, objectives and learning outcomes - what’s the difference?


Choosing a Model for Design

A wide variety of curriculum design models exist.

The model of curriculum design chosen will depend on the educator’s purpose and philosophy within the educational context.

One suggested model within higher education is an ‘outcomes model’, which begins by defining the learning outcomes (outputs) of the students taking the course.


An Outcomes Model

Learning objectives are identified within the framework of influences

Learning outcomes are then determined.

The other course elements: assessment tasks, content, teaching methods and evaluation methods are then designed in an iterative (and interactive) way.

each element may influence another each element may go through several changes before the

design is complete may be addressed in differing orders

What are the advantages and disadvantages of basing course design on learning outcomes?


Why Learning Outcomes?

Focuses on what students should learn (focused and achievable) Conceptualises course design as an activity that creates a

structured environment for student learning Allows for flexibility in learning activities Provides clear direction to students, teachers and anyone

interested in the educational process Helps focus on essential concepts and skills in the subject Forms the basis for rational and logical curriculum planning Allows for specific intervention if objectives are not met Forms a basis for student assessment, providing a positive

contract between the teacher and student, avoiding digressions Literature suggests possible increase in learning


Disadvantages of Learning Outcomes

Does not account for the diversity, and unpredictability, of learning outcomes actually achieved

May limit, or constrain, what students learn Assumes all learning experiences are amenable to being measured

(attitudes, values, motivation, interests?) Focuses on minutiae, which may trivialise learning. Some subjects are better suited to the specification of outcomes

than others Some teachers consider them difficult and time-consuming to write


Learning objectives vs Learning outcomes

Learning/course objectives focus on the inputs to the learning experience and can be described as teacher-centred.

Learning outcomes equal outputs and focus on what the student will be able to do at the end of their programme of study.

Educators subscribing to a learner-centred pedagogy favour the notion of learning outcomes.

References to learning outcomes are becoming more prevalent in higher education literature (and the QAA favours them). The terms ‘objectives’ and ‘outcomes’ are frequently used interchangeably, or together. They both add greater explicitness and transparency to planning the teaching/learning process.


Writing Learning outcomes: guidance

Effective learning outcomes communicate unit/programme expectations to the student, facilitating the student’s orientation to the subject being studied and guiding the choice of teaching/learning/assessment strategies for the unit/programme

Well-written learning outcomes should: be written in the future tense; identify important learning requirements be achievable and assessable use language which students can understand relate to explicit statements of achievement assist students in producing appropriate results for the level of

achievement required use unambiguous action verbs (see Bloom’s taxonomy) - avoid

understand


Writing Learning Outcomes: Format

Usually 6-10 learning outcomes for a course

Learning outcomes may be: subject-specific core academic personal/transferable

Structure: Verb ……. Object …… Conditions


Low and high level learning outcomes

Action verbs cover different levels of intellectual activity. Some place emphasis on memorisation/recall, while others require a higher degree of mental activity (surface vs deep learning)

Identify levels of learning required by each of the following verbs (using Bloom’s taxonomy of 6 cognitive categories), starting with the lowest level of learning and finishing with the highest

_________/predict_________/compare_________/define _________/summarise_________/critique_________/differentiates between


Examples of Learning outcomes

Critically evaluate psychological research and popular notions of human nature Explain the historical origins of contemporary psychological thought

Write a succinct, and appropriately referenced, scientific critique on a topic of relevance to fish ecophysiology or ecotoxicology

Distinguish between positive and negative feedback processes, identifying such processes in novel situations

Debate the forces shaping current and future developments in business marketing

Explain and illustrate the operation of the doctrine of precedent by reference to the essential elements of the tort of negligence, by which we mean duty, breach and damage/loss/injury

Analyse a problem, using a top-down methodology, to produce an algorithm and a structured program to solve it.

Discuss the role, and influence, of governing bodies in the operation of UK sports.

Evaluate diverse solutions to a specified problem to identify an optimum solution

On successful completion of this course, students will be able to:


Practising Writing Learning Outcomes

For your own subject area:

1. Write a learning outcome statement appropriate for a non-advanced unit in which you want students to remember some important terms/facts/concepts. Does this encourage deep learning?

2. You are teaching about a specific concept in your subject area. You want students to reach an analytical level in their thinking. Write one outcome that you might wish students to accomplish.

3. Teaching on an advanced unit about a theoretical area important to understanding of your subject, you want your students to be able to reach the level of evaluation. Write a learning outcome for this.


Identifying the skills to be developeed

Subject specific - see SCQF descriptions of practice: applied knowledge and understanding

Cognitive - see SCQF descriptions of generic cognitive skills

General/Transferable - see SCQF descriptions of communication, ICT and numeracy skills and Autonomy, accountability and working with others.

Within your own subject area identify two examples of skills under each of the headings above. You may wish to link these to the learning outcomes you identified previously.


Identifying the course level and credit rating

Levels 7 to 10 for Undergraduate Degree (see SCQF documentation on http://www.scqf.org.uk)

A full Stirling unit is 22 credits - SCQF would equate this to 220 hours of notional student study time. Stirling equates this as up to 40 ‘contact’ hours, which may include independent directed study/seminars/lectures/practicals/workshops/tutorials etc..

242 Credits = Bachelor Degree 484 Credits = Honours Degree

Where would your course fit within a programme of study?Are there any progression issues to consider eg. pre-requisites?


Determining the Syllabus Content

What content will be needed for students to achieve the learning outcomes?

Identify excess ‘baggage’ and unload this.

What is: core/essential? (must be made available in hard copy) optional? supplementary?


Structure Content

A conceptual framework eg. basic theory, a theme, a typology or a controversial issue may be of assistance to students

Consider use of a conceptual map or flow chart

Structure according to student learning rather than tutor teaching

Identify a logical sequencing eg. group related learning outcomes

Consider extraneous events eg. semester breaks etc. and produce a tentative schedule


Teaching methods should demand higher levels of intellectual performance and personal involvement from students where subject matter is more advanced, complex and demanding

Relating Learning Outcomes to Teaching and Learning Activities

Factors governing choice of teaching/learning methods may include:

educators’ expertise in different methods willingness to experiment resources to support the method selected student level, ability, diversity and location student motivation student ‘free’ time outside class


Relating Learning Outcomes to Assessment Methods

Failure for assessment to match (align with) learning outcomes is an important reason why courses fail to live up to expectations.

Careful distinction should be made between formative assessment (to give feedback to students as they progress) and summative assessment (for the purposes of grading).

Assessment strategies should also reflect the teaching and learning activities undertaken since these will have built expectations within students.


Selecting Learning Resources: Generating a Bibliography

Purpose of learning resource: Reflecting course objectives and learning outcomes

(reinforcement, elaboration, contrast?) - relevance

Choosing between relevant resources: Select some key criteria for distinguishing between resources eg.

availability, accessibility, accuracy, currency, cost, level of difficulty etc.


Additional Course Design Considerations

Administrative responsibilities - course/departmental policies

Allocation of time

Allocation of teaching rooms, laboratories and equipment

Technical and administrative support


Course Design Documentation

There are many individuals and groups that can benefit from a complete, detailed and precise organisation of a course.

What potential uses can you envisage for course design documentation?


Potential uses for Course Documentation

key tangible evidence of planning from the educator to the world (QA process)

can reduce work for (re-)teaching a course can serve as a communication tool with students identifies responsibility for learning as belonging to the student clarifies the scope and focus of the course content identifies pre-requisites and details logistics establishes one tool for course evaluation creates a potential tool for articulation (internal and external eg.

FE/HE) identifies that accreditation requirements are met may support student motivation by providing information for self-

monitoring


Stirling Course Evaluation: Procedures

(Stirling templates available from http://intranet.stir.ac.uk/Quality/index.htm)

Student Evaluation/Feedback (questionnaire, staff/student consultative groups) - under review for standardisation

Semester Unit Review - institutional templates (under review) Faculty Rolling Review (of units) - institutional templates (likely to be

replaced) Faculty Programme Review (forthcoming) Departmental Review (due to be revised in light of QAA requirements) QAA institutional audit (handbook for enhancement-led institutional

review in Scotland online at http://www.qaa.ac.uk/public/scottish_hbook/scottish_hbook_home.htm)

Peer Review of Teaching (forthcoming development at Stirling) Increasing importance placed on student feedback and perceptions of

learning and teaching (forthcoming - linked to new QAA system)


Evaluating the Course

Strategies are primarily distinguishable by their purpose rather than by techniques

for whom is it intended? for what purpose is it being undertaken?

Context and input evaluation: eg. course documentation, learning outcomes, adherence to Stirling’s QA

procedures, adherence to QAA procedures

Process evaluation: eg. student evaluation (questionnaires, interview, focus groups), self-

reflection, peer review

Outcome evaluation: eg. student grades, external examiners’ reports, graduate employment

Potential sources of information: students/course tutor(s)/departmental colleagues/colleagues from other

departments/support staff/external examiners/employers/professional bodies course documentation/reports/reviews/minutes/results/student feedback QAA benchmarks/code of practice/reports


Course Evaluation: Reviewing a course by its learning outcomes

Learning outcomes may be a useful aid to review of course design

Course aim/Description: Is the aim a broad statement of intent and does it accord with the course content?

For each Learning Outcome: Is this a knowledge, skills or attitude outcome? Is the level appropriate? Does it fulfill the subject aims and academic requirements? How is the achievement of this outcome to be assessed? Does the assessment encourage a deep or a surface approach to learning? What teaching methods enable students to achieve this outcome? How does the content enable students to achieve this outcome? What generic skills does it address?


Practising Course Evaluation

If you were to evaluate this course, on behalf of the Training and Development Unit,

in order to elicit how it might be improved, how would you undertake to do this?


What Have We Covered?

Course development (design and evaluation) Generic issues Specifically within the Stirling context

Course design: influences, features, elements, documentation and practice

Course evaluation: techniques, selection and practice

Any questions?

Contact Details:Ginny Saich (DAICE)

Ext. 7942

Documents

18th March 2004Ginny Saich - Course Design1 Course Design Workshop Ginny Saich Division of Academic Innovation and Continuing Education (DAICE)