- Moodle Master site: https://learn.twu.ca/course/...
- Bookdown site: https://....github.io/...
Begin the design process by identifying 1-2 ideas and a few essential questions that will serve as the narrative frame or the “hook” for your course. You might think of a big idea as a subtitle or unifying theme for your course.
What are the big problems in your field? How does your field intersect with culture? What are some common misconceptions?
Enter your course description here (use the official TWU course description from the syllabus).
A course learning outcome is a statement of what a learner in your course will know, be able to do, or value after successfully completing your course. It is important to write outcomes using verbs that encourage appropriate engagement with the cognitive or physical skills required of the subject matter of the course. For example, if your course takes a critical view of a particular topic, the verbs in your learning outcomes need to align with that perspective and they need to be at an appropriate cognitive level (e.g., criticize, deconstruct, argue, defend, synthesize), as opposed to being aimed at different cognitive skills or at a lower level (e.g., remember, understand, recall, identify). Keep in mind that an outcome is not the same thing as an activity during your course, rather, it is a desired state of being in the world after the course.
- Encourage higher-order thinking where possible
- Use Bloom’s Taxonomy verbs (Shabatura, 2014)
- Write your outcomes in terms of what learners will be or be able to do after successfully completing the course
- e.g., “Learners will demonstrate the ability to use the discipline of sociology as a mode of inquiry deeply applicable to and engaged with education.”
- e.g., "Learners will be nurses who are empathetic in their interactions with patients."
- Align course learning outcomes with the TWU Undergraduate or Graduate Student Learning Outcomes
| TWU Outcome | Course Outcome | Evidence of Learning |
|---|---|---|
| Knowledge and its Application | [Separate each outcome with this wee little code: ] |
|
| Cognitive Complexity | ||
| Aesthetic Expression and Interpretation | ||
| Inter- and Intra-Personal Wellness | ||
| Spiritual Formation | ||
| Social Responsibility and Global Engagement | ||
| Leadership |
Note: Clear success criteria must be provided. Instead of assessing the task, we assess the course learning outcomes demonstrated via the gathered evidence of learning. If you’re not sure of the categories for outcomes, or the artifacts for learning, feel free to jot down notes on learning outcomes below.
Assessment is the process of gathering data about what learners know and can do, and then interpreting that data either to inform future teaching (formative assessment) or to determine a final grade based on the learner's performance (summative assessment). You can read more about assessment here.
The next step is to consider the flow of learning in the course. Learners are expected to demonstrate competence in each of the learning outcomes identified in the previous section and the activities of the course must serve that end. What is important to consider is the question 'What will learners DO in order to learn?'. Formative activites are those which promote advancement towards the learning outcomes and can include things like reading, writing, debating, applying, viewing, discussing, evaluating, calculating, observing...and so on. In addition to these activities, learners must be given opportunity to metacognitively consider their own learning processes as well as the processes of their peers. Formative activities are the process of learning where it is assumed that the learners are not currently competent, they are not the product of learning where learners demonstrate their competence. This means that formative activites are generally not considered for summative purposes, unless the learner is able to demonstrate competence relative to the outcome, in which case, the learner can be considered to have met the outcome.
Critical to this process is feedback. Upon completion of a formative learning activity, learners should know how they performed relative to the priority course outcome and specifically how they can close the gap between their actual performance and the expected performance. Faculty, likewise, should know what each learner needs to do to close the gap and they should also know how to differentiate future learning activities in order to address misconceptions. Sources of feedback can include the instructor, peers, family, industry standards, employers, certified professionals...
The next step is to consider how learners will demonstrate their ability relative to the priority learning outcomes. Keep in mind that assessment must be grounded in the learning outcomes, not in particular tasks. A learner might demonstrate competence in a learning outcome in a number of different ways. Summative assessment is the process of collating all of the evidence gathered that demonstrates a learner's competence at the end of the course. If a learner demonstrates low competency early in the course but high competency at the end, then their end-of-course level should be considered, not the average of the two levels. Distilling the data from course activities into a single letter grade is a complex process that requires an interpretation of the data gathered during the course and during formalized tasks
Consider how each learner's performance will be transformed into a component of their final grade by determining 3-4 summative assessment activities. Each activity will be composed of tasks which require learners to demonstrate their competency in one or more of the priority learning outcomes in alignment with the proficiency indicators determined in the previous step. A summative assessment does not have to be an exam, but can instead be a portfolio, a website, a video, a conversation, a research paper, a performance, an installation, a plan, an application.
| Course Outcome | Formative Activity | Summative Activity | Feedback Source (instructor, peers, self) |
|---|---|---|---|
Note: Since you are evaluating learning outcomes and not tasks, the final grade is determined based on a summary of how well the learner achieved the outcomes, not on an average or weighted average of scores on tasks.
Finally, determine the sequence of the course by aligning each outcome and its associated formative and/or summative activities with a particular unit in your course. Many faculty divide their course into weekly units, but this is not necessary in every case. Some courses may fit better within a topical structure.
| Units & Topics | Learning Outcomes | Formative Learning Activities | Summative Assessments |
|---|---|---|---|
You may want to use this last section of the blueprint to brainstorm course resources. Your Instructional Designer can direct you to Open Educational Resources to consider as they promote accessibility. (e.g. Pressbooks directory, OER Collection)
| Unit | Resources |
|---|---|