Learning design
Introduction to designing
There are differing concepts of curriculum but in general, the curriculum consists of the following components, learning outcomes, content, learning and teaching methods, judgements, assessment and evaluation. All of this will be influenced by the context where learning will take place.
Designing a curriculum may take a linear approach starting with learning outcomes followed by content delivery, learning activities and finally assessment or alternatively a spiral concept where there is opportunity for the learners to revisit content with increasing complexity.
Within Higher Education how we design a curriculum will be influenced by disciplinary traditions and we may have to take account of professional requirements.
If you think about the curriculum design for FSLT14 we can see that the UK HEA professional standards framework has informed design decisions about content, learning activities and the skills and knowledge which are being assessed during the assignment schedule.
One approach to learning design has been set out in a model by John Biggs and Catherine Tang (1999)who state that there must be compatability between the assessment procedures and assessment methods. They assert that when there is alignment between what we want to teach, how we teach and how we assess learning is more likely to be effective. This approach has been termed Constructive Alignment and is considered to be very influential within the Higher Education context. All components of an aligned curriculum will cross-reference with each other, the relationship is flexible and can be adapted to the situation and over time.
Some good questions or prompts to consider when planning a curriculum design are
- What are the main factors associated with these learners in this situation?
- What do these learners need to achieve?
- What content do they need to engage with in order to achieve?
- How will they be introduced to and explore the content?
- How will judgements be made about , the learners achievements and the effectiveness of the teaching
A module out of alignment
In order to apply the Biggs and Tang model further, review the exemplar module design below, which has been kindly provided by Dr Roger Dalrymple (Principal Lecturer, Practice Education and Leadership Programmes, Faculty of Health & Life Sciences, Oxford Brookes University). With reference to the model of constructive alignment critique the module. Can you identify the elements which are out of alignment?
Communication and Interpersonal Skills Module
Post your reflections on the 'designing discussions forum'
Tasks: A constructively aligned curriculum
Task 1
Watch the vidoe below, which compares learner difference by profiling two students. Try and identify your design considerations to take into account learner preference
Task 2
Follow the link below, which will take you to a detailed overview and application of the Biggs and Tang Model and is from a conference presentation by Biggs and Tang in 2008. It also consists of some activities that were used to focus the audience on application of the model. You may find it useful to work thorough some of these activities in order to consider your practice as a learning designer.
