Phase 2 and 3 Course Design Process

Phase 2 and 3 activity has been designed to generate information important for range of purposes at this point of the Transformation process as a whole. This includes gathering appropriate information to inform Curriculum Transformation Committee's oversight and approval of course proposals, as well as that needed to ensure essential processes, such as marketing, recruitment, and timetabling, are in place to support delivery.

Nonetheless, teaching and learning remains at the heart of design thinking, and the Centre for Learning and Teaching have worked hard to ensure that these Phases continue to reflect an evidence-based, and sustainable, approach to course development. Some of the key features are detailed at the bottom this page.

STEP 1

Course Review and Design Workshop

The Course Review and Design Workshop will equip your Course Development Team to move towards tangible course design. Building on your Course Vision developed in Phase 1, you will generate the Graduate Attributes and Key Concepts that will enable you to write your Course Intended Learning Outcomes.

The workshop will also guide you in drafting your Course Structure, considering the content and skills to be developed across the course as a whole, and needs of your future students as they transition to university study.

Collating information:

A Rationale for Course Design has been requested by CTC to help provide a clear narrative for course proposals.

It is worthwhile reflecting on the prompts within the Rationale throughout Phase 2 and 3 activity, although it does not need to be finalised until submission to FLTQC/CTC.

STEP 2

Course Intended Learning Outcomes (CILOs)

Drafting your CILOs is an important starting point, as they will provide the focus for your course structure and unit-level thinking. See the specific resource page for further guidance.

Course Structure

Following on from your workshop activity, continue to draft your course structures for each year of study. It is important to consider how content and skills will be introduced and developed throughout the course.

Share with colleagues and other stakeholders for feedback.

Collating information:

You can use the drafting template available here to develop your CILOs.

See examples of course structure templates here.

You can begin to add relevant course-level information to your SharePoint Transformation Record at this point.

Note on Steps 3 and 4

There are many starting points and ways to approach course design that will lead you to the most appropriate development of units. In some cases it might make sense to begin with Step 4 before Step 3, or you might need to map all anticipated concepts, content, and skills across your course to determine individual units before considering your CILOs. In determining a suitable approach, the Curriculum Transformation principle of articulating a course-wide perspective on learning is helpful to keep in mind, ensuring that course and unit-level thinking reinforce one another. We advise all course development teams to talk with their Faculty/School Curriculum Development Officer who will be able to offer guidance in relation to specific courses.

STEP 3

CILOS and Units mapping

Using the template provided, map your finalised CILOs against each unit at each year of study. This will show clearly the specific CILO(s) that each unit is responsible for developing. It is important to check that all students will have the opportunity to meet all CILOs, regardless of which optional units they might choose.

Collating information:

Finalised CILOs should be added to the relevant section in your SharePoint Transformation Record.

STEP 4

Unit-level development

With the course-wide structure and Course Intended Learning Outcomes agreed, you can move to develop your unit-level information. Starting with the unit synopsis and broad content and concepts to be addressed by the unit will help provide clarity as to the purpose of the unit in relation to the course and year of study. From this you will then be able to formulate your Unit Intended Learning Outcomes (UILOs). With this in place, you will be able to determine the most appropriate summative assessment method(s) to assess whether students have met the UILOs, and further ascertain the appropriate content for the unit.

Collating information:

Use the drafting template available here to collate your unit-level information as you develop it. This can be shared with colleagues for feedback.

STEP 5

Teaching activity

Consider the teaching activities you will use in relation to the content, assessment, and UILOs previously developed. The unit-level drafting template details the information that is required at Phase 3, as well as whether this can be provided indicatively at this point in time.

Collating information:

As unit-level information is finalised, you can begin to build your units in your SharePoint Transformation Record. Once a unit is created you can then assign it to the relevant course(s). Note: created units can be assigned to multiple courses, meaning that for shared units the unit-specific information only needs to be entered once.

STEP 6

Finalising information in the SharePoint Transformation Record

All course and unit information requested should be finalised within your SharePoint Transformation Record ahead of FLTQC and CTC consideration of course proposals. Both committees will receive reports produced from the information within the Transformation Record for each course.

Course Development Teams should liaise with their Faculty/School Assistant Registrar regarding specific schedules for information collation, and to ensure that records, including the Feedback and Oversight Coversheet, have been completed.

STEP 7