L03: Course Development

There are two goals for this lesson: First, this lesson introduces you to the field of course development that is creating and planning academic classes. Secondly, it provides a collection of learning materials that work as a repositorium of useful and ready-to-use templates and models for course development.

Things we cover in this session

Writing learning outcomes

Discussing basic aspects of course development

Working with a course development toolkit

Things you need for this session

W03-1: Learning Outcomes

W03-2: Constructive Alignment

W03-3: Assessment

Things to take home from this session

At the end of this session you should be able to

explain what learning outcomes are

write own learning outomces

Use a course development toolkit for creating own academic classes

Course Development

For the creation or the revision of learning environments (e.g. lectures, module series, courses, labs) there are some important principles to consider. As a conceptual basis - at least for yourself, but sometimes also for communication to your faculty - you need to reason about and to describe the framing conditions for your teaching in particular. Generally you need to think about and to explain your own understanding of teaching and learning followed by dealing with major aspects and issues on organizing the learning process and your class. First, this involves the formulation of the relevant content knowledge to deal with as well as the formulation of related learning outcomes respectively. Second, you need to formulate the course road map (i.e. syllabus) for defining the outline of your teaching, the students learning activities (i.e. your teaching methods), forms of assessments, and the use of certain media and learning materials.

To come to a purposeful and goal-oriented organization and writing of so-called curricula documents, for example a syllabus, a course road map or a lesson plan, a number of different key questions and information need to be clarified. Main aspects concerning the triangle of interrelated issues on Outcomes – Instruction – Assessment include:

Overarching goals and visions of the learner: what subject, what discipline, what knowledge, what content?

Entry requirements and progression of the learner?

Learning objectives and learning outcomes?

Methods for teaching and learning?

Duration, timetable?

Reference/Learning material?

Place of learning?

And other more…

For your first contact to the field of course development just start your learning with the following short video Creating a Syllabus

If you are already familiar with the basic aspects of course development just start working with

W03-1: Learning Outcomes

W03-2: Constructive Alignment