Teaching and learning requires a design process that brings together curriculum, learning support and assessment decision-making in an integrated way. From the Introduction you have seen that this Guide is structured around five key questions that are central to course design. We explore the five questions in relation to course design:
Question 1 - Where do we start?
Planning
A collaborative team approach to planning and preparation of courses will help to ensure coherent and rich courses and materials. Team members can be responsible for the various aspects of the design and development process, such as curriculum design, course co-ordination, instructional design, administration and so on
Question 2 - What do learners need to learn?
Purpose, Knowledge, Skill
Decisions about content are closely related to the purpose of a course and understanding the target audience, which we think about at the start of our planning. Content is also influenced by the context, the structure and the choices we make about resources.
Question 3 - How can we help learners learn?
Design the process
Access to learning is key in helping learners to learn. We can think about access from the point of view of context, approach to teaching and learning, learner support and resources.
Question 4 - How will we know learners have learned?
Engagement, Assessment, Feedback
At course design level an overall learner assessment strategy is designed to support the purpose, objectives and content of the course. We think about learner assessment as part of the learning pathway, or golden thread, that holds a course together
Question 5 - How can we ensure good quality?
Quality assurance
An overall evaluation and quality assurance process of the course design and materials development needs to be planned from the outset.