Designing and Planning a
Teaching Session
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Today’s menu
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Approaches to study – some theories
Constructivism – what is it?
Video 1: outcomes
Outcomes-based planning – a background
Describing 'thinking skills'
Activity 1: writing learning outcomes
Alternative views on outcomes
Lesson planning
Video 2: students today
Activity 2: how does this affect learning design?
Learning technology – what is available?
Activity 3: lesson planning
Video 3: design in a technology-rich context
Expected learning outcomes
At the end of this session participants should be able to:
• state the rationale for using an outcome-based approach
to planning teaching sessions
• write expected learning outcomes for a specific
course/session
• discuss the advantages and disadvantages of various
learning technologies
• select appropriate teaching and learning activities to
support outcomes
• designing a teaching session using a template
Approaches to study – what a student does
• Deep and surface approaches (Marton etc,’70s)
• Strategic approaches (Biggs, Ramsden, ‘80s)
• Approaches can be modified by designing the
learning context (Biggs, ‘90s)
• ‘Constructive alignment’ – congruence
between
– What the teacher intends learners to be able to do,
know or understand (can be described as outcomes)
– How they teach i.e. the activities
– How they assess
So what is constructivism?
• Piaget (1950s), Brunner (1960s) . . .
• New learning and knowledge builds on old
understanding – rarely a ‘blank slate’
• Learning is not just adding knowledge but
bringing change or transformation to preexisting concepts to refine understanding and
linkages – hence notion of ‘deep learning’
• ‘threshold concepts’(Meyer & Land 2005)
Video 1
• 4 mins
What the teacher intends students to learn:
“outcomes”
• Planning starts with clear learning outcomes and
the aim of planning is to align our learning
activities with these.
• Rationale: the planning of learning experiences
and assessment of student learning has a
significant impact on students’ approaches to
learning.
• Part of a systematic or ‘rational planning’ model
• Dominant in the UK since ’90s
Why is outcomes-based planning important?
• Became dominant in UK Higher Education since
the Dearing Report (1997)
• Often used in proposals for new programmes or
modules
• Used in the QAA Subject Benchmark statements
– set out general academic characteristics and standards
of degrees in a range of subjects:
http://www.qaa.ac.uk/AssuringStandardsAndQuality
/subject-guidance/Pages/Subject-benchmarkstatements.aspx
UCL Context
Programme design includes
(i) the educational aims of the programme, including its intended
learning outcomes and how these will be communicated to
students, staff and external audiences;
Programme Institution Questionnaire (PIQ UG)
“The programme provides opportunities for students to develop and
demonstrate knowledge and understanding, qualities, skills and
other attributes in the following areas:
A: Knowledge and understanding
B: Skills and other attributes - intellectual (thinking) skills
C: Skills and other attributes - practical skills
D: Skills and other attributes - transferable skills
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/academic-manual/
Writing Learning Outcomes
Outcomes should be
• Written in a future tense (will, should be able to…)
• Identify important learning requirements
• Be achievable
• Be assessable
• Use language which students can understand
• Relate to explicit statements of achievement
….but ‘thinking’ outcomes perhaps most difficult to
define
Describing ‘thinking’ skills
Bloom – 1956, revised, Anderson & Krathwohl 2001 verbs
1. Evaluation
-------------2. Synthesis
-------------3. Analysis
-------------4. Application
-------------5. Comprehension
-------------6. Knowledge
1. Create
-------------2. Evaluate
-------------3. Analyze
-------------4. Apply
-------------5. Understand
-------------6. Remember
Describing ‘thinking’skills
Biggs SOLO Taxonomy – more verbs
http://www.johnbiggs.com.au/solo_taxonomy.html
misses point
Prestructural
Unistructural
identify, do simple
procedure
Multistructural
enumerate, describe, list,
combine, do alogorithms
Relational
Extended abstract
compare/contrast, explain
causes, analyse, relate,
apply
theorise, generalise,
hypothesise, reflect
Biggs (1996) Structure of Observed learning Outcomes
Pictures from ATHERTON J S (2009) Learning and Teaching; SOLO taxonomy [On-line] UK: Available:
http://www.learningandteaching.info/learning/solo.htm Accessed: 27 October 2009
Writing Learning Outcomes
• Consider your general aim/s for a module you are
teaching. Write specific learning outcomes for this
course: what do you want the students to learn?
Local/Solo
Prestructural
Unistructural
Multistructural
Relational
Extended
abstract
Knowledge &
Understanding
Intellectual
skills
Practical
skills
Transferable
skills
Alternative views
Laurillard (1993) - learning/teaching is a rich dialogue
Haggis (2003) - deep/surface models can be challenged
Rowland (2006) – outcomes imply a passive learner learners may take on increasing responsibility for
‘designing’ their personal learning (PLEs)
Siemens (2005) – ‘connectivism’: know how where
Sfard (2007) – communities of practice
But also...
learners develop in unpredictable ways depending on
their own independent motivations
Lesson Planning
• aim of planning is to align our learning processes
and activities with the intended learning outcomes.
• assessment is particularly important
• technology becoming increasingly central . . .
Designing learning activities in a technologyrich context (JISC template)
http://www.jisc.ac.uk/whatwedo/programmes/elearningpedagogy/workshops/session
3.aspx
Issues to take into account
Who are your learners?
What are your intended learning
outcomes?
Where does learning take place?
What learning technologies are
available?
What learning resources are
available?
What are the challenges?
Issues to decide
What will learners do (learning
activity/ies)?
How will they be supported?
How will learners receive
feedback?
What resources will they use?
What technologies will they use?
What is the e-learning advantage?
Why‘a technology-rich context’?
• Video A Vision of Students Today
• (How) do these changes affect learning design?
Learning technology at UCL
• (How) do these technologies affect learning design?