Defining the Course Framework
Research suggests coherence of curriculum contributes to student success.1 The course framework is a
tool that contributes to the development of program coherence. The course framework,
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outlines the program's interpretation of a course’s ministerial competency(ies), elements and
performance criteria and assigns to these course-level learning outcomes2 and evaluation tools
designed to measure students’ attainment of them;
situates a course within the larger framework of the program, making clear the course's
relationship to other courses in the program and to the program’s exit profile (by indicating
which program-level learning outcomes, expressed in the exit profile, is or are being addressed)
is an intermediary document that acts as a bridge between the Ministry devis and exit profile on
one side and a course outline, assessment tools and lesson plans on the other;
is a collaborative document created by the department;
provides enough information for teachers (present and future) to ensure equity, while allowing
for the diversity that comes with personal pedagogical choices; and
is a basic scaffolding around which course outlines and individual lesson plans can be developed;
and
serves as a reference against which curriculum committees can measure how well course
outlines adhere to the department’s interpretation of the competency(ies) and goals for the
course .
Because course frameworks are interpreted collaboratively by the department, specify the course's
relationship to other courses in the program,3 and are vetted and approved by a program committee,
course frameworks help to ensure program coherence. Because they list the learning outcomes and
guidelines on assessment tools that will demonstrate students’ attainment of the course
competency(ies), course frameworks contribute to program coherence4 and help ensure equity between
multiple sections of the same course by establishing common levels of learning to be achieved. They
also help teachers collaboratively prioritize student outcomes by focusing on what tasks students should
be able to achieve by the end of the course that attest to their learning. They may thus serve individual
teachers as a useful tool for backward course planning.5
1
Newmann, Smith, Allensworth, & Bryk, 2001a as cited on page 1 of Oxley, D (2008). Creating Instructional Program
Coherence. Retrieved from Education Northwest’s website http://educationnorthwest.org/
2
All underlined words are defined in the Glossary at the end of the document. To navigate to the word’s
definition, click on the hyperlink.
3
For example, a course framework may specify whether other courses teach elements of the competencies found in its course,
whether the course is a capstone course or leads to one, whether the course has pre-requisites, whether its course is a cours
porteur leading to the Comprehensive Assessment.
4
See, for example, page 22 of Bateman, Taylor, Janik et al. (2007).
Backward course design entails beginning one’s planning with the final outcome of the course and working backward,
planning one’s final assessment first, then the assessments that will lead up to it, then the learning activities that will prepare
students for each assessment and the contents that will serve as vehicles for teaching the competencies. In backward course
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Prior to the development of a course framework, the following program documents, upon which it
relies, should be in place unless the course is offered by the faculty of General Education:
a. A collaborative analysis of the MESRST program competencies6 (performed at the
departmental level);
b. An exit profile of the program;7
c. A flowchart (or map) of competencies (presenting their relationships one to another);
d. A course matrix (listing the competency(ies) and/or elements of the competencies that
are assigned to each course);
e. The assignment of courses to their respective disciplines;
f. An approved program grid as found on CLARA (a copy of which is available from IDR).
As different disciplines may have their own requirements of a course framework, each department may
develop its own course framework template.8 Certain elements are essential to all templates, others are
optional. Each template must include the following elements:
a. Information about the course: title, course number, semester (if relevant),9
ponderation, credits10 and pre-requisites (if relevant)
b. The course objective(s), including code(s) and statement(s) of the competency as
provided in the devis
c. A brief description of the course
d. The course's relationship to the program: Does the course have pre-requisites or is the
course itself a pre-requisite? Is it an introductory course or a capstone course?
e. The progression of the course objective(s). Is the teaching of the competency(ies)
comprehensive (i.e., this is the only course teaching the competency) or partial (i.e., is
the competency introduced, developed or finalized)?
f. For programs that have undergone revision since winter 2013, essential skills assigned
to the course by the program committee, especially those directly associated with the
planning one always keeps the course competencies in mind. Cf http://citl.indiana.edu/resources/teachingresources1/teaching-handbook-items/designing-your-course.php
6 The MESRST devis is intentionally general to leave room for local, departmental and/or program interpretation. The objectives
analysis template found on IDR’s website is a useful tool with which departments/programs can express their ownership of the
competencies, their elements and performance criteria.
7 As of the time of writing exit profiles are relatively new to Vanier programs. While it is recommended that each program
develop an exit profile (see the IDR document “Developing an Exit Profiles: Tips for Vanier Programs” course frameworks may
need to take priority. It is suggested that once an exit profile has been developed and approved that course frameworks be
revised, if necessary, to adhere to the profile.
8
Sample templates are available on IDR’s website and can be adopted and modified by a department, provided the essential
elements listed in this document are included in the modified template.
9
For courses that belong to a particular semester in a program grid (i.e., semester 1, 2, 3, etc.) the semester number must be
included in the course frameworks. For courses not assigned to a particular semester, this information is not required.
10
Credits are calculated by adding the ponderation and dividing by three.
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program’s exit profile (e.g., proficiency in the language of instruction, timemanagement, ICT skills, etc.)11
g. The achievement context (if provided in the devis for the course competency(ies)). If no
achievement context is provided, departments may exclude this section or create their
own
h. The elements of the objective(s) as provided in the Program devis;
i. The performance criteria as provided in the program devis (also known as the program
cahier)
j. Learning outcomes (based on a taxonomy12)
The following optional elements may be included in a course framework template:
a. Summative assessments activities clearly related to the elements of the objective(s)
b. The course’s relationship to the exit profile
c. Departmental or program equity guidelines related to the teaching of the course (e.g.,
assessments, weightings, and workload, etc.)
d. Guideposts or parameters for content
e. An outline of the main learning steps and the order in which students will take them;
f. The pedagogical methods that will be used in the course
g. In courses with common exams, evaluation criteria, the context in which exams will be
administered, and a brief description of the nature of the exams (e.g., “A 750 word
exam essay,” or “An exam consisting of short answers and longer exam questions”)
11
Programs who have not undergone revision since winter 2013 but who are interested in adding essential skills to their course
frameworks can seek support in this process from IDR.
12
Bloom’s or Marzano’s taxonomies are useful tools for categorizing levels of learning. For a tool based on Bloom, see
Appendix 1.
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APPENDIX I: GLOSSARY OF TERMS
Achievement context: Part of the statement of the competency, the achievement context is assigned by
the Ministry to provide guidance on the conditions under which students are to be evaluated (preuniversity) or in which graduates should be expected to use the competency in an entry-level position
on the job.
For pre-university, General Education and complementary course competencies, the achievement
context provides guidance on the conditions that should exist for the final assessment. (However,
whenever possible, faculty should allow students to learn in similar contexts throughout the learning
process). Achievement contexts are designed to be realistic and meaningful (i.e., related to everyday
life, to the discipline, or a potential profession) and to allow instructors to observe through the
evaluation tasks whether students have attained the competency(ies) and thereby relevant
knowledge.13 Some examples of achievement contexts might include “a 750 word essay,” “Without the
help of a dictionary,” “Working in a group,” “Working alone,” or “Using reference materials from one or
more disciplines,”
For technical programs, the term achievement context has another meaning. “In the program-specific
component of a technical program, the achievement context corresponds to the situation in which the
competency is exercised at entry level on the job market. The achievement context does not specify the
context for learning or evaluation.”14 Examples include “Using the peripherals used in control systems,”
“Referring to technical documentation,” “In collaboration with resource people and construction
tradespeople,” “Within the legal framework of professional practice,” “With clients of all ages,” or “In a
variety of professional situations.”
It should be noted that the Ministry does not assign achievement contexts to all competencies. In such
cases, departments may include their own achievement context in lieu of a ministerial one, or leave this
section out of the course framework altogether.
Capstone course: A culminating course taken by students near the completion of their program. The
course requires students to integrate and draw on their previously acquired discipline-specific and
general education skills. It might consist of an integrative project or a seminar course that results in a
final paper worked on throughout the semester. Capstone courses can thus be vehicles for the program
comprehensive assessment. In the context of this document, we use the term to refer to the course in
which students are required to integrate their program objectives in a Program Comprehensive
Assessment. In Quebec, such courses are commonly referred to as “cours porteur.”
Cours porteur: A term used in francophone colleges for a program-specific integrative course, taken in
the last semester of the program, and acting as a vehicle for, or “carrier” of, the program’s
Comprehensive Assessment .The course is dedicated to the integration of program competencies and
13
Contexte de réalisation (précisions). Retrieved from Cegep de Sherbrooke website
http://cegepsherbrooke.qc.ca/piea/index.php/articles/11-service-de-la-recherche-et-du-developpement/guidepiea/precisions/194.
14 Ministère de l’Éducation, du loisir et du sport. Technical Training Program: Nursing 180.A0. Quebec: 2007.
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the essential skills expressed in the program’s Exit Profile. At Vanier, some programs use the term
“Integrative Project” or “integrative seminar” for the course that administers the program
comprehensive assessment.
Exit profile: Taken from the French term profil de sortie,15 an exit profile is a coherent, unified
expression of the essential knowledge, skills and abilities students have mastered upon successful
completion of their program. It is usually expressed as a set of 12–15 learning outcomes—“statements
that describe significant and essential learning that learners have achieved, and can reliably
demonstrate at the end of a course or program”16 The Exit Profile offers a vision that guides the
development of course frameworks and the program’s Comprehensive Assessment.
Learning Outcome: “Statements that describe significant and essential learning [skills, knowledge or
attitudes] that learners have achieved and can reliably demonstrate at the end of a course or a
program” (Soulsby, 2009, “Learning Outcomes, para. 1). Learning outcomes must be assessable. At the
course level, program committees are responsible for associating course-level learning outcomes with
the elements and performance criteria of competencies in program course frameworks. At the program
level they are responsible for associating courses with the learning outcomes expressed in the program’s
exit profile.
15
The term “profil du diplomé ou de la diplomée” is also sometimes used. In English institutions outside Quebec, an exit profile
is generally referred to as learning outcomes or program-level learning outcomes.
16
Soulsby, E. (2009). How to write program objectives/outcomes. Retrieved from University of Connecticut
website: http://assessment.uconn.edu/docs/HowToWriteObjectivesOutcomes.pdf
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Appendix: Useful Verbs for Bloom’s Taxonomy17
(NB. This section is not part of the course framework. It is offered as a useful reference for the program committee
to help with the inputting of learning outcomes. In the competency-based approach, learning outcomes should be
expressed as actions or tasks accomplished by the student and measurable by objective evaluations. Each discipline
should choose the taxonomy that works best for its purposes and needs.)
Level
1. Knowledge
Useful Verbs
tell
list
describe
relate
locate
write
find
state
name
Level
4. Analysis
Useful Verbs
analyse
distinguish
examine
compare
contrast
investigate
categorize
identify
explain
separate
advertise
2. Comprehension
explain
interpret
outline
discuss
distinguish
predict
restate
translate
compare
describe
5. Synthesis
3. Application
solve
show
use
illustrate
construct
complete
examine
classify
6. Evaluation
create
invent
compose
predict
plan
construct
design
imagine
propose
devise
formulate
judge
prioritize
select
determine
choose
rate
decide
justify
debate
verify
argue
recommend
assess
discuss
17
http://www.teachers.ash.org.au/researchskills/dalton.htm
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