Course Foundations
Understanding by Design (UbD) is a framework for improving student achievement. Emphasising the teacher’s critical role as a designer of student learning. UbD works within the standards-driven curriculum to help teachers clarify learning goals, devise revealing assessments of student understanding, and craft effective and engaging learning activities. Author Jay McTighe explains more below.
The following resources serve as a menu for instructors to select a planning tool to determine the foundational aspects of course design and planning. Instructors should browse and find a tool(s) that suits their needs.
Backward Design
Backward Design Template with Descriptors
Review this tool before using the Backward Design Template
Backward Design Template
This tool will help instructors identify learning outcomes at the course or module level and further develop assessment and learning strategies.
Course Outcomes
Writing Course Objectives and Learning Outcomes
Clear direction for aligning and writing learning outcomes or objectives.
Bloom’s Taxonomy
Bloom’s Taxonomy illustrates a hierarchy of cognitive processes, and is often an underlying component of educational work. This taxonomy is a valuable resource that can help instructors align lectures, assignments, and exams with course goals.
Course Design Templates
Use this workbook to gather and organize aligned learning content and activities within a given course module.
Basic model planning tool including insight into asynchronous learning timing.
Detailed course planning spreadsheet working from outcomes to feedback planning.
This template provides steps from identifying a course objective all the way through identifying course materials with examples.
Simple course planning Word document.
Helpful for determining course credit hours.