How to design effective teaching modules

Amy Burge shares three key things to think about when designing
successful modules and courses.
Having the opportunity to design a whole module or course in higher education
can seem simultaneously daunting and exciting. Susan Toohey explains that:

Teachers in Higher Education retain a very significant advantage over teachers in

other branches of education: their control over the curriculum… Much of the
creativity and power in teaching lies in the design of the curriculum; the choice
of texts and ideas which become the focus of study, the planning of experiences
for students and the means by which achievement is assessed… Of course the
way in which the curriculum is brought to life is equally important, but the power
of good teacher-student interactions is multiplied many times by good course
design. (from Susan Toohey, Designing Courses for Higher Education, p.1.)

Designing modules is a great privilege, but also a responsibility. It can be difficult,

when starting out designing modules, to know where to begin. For me, there are
three key things to think about when designing a module which you can apply to
any teaching subject.

1. Be clear about the module purposes and aspirations for student

participants and communicate these to students.
It’s important to have clear, achievable goals or outcomes for your module. What
do you want students to know, understand and/or be able to demonstrate after
they complete your module? We would usually call these aims learning outcomes
or objectives. Learning outcomes are statements of what skills, knowledge, or
learning a student will have once they have completed the module.
Many learning objectives are based on a hierarchical model of learning first
articulated by Bloom in the 1950s. Bloom’s model has been critiqued and
modified since then, but it is still useful for thinking about learning outcomes.
Bloom categorises learning into gradually increasing levels of sophistication,
beginning with surface learning skills, such as recall of information, moving to
deeper learning skills of assessment and evaluation. Typical learning outcomes
for a module might map onto Bloom’s hierarchy, indicating the development of
learning over the course of the module.

2. Make sure your module is constructively aligned (the learner actively

constructs their own understanding and all teaching and assessment is
aligned with the intended outcomes).
A successful module is one in where the stated learning outcomes or objectives
align with teaching activity and assessment (what has been called constructive
alignment). In other words, in the context of the learning outcomes, what learning
activities do you want your students to engage with? What kinds of activities
would lead to achieving the learning objectives? What content will be needed to
achieve learning outcomes? What support will the learners need to achieve the
learning outcomes? What is the best way to assess how far students have
achieved the learning outcomes? How might you review or evaluate the course
to find out if it has successfully aligned learning outcomes with activity and
assessment?

The image below is useful for thinking about how the different elements of a
module fit together in constructive alignment.
Creating a Module
If you are interested in creating a module, please contact Sean Fox (sfox at carleton.edu).

The Parts of a Module

The goal of a module is to provide the full range of information that a faculty
member needs to successfully implement a teaching method. We use a
structured format for modules to make it easy for faculty to browse across
multiple methods. Each module has these parts:
 An overview page: The overview pages serves as a table of contents to
the module. Users browse this page to decide if they want to look
further. More on creating an overview page
A What page: This page describes the teaching method and its
distinguishing features. More on creating a What page
A Why page: This page describes when and why the method is
particularly effective using the educational literature. More on
creating a Why page
A How page: This page, the most popular destination describes how to
use the method effectively with tips for the instructor. More on
creating a How page
A collection of examples: The examples, drawn from the discipline or
school of interest to the target audience bridges between the module
content and the teaching experience of the user. Examples make the
module relevant and understandable while providing ideas for ways
in which the instructor can use the method. Each module should have
at least 10 activities associated with it More on creating activities
A Reference Page: This page lists all references used in the module. If
references are web pages or articles that are available online, please
create links. For journal articles that require a subscription, link to
the free abstract rather than the article itself.
 Peer Review: Once your module is ready to be published, it will be peer-
reviewed. For more information, see the Module Review page.

Tips for Authors

In addition to the suggestions for content provided in the links above,
there are a few good ideas to keep in mind across the module.

Not just your opinion

Pedagogic modules are pieces of scholarly work not opinion pieces.
Assertions must be backed up with references or qualified as "in my
experience". Links to the literature are the mechanism we use to move
from anecdote to scholarship. Reviewers are instructed to look for
unsubstantiated claims and missing references.

Each page is the first page

Most users enter from Google or come from an example page. They are
unlikely to see your top page first and may read only one page or the
pages in a random order. Make sure that a reader can tell what your page
is about at a glance, can make an informed decision as to whether to read
it, and can find other related pages that may be of interest.

Tired of Being Told

Consider your module as a persuasive essay. Faculty do not respond very
well to "should" statements and are more likely to use your module if it
works to engage and inform them rather than to direct them.

More about Module Parts

Overview of teaching method X
This page contains:

 Brief 1 to 3 sentence definition of method which may include a

relevant quote. The
context tag may be used to provide a box
encompassing the text.

 One sentence summary of each of the remaining 5 organizing

elements (what is, why use, how to, examples, and references)
and include links to each one of these elements

What is X
This page contains description of teaching method that answers
question such as:

 What differentiates this teaching method?

 What is the preferred class size?
 What is the preferred environment?
 Are there any required resources or technology (or other
traits of a logistical nature)?

Why use X?
This page provides answers to questions such as:
 What are potential learning outcomes?
 What is potential for assessment?
 What does current research say in relation to this
method?

How to use X?
This section can be very prescriptive and include things
such as:

 Step-by-step instructions
 List of challenges
 Tips for first time use
 Classroom management
 Suggestions for types of content best suited
for this method

Activities using X
Ideally, each teaching method should have 10
activities or examples that give a range of ideas
for using the method for the given discipline.
Use the example template within the CMS mini-
collection to ensure that the activities and
examples can be found by users through the
search engine. Each field within the template
should be complete even if the content is
redundant with associated Word and PDF files.
The user should be able, at a glance, to get the
idea of the activity and how easily it will be for
them to adapt to their own class.

The example should contain all materials needed

to execute the activity (e.g. handouts - but not
wet chemicals). In addition, all the instruction
the faculty member needs to execute the activity
well should either be provided or referenced. So
 for example, if the activity includes a think pair
share, link to information on how to do a think
pair share well. In some examples, you may need
to include information on how to lead the
discussion. If the example requires knowing
something special that is specific to the example
to execute it with success, include it as part of
the example pages, e.g. typical errors, places
discussion often goes astray, and so on. Read
more about creating activities.

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 Pedagogy in Action
o Library
o Pedagogic Service
 Creating Activities and Modules
 Creating a Module
 Module Review
 Creating an Activity
 Activity Design
 SERC Style Guide
 Author checklist
 Copyright Pointers for Contributors
 Workshops and Meetings
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Module Review Form

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Teaching and Learn
 Fellows
 High Impact Educational Practices (HIPs)
 Online and Blended Course Development
o Getting Started
o Is Online Teaching Right for You?
o Resources for Planning and Development
 Course Design Guidelines
 Reflecting on your Teaching
 Course Mapping and Learning Objectives
 Designing Assignments for your Online Course
 Designing Modules for your Online Course
 Module Outline Template #1
 Module Outline Template #2
 Sample Course Development Timeline
 Sample Module Outline
 Learning Objects
 Facilitating your Online Course
 Assessing your Course
 Glossary of Terms
o Help and Support
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Sample Module Outline

Once you’ve created your syllabus, you’ll need to create a module-based course outline that details all course
components, activities, and learning objectives. This will organize your course into modules that you can later
set up within Moodle. We recommend that each module contain a module overview, is 1-2 weeks in length,
and begins on the same weekday. These guidelines will help make your course clear and easy to navigate. A
sample module outline taken from an introductory course in Two-Dimensional Design by Susan Lambert
appears below. Adapt it to your needs to create an outline for each major topic in your course. For additional
guidance, please contact x4221.

MODULE 1

Title: Taking a zen Approach: The Negative Space Problem

Dates active: 10/06-10/20

Module Overview:

“The usefulness of a bowl is in its emptiness.”

– This idea is attributable to Buddhist and Taoist traditions.

How is ’emptiness’ made useful by artists? How can empty or negative space produce ambiguity, nurture
curiosity and add to the richness of an image? How can it lead viewers to take an active role in completing the
image? How can focusing on “what is not there” open up new ways of thinking, feeling and perceiving? And
how can we use the boundaries of the frame to “activate” negative space – making it an equal partner to the
objects represented?

In this two-week module, you will read about the design principles that artists use to accomplish these things.
I’ll show you examples from Art History and you will find examples of images on your own that evidence
these principles. You will then use Photoshop to design images that make creative use of negative
space. Finally, we will participate in a group critique of your completed projects via Voicethread.

Module Objectives:
After completing this module, students will:

 Identify how the following design principles affect our perceptions of two-dimensional images:
 Gestalt Principle of Closure
 Negative Space
 Framal Reference
 Apply Photoshop tools to create original images that make creative use of negative space.
 Articulate how these principles work in fine art images and in each others’ solutions to
the Negative Space Problem.
Lectures, Readings:

 Chapter 2 in Judith Wilde’s book, Visual Literacy

 Art, Design and Gestalt Theory, by Richard Behrens
at: http://www.leonardo.info/isast/articles/behrens.html#26.
Assessments:

 Discussion Forum
 Negative Space Project
 Voicethread Critique
Tools:

 Firefox Web Browser

 Adobe Photoshop
 Voicethread
Deadlines:
All assessments are due by 11:59 PM on 10/20/08.

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For further information, please contact:

Faculty Center for Professional Excellence (FCPE)
Alumnae Hall, Room 123
p – 516.877.4220
e – [email protected]
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