A presentation by Rachel Stubley for the PGCert Developing Professional Practice in Higher Education course in the Centre for Excellence in Learning and Teaching at the University of Wales, Newport (November 2009).

1. Planning frameworks
in HE
PG Cert HE
Newport School of Education
16 Nov 09

2. Objectives: by the end of the
session participants will
consider the range of influences on
course planning and design
review your learning and teaching
strategy and make
recommendations for improvement
develop own practice in writing
session outcomes
evaluate the concept of “constructive
alignment” in relation to your own
modules

3. Influences on the planning
process?
Consider the main interests and
concerns of the following groups:
Students
Academic staff
University (Quality & Registry
Services)
Professional bodies
QAA www.qaa.ac.uk

4. Developing a learning and
teaching strategy
What’s your teaching and learning
strategy?
Do you share it with students?
Does it reflect interests and concerns
of the various groups discussed?

5. Selecting the content
The greatest enemy of understanding
is coverage – I can’t repeat that often
enough.*
Do you want a curriculum “a mile wide
and half an inch deep”…? **
*Gardner 1993 (in Biggs and Tang 2007:82)
** from Stedman 1997 (in op cit 2007:82

6. Aims, objectives and
outcomes
Three kinds of targets (see handout)
Develop a learning outcome (make it
SMARTer?) for :
this session
a session you are about to teach
evaluated the variance analysis
formula
What are the advantages and
limitations of learning outcomes? e

7. The basis of constructive
alignment

8. The dynamic of constructive
alignment

9. References
BIGGS, J & TANG, C. (2007) Teaching for
Quality Learning at University 3rd Edition.
Maidenhead: Society for Research into Higher
Education and Open University Press
http://engsc.ac.uk/er/theory/constructive_alignm
ent.asp the HEA engineering webpage
MOON, J. (2002) The Module and
Programme Development Handbook London.
Kogan Page