Tips on Adding more Structure to your Course

Written by Dr. Daniel Andrews

 

1. Create a map or maps of the course to show the students how the different elements of the course fit together

• Students find it very useful to be able to see the bigger picture of the course and understand how it all fits together. We can help them with this by making maps to show how components of the course fit together. These maps can prove very useful for the staff of the course to see the bigger picture too.

 

• These maps can be done on the whole course level, a week level or for an individual assessment task.

 

 

2. Have learning goals or success criteria for each activity that you ask the students to engage with.
   • This should be done for lecture material/videos in Canvas, workshops, tutorial and practicals and any other activity that is part of your course.
   • By including learning goals or success criteria for each activity, you’re basically sign posting to the students why it is important. You’re also creating a sort of contract with the student, you’re saying this is what you need to learn and I’m going to guide you towards achieving it by engaging in this activity.
   • Below these learning goals it is key to state how the activity is linked to assessment. For example, the learnings may potentially be assessed on an exam or form the basis of a report later in semester.

 

3. Provide students with opportunities to test their knowledge straight after they are exposed to new information.
   • After the students are exposed to new material, they should immediately have the chance to test their understanding/think about what they’ve just learnt.
   • All the questions/tasks that the students engage with should align with the stated learning goals/success criteria outlined for that learning component (i.e. the learning goals of the lecture)

 

4. Making the links to assessment clear.
   • This will ensure that there is alignment between the learning activities and how the students are being assessed in the course.
   • For each activity that you’re asking the student to engage with ask yourself “How does this link to assessment?”. There’s no doubt most students will be thinking this anyway, so let’s tell them the answer.
   • Students that understand how an activity is linked to assessment are likely to be more motivated to complete the activity and see its relevance.
   • If a task you’ve set students does not align with assessment in anyway, that tells you one of two things:
     1. The task you’re asking them to do may not be needed
     2. The assessment regime you’re using in the course may be inadequate