Effective educational design for distance education
Effective educational design for distance education
- Aims
- Objectives
- Writing aims and objectives
- Objectives terminology
- Verbs to help write objectives in the cognitive domain
- Aligning objectives to teaching and learning
- Aligning learning objectives with assessment
Effective strategies for print based distance
- Student interaction with the subject
- Clear guidance to learners on how to use the learning material where necessary
- Introductory sections provided for each topic, which set out the main issues and concepts to be covered
- Embedding of study skills advice in the learning materials
- A personable tone of voice evident in the delivery, rather than the use of the passive voice
- Selection of subject material and the development of skills relevant to learners' needs
- A range of learning materials included to cater for different approaches to learning
- Inclusion of activities and guidance to develop learner autonomy
- Inclusion of self-assessment tasks
- Assessment strategies
- What needs to be evaluated?
- Checklist for purposes of evaluation
- Regular review, evaluation and enhancement
Well-organised study materials
Effective educational design for distance education
Teaching through distance education is different from face-to-face teaching: in face-to-face teaching the learner is in front of you and can ask you to clarify a point or provide additional examples. With distance education you are unable to see if the learner needs more practice or advice on how best to approach a particular problem. Consequently when preparing a distance education subject you need to put down in writing everything you may wish to say to a learner in a face-to-face setting. You need to provide the distance education student with as many additional resources as possible to facilitate their learning. You also need to consider how best you can incorporate and communicate feedback into your learning materials.
Therefore the materials you prepare must take the place of the academic in terms of:
- explaining clearly what is expected in terms of learning and assessment;
- guiding the students through the subject material;
- providing interest and insight;
- supplying activities for engagement with the learning materials; and
- offering opportunities for students to obtain feedback on their progress.
It is clear from the list above that the materials you prepare should be more than just an exposition of subject matter. They should contain such things as a reading guide, summaries, and activities, so that students can check their progress. The Study Guide should be written in a less formal style than that usually used in textbooks or journals, since it is intended to be a guide to the learning work and not a dissertation. It is important that the materials are clear, concise and readable, as the students will have to rely on them for both direction and stimulus.
Your educational designer can provide you with examples of existing materials to use as a guide to ways of solving particular problems. They can also supply you with advice concerning such matters as: print-based learning material, learning objectives, audio/visual material, electronic communication, online subject preparation and assessment. You may wish to check the CSU library for current publications about writing study materials.Please ensure that you maintain regular contact with CSU, through the educational designer who will be handling your subject material and the Subject Coordinator who will be responsible for the teaching of the subject. It is not helpful to produce work that fails to address an important topic or that requires very extensive editing. You are invited to make as much use as possible of the educational designer as that person is aware of the author's role in producing learning materials of an appropriate standard.The following questions serve as a framework to focus on important learning and teaching concerns in the development of learning resources.
Am I clearly communicating the outcomes I wish to see achieved?
Am I presenting a clear conceptual framework which reflects the logical structure of the discipline?
Do my learning materials recognise students' existing knowledge and competencies?
Are my learning materials sufficiently stimulating?
Am I providing the student with sufficient guidance concerning how to progress through the learning materials?
Am I actively involving students with the subject matter by giving them things to do as well as to learn?
Have I considered different learning styles by including a variety of formats such as tables, graphs, and illustrations as well as text?
How will my students receive effective feedback about their progress in the subject?Will my students be able to retain knowledge and competencies and then use them in a variety of situations?
Have I clearly informed students about how they will be assessed and the criteria that will be used?
How am I going to evaluate the effectiveness of my learning materials on student learning?
Aims and objectives
The key to reflecting on the way we teach is to base our thinking on what we know about how students learn. Learning is the result of the constructive activity of the student. Teaching is effective when it supports those activities appropriate to achieving the curriculum objectives, thereby encouraging students to adopt a deep approach to learning. Poor teaching and assessment result in a surface approach, where students use inappropriate and low-order learning activities. A good teaching system aligns teaching method and assessment to the learning activities stated in the objectives, so that all aspects of this system are in accord in supporting appropriate student learning.
Biggs (1999: 11)
Aims
The first step in writing a distance education subject can be defining the teaching aims of the subject and/or the course. The aims are broad statements which define what you are trying to do, grounded in what the subject demands. They can be general and should give your students an indication of the scope of your subject and its relationship to other subjects or the course in general.
Examples: At the completion of this subject students should:
- appreciate the civic origins of architectural designs (architecture);
- acquire skills of economic analysis and reasoning (economics);
- develop their ability to pose purposeful questions about the past and answer them imaginatively (history);
- understand the institutions of the law, and their social, economic, and political form (law);
- develop the capacity to think creatively and independently about new design problems and make a realistic estimate of their own potential for solving them (engineering);
- develop a critical interest in the reform of the law (law).
Objectives
Having clearly articulated what your subject is generally aiming to achieve and what your teaching is about, it is a little easier to approach the task of defining what students must be able to do.
Learning objectives define what students are expected to learn in more specific and concrete statements. These statements indicate what learners should be able to do, demonstrate or understand as a result of having worked through the material.Learning objectives provide a guide to teachers and students. Clear objectives provide you, the teacher, with a valuable tool in curriculum development by enabling the rational choice of content and teaching and learning activities and are important in planning valid assessment.They provide the students with a clear indication of what we want them to learn and helps them focus on these specific concepts.Learning objectives go hand in hand with your assessment tasks - you should be assessing what has been learnt. As you write the materials you should refer back to your learning objectives to ensure that your assessment accurately reflects the stated objectives.Before you start writing your aims and objectives it may help to read some specific objectives and how they are stated.
Examples By the end of the topic students will be able to:
- recognise and explain the role of government in planning through a detailed examination of the 1947 Planning Act (environmental planning);
- explain, using graphical and algebraic methods, the meaning of elasticity in different contexts (economics);
- appreciate the range of normality in the living human body due to age, sex, and body fluid, and the effects of posture, phase of respiration, and pregnancy (anatomy);
- explain the properties of ionising radiation (physics);comprehend fundamental concepts in the historical study of the French Revolution: for example, the eighteenth century meanings of 'bourgeoisie' and 'feudalism' and distinguish them from twentieth-century interpretations (history);
- interpret contemporary human activities in the light of the psychology of memory (psychology).
Writing aims and objectives
Objectives are concerned with the students' learning activities, not the teacher's teaching activities. Learning objectives therefore are a statement of what the learners should achieve as a result of having worked through the material.
The key word in any objective is the verb which describes exactly what sort of action the intended learning outcome is to be. It is possible to make learning objectives even clearer by referring to the conditions under which the performance is to be achieved and the level of competency attained.Objectives are therefore often made up of three components:
- a behavioural term: an action word that indicates what the learner should be able to do;
- a condition: an indication of the circumstances under which the action is to take place; and
- a standard: a description of the degree of skill to be demonstrated.
Objectives terminology
Objectives are often classified into three domains:
- cognitive (knowledge, thinking)
- affective (attitudes, feelings)
- psychomotor (practical skills)
In writing your objectives it may be helpful to consider further the six levels of the cognitive domain:
- knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation.
These six levels indicate increasing complexity in student learning. Before you write your objectives decide what kind of knowledge is to be involved and the level of knowledge or skills you want your students to acquire.
You should take care however, not to be too prescriptive in writing your objectives as the six categories overlap considerably and strictly behaviourist objectives can be too narrow or specific and foster surface learning.
Verbs to help write objectives in the cognitive domain
The choice of the verb or action word is very significant because it denotes behaviour that can be either observed in practice or inferred from successful performance. This list will help you choose the verb to describe the desired outcome of student learning. The higher levels, evaluation, synthesis and analysis promote deeper rather than surface learning.
Cognitive levelDescription |
Example of action words |
|
EvaluationMaking judgements about value in light of some criteria |
appraise, qualify, support, criticise, assess, estimate |
|
SynthesisCombining a number of elements in order to form a coherent whole; to put together information in a new way to solve a problem |
translate, draw, discuss, explain, report, review |
|
Analysis |
Separation of a whole into its component parts |
compose, derive, assemble, plan, formulate, deduce |
Application |
To apply or use the information in a new situation |
list, state, repeat, record, name, relate |
Comprehension |
Understanding, perceiving, changing information into some parallel form more meaningful to the learner |
interpret, distinguish, relate, identify, separate |
Knowledge |
Recall and recognise |
identify, demonstrate, state, outline |
This list is derived from the work of Bloom, B. S. (1972) Taxonomy of Educational Objectives, Book 1: Cognitive Domain. Longman, London.
Aligning objectives to teaching and learning activities
The learning objectives are a useful tool in mapping out your subject material and in helping you design specific learning activities.
The learning objective indicates what the students need to do in order to meet that objective, therefore you can match each objective with a learning activity.
Aligning learning objectives with assessment
It is equally important to match the assessment methods to the objectives. Courses often fail to live up to expectations due to a mismatch of assessment and objectives.
Without the alignment of assessment with subject and course objectives, students are less likely to engage in learning (Biggs,1999). Planning for alignment increases the likelihood that appropriate learning activities are chosen to ensure the achievement of objectives.
Effective strategies for print based distance education materials
Student interaction with the subject
Inclusion of appropriate learning activities in each module/topic will encourage deep learning.
Examples
- - Before you begin reading, jot down a few words you identify with intelligence. Then think of which aspects of intelligence are measured in school examinations.
- - In what other ways can we think about intelligence?
- To what extent is the academic, competitive curriculum still the hegemonic discourse of secondary schools in this state?
- What are the advantages and disadvantages of public examinations?
Clear guidance to learners on how to use the learning materials where necessary.
Examples
Provide instructions on what's happening in:
- lectures;- tutorials;- students' own time (in terms of reading and activities);- preparation for coming weeks; and
- terms of assessment items due.
Introductory sections provided for each topic, which set out the main issues and concepts to be covered
Examples
Key concepts and issues
- identity politics- difference- postmodernism
- cultural relativism
Introduction
Feminist theories of knowledge have argued that dominant discourses are grounded in the male experience of the world. Although these discourses are claimed to be universal, they in fact only tell half the story of the human race ...
Embedding of study skills advice in the learning materials
Examples
Your project proposal should aim to explain why you had chosen this particular topic to research. The proposal should be presented in the form of an essay. You will be assessed on the basis of both content and style, that is, both the quality of your explanation and the clarity of your presentation.
In your project proposal, try to explain your interest in the particular topic you have chosen, by identifying what aspects you see as most important and explaining why you consider the topic significant to Australian society.
A personable tone of voice evident in the delivery, rather than the use of the passive voice
Examples
For each module there are specific readings, all of which are included with your study materials. As you read the module notes, you will find more information on how the readings are to be used. You will also find information on how to approach these readings, and how to improve your learning skills.
Selection of subject material and the development of skills relevant to learners' needs
This type of information can be gleaned from students through the University's evaluation program. Academic staff are welcome to have their teaching material evaluated if they so desire.
A range of learning materials included to cater for different approaches to learning.
Examples
Materials could include print-based notes, readings, prescribed texts, recommended readings, CD-ROMs, floppy disks, audio/video tapes, Internet sites.
Inclusion of activities and guidance to develop learner autonomy.
Examples
Questions to ask about your essay
Title:
- Is it short, clear, to the point, useful?
- Does it encapsulate the theme?
Theme:
- Is it clear?
- Does it help integrate the essay?
Structure:
- Is it clear?
- Have you effectively used transitions and headings?
Content:
- Are your main points clear?Have you ordered your main points logically and effectively, given your theme and content?
- Have you provided adequate support (evidence and logical argument) for your main points? Are your assertions supported by evidence?
Conclusions:
- Do your conclusions follow from the content?Do you have to put any riders or limitations on your conclusions?
- Does your conclusion fit in with your theme?
References:
- How did you cite your references in the essay?
- Is your referencing consistent?
Editing:
- Have you edited your essay for grammar, punctuation, spelling, clarity, efficiency, length, etc.
Presentation:
- Are you going to type or handwrite?Have you allowed time for proof reading?
- Are you going to get someone else to check for mistakes?
Inclusion of self-assessment tasks.
Learners are encouraged to critique rather than passively accept, the content of the subject.
Assessment strategies
Assessment Assessed Advantages |
Disadvantages |
Traditional essay questions Memory for facts Understanding of ideas |
Time consuming to mark Marking unreliable |
Pre-set essay examinations |
Same as above |
Open-book essay examinations |
Same as above |
Essay in continuous assessment |
Same as above |
Short answer written questions |
Limited opportunity to show argument or originality |
Multiple-choice questions |
Difficult to prepare without faults Cannot assess skills of organising or originality |
Oral assessment of tutorial contributions Online subject forum contributions
|
Very time consuming |
Practicals Practical (manual) skills Application of principles |
Time consuming |
Field work Field work skills Application of principlesAs above |
As above, only more so |
Project theses Ability to plan original work Ability to seek relevant informationAbility to develop an argumentAbility to draw appropriate conclusionsDevelops important skills in the student Reveals depth of thought |
Difficult to assess objectively |
The total assessment strategy for your subject should address concerns regarding:
- how to best evaluate the aims and objectives of the subject;
-
the subject content and nature of the discipline;
-
the numbers of students enrolled;
-
ease and consistency of marking; and
- designing safeguards against collusion and cheating.
Evaluation
Workload
- Is it possible for a student to complete the subject in the time available?
- Do some sections impose too great a workload on the student? Or not enough?
Activities
- Are they suitable and relevant to the discussion taking place in the notes?
- How much student time do they occupy?
- Should they be maintained/eliminated/modified in future?
Modules/Study guide notes
- Does the writing convey a clear and unambiguous account of the subject matter?
- Are too many terms left unexplained?
- Is the style of writing suitable for recipients?
Prescribed texts
- Do they need to be updated/replaced/removed from the subject?
- Are they sufficiently well integrated with the module/study guide notes?
- Are they continuously obtainable?
Recommended reading
- Are the texts/journals being used by students?
Internet sites
- Are they being accessed by students?Do the URLs work?
Readings (to accompany module/study guide notes)
- Is the selection of materials appropriate?
- Can they be updated?
Assessment
- Are the assessment items unambiguous?
- How long did students spend on formal assessment activities?
- Was the level of difficulty appropriate?
- Do students receive enough feedback about their assignments as distinct from receiving a grade?
Production of materials
- Are the materials legible?
- Are they visually interesting?
- Are they clearly and accurately presented?
- Formal student questionnaires are an integral part of the evaluation process and the Academic Senate of Charles Sturt University has recommended student evaluations of all subjects with enrolments in excess of fifteen students. Contact Derek Sequeira (dsequira@csu.edu.au) for further details regarding this process.
Checklist for purposes of evaluation
Materials
- What are the type(s) of materials and media included?
- Are the media selected appropriate for the audience?
- Are the media selected appropriate for objectives and content?
In general, materials need to be attractive and appealing, durable for the setting in which they will be used, and visually organised. Target audience
- Is the target audience specified and described?
- What prerequisite skills and knowledge are required?
- How are prerequisite skills and knowledge evaluated?
- Are any unusual abilities or knowledge required?
Purpose
- Is the goal of the materials clearly stated?
- Is the goal realistic and attainable?
Objectives
- Are objectives stated in clear, unambiguous terms?
- Are objectives sequenced in an appropriate way?
- Do objectives cover all aspects of the content?
- Are objectives appropriate for the audience?
- Do objectives reflect identified needs and intended performance?
Analysis
- Is there evidence of instructional analysis?
- Is there evidence of audience analysis?
Content
Content should always be reviewed for accuracy and validity by subject matter experts, your educational designer will check for the following:
- Does the content match the goals and objectives?
- Is the content appropriately sequenced?
- Is the content appropriate for the intended audience?
- Is the quality of the content sufficient to cover the stated objectives?
- Is the content accurate? Valid? Current?
- Is the vocabulary/reading level appropriate for the audience?
- Are there distractions in the content?
- Is (inappropriate) bias evident in the materials?
- Is content organised and sequenced with transitions to guide the learner?
Strategies
- Is learner participation required? In practice? In application?
- Are there ways (e.g., multiple entry points or remedial instructions) for learners to adjust for differing levels of prerequisite skills and knowledge?
- Are there frequent opportunities for practice and feedback?
- Is practice and feedback appropriate for the audience?
- For objectives?
- Is there additional or outside help for learners who experience difficulties?
- Is pacing appropriate to the audience?
- Is a variety of presentation style and methods used?
- Is the length of presentation time appropriate?
- Is enough time allowed for learner participation?
- Are there opportunities for remediation?
- Enrichment?Can materials be used independently?
- Are learner instructions clear and easy to follow?Are instructions comprehensive?
- Are motivation strategies (attention, relevance, confidence, satisfaction) incorporated?
Assessment
- How are learners assessed? Pre-tests? Post-tests? Embedded tests?Is assessment appropriate for the audience? For the objectives?
- Are assessment tools criterion referenced? Do they match objectives?
Management
- How is learning tracked?Is this appropriate for the audience and the goals/objectives?
- Are management issues (e.g., missed classes) identified and planned for?
- Is instructor feedback to students planned to be timely?
- Do guidelines provide for consistency each time the subject is delivered?
Regular review, evaluation and enhancement
Keep an informal running record of issues you want to have student feedback on, as they arise in the teaching of your subject. What appears to be working well, and what is posing problems?
Request regular feedback from students during the running of the subject. This could be delivered via email or the online subject forum.Liaise with CELT to develop an evaluation questionnaire that will suit your teaching purposes.Liaise with CELT to discuss ways of modifying and enhancing your subject according to the feedback you received from students.
Ask a colleague to review your subject materials.
Well-organised study materials
Well-organised study materials include the following characteristics.
Information about the subject is clearly separated from the teaching content.
Details about the subject coordinator, including contact procedures and details, are presented in one easily accessible location.All information about assessment of the subject is listed in one easily accessible location.Students are given information about how the subject relates to the overall structure of the course. Information as to how the assessment items are related to the overall objectives of the subject is givenThere is clear and logical organisation of the knowledge base, such as division of content into modules and topics.The learning objectives (subject, module and topic) are clearly stated.Current information pertaining to prescribed resources (e.g. textbooks) is provided.Details regarding the referencing format which students are expected to use are given.Submission dates for assignments are provided. A clear marking criteria is provided.A suggested study schedule is included.
A sample examination paper is included, if applicable.
Study Guide/ Modules/ Readings
There is clear guidance to students on how and when to use the materials; for example, when to listen to accompanying audiotapes, or to access readings.
All materials are free from discriminatory content. All readings are fully sourced.The readings are compiled so that they cross-reference with the order of presentation in the study guide/module notes. This applies to audio/visual/online resources as well. Materials provided for readings comply with the provisions of the Copyright Act. Good quality, complete originals of articles are provided for reproduction. The content of any audio/visual tapes is accurate for the current offering of the subject.
All URLs provided are current at time of printing.
Biggs, J. 1999. Teaching for Quality Learning at University. Open University Press, Buckingham.