1. Designing and Planning a
Teaching Session
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2. Today‟s menu
• Approaches to study – some theories
• Constructivism – what is it?
• Video 1: outcomes
• Outcomes-based planning – a background
• Describing 'thinking skills'
• Activity 1: writing learning outcomes
• Alternative views on outcomes
• Lesson planning
• Video 2: students today
• Activity 2: how does this affect learning design?
• Learning technology – what is available?
• Activity 3: lesson planning
• Video 3: design in a technology-rich context

3. Expected learning outcomes
At the end of this session participants should be able to:
• state the rationale for using an outcome-based approach
to planning teaching sessions
• write expected learning outcomes for a specific
course/session
• discuss the advantages and disadvantages of various
learning technologies
• select appropriate teaching and learning activities to
support outcomes
• designing a teaching session using a template

4. Approaches to study – what a student does
• Deep and surface approaches (Marton etc,’70s)
• Strategic approaches (Biggs, Ramsden, ‘80s)
• Approaches can be modified by designing the
learning context (Biggs, ‘90s)
• ‘Constructive alignment’ – congruence
between
– What the teacher intends learners to be able to
do, know or understand (can be described as
outcomes)
– How they teach i.e. the activities
– How they assess

5. So what is constructivism?
• Piaget (1950s), Brunner (1960s) . . .
• New learning and knowledge builds on old
understanding – rarely a ‘blank slate’
• Learning is not just adding knowledge but
bringing change or transformation to pre-
existing concepts to refine understanding and
linkages – hence notion of ‘deep learning’
• ‘threshold concepts’(Meyer & Land 2005)

6. Video 1
• 4 mins

7. What the teacher intends students to learn:
“outcomes”
• Planning starts with clear learning outcomes and
the aim of planning is to align our learning
activities with these.
• Rationale: the planning of learning experiences
and assessment of student learning has a
significant impact on students’ approaches to
learning.
• Part of a systematic or ‘rational planning’ model
• Dominant in the UK since ’90s

8. Why is outcomes-based planning important?
• Became dominant in UK Higher Education since
the Dearing Report (1997)
• Often used in proposals for new programmes or
modules
• Used in the QAA Subject Benchmark statements
– set out general academic characteristics and standards
of degrees in a range of subjects:
http://www.qaa.ac.uk/AssuringStandardsAndQuality
/subject-guidance/Pages/Subject-benchmark-
statements.aspx

9. UCL Context
Programme design includes
(i) the educational aims of the programme, including its intended
learning outcomes and how these will be communicated to
students, staff and external audiences;
Programme Institution Questionnaire (PIQ UG)
“The programme provides opportunities for students to develop and
demonstrate knowledge and understanding, qualities, skills and
other attributes in the following areas:
A: Knowledge and understanding
B: Skills and other attributes - intellectual (thinking) skills
C: Skills and other attributes - practical skills
D: Skills and other attributes - transferable skills
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/academic-manual/

10. Writing Learning Outcomes
Outcomes should be
• Written in a future tense (will, should be able to…)
• Identify important learning requirements
• Be achievable
• Be assessable
• Use language which students can understand
• Relate to explicit statements of achievement
….but ‘thinking’ outcomes perhaps most difficult to
define

11. Describing „thinking‟ skills
Bloom – 1956, revised, Anderson & Krathwohl 2001 verbs
1. Evaluation 1. Create
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2. Synthesis 2. Evaluate
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3. Analysis 3. Analyze
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4. Application 4. Apply
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5. Comprehension 5. Understand
-------------- --------------
6. Knowledge 6. Remember

12. Describing „thinking‟skills
Biggs SOLO Taxonomy – more verbs
http://www.johnbiggs.com.au/solo_taxonomy.html

13. misses point
Prestructural
identify, do simple
Unistructural procedure
enumerate, describe, list,
Multistructural combine, do alogorithms
compare/contrast, explain
Relational causes, analyse, relate,
apply
theorise, generalise,
Extended abstract hypothesise, reflect
Biggs (1996) Structure of Observed learning Outcomes
Pictures from ATHERTON J S (2009) Learning and Teaching; SOLO taxonomy [On-line] UK: Available:
http://www.learningandteaching.info/learning/solo.htm Accessed: 27 October 2009

14. Writing Learning Outcomes
• Consider your general aim/s for a module you are
teaching. Write specific learning outcomes for this
course: what do you want the students to learn?

15. Local/Solo Knowledge & Intellectual Practical Transferable
Understanding skills skills skills
Prestructural
Unistructural
Multistructural
Relational
Extended
abstract

16. Alternative views
Laurillard (1993) - learning/teaching is a rich dialogue
Haggis (2003) - deep/surface models can be challenged
Rowland (2006) – outcomes imply a passive learner -
learners may take on increasing responsibility for
‘designing’ their personal learning (PLEs)
Siemens (2005) – ‘connectivism’: know how where
Sfard (2007) – communities of practice
But also...
learners develop in unpredictable ways depending on
their own independent motivations

17. Lesson Planning
• aim of planning is to align our learning processes
and activities with the intended learning outcomes.
• assessment is particularly important
• technology becoming increasingly central . . .

18. Designing learning activities in a technology-
rich context (JISC template)
http://www.jisc.ac.uk/whatwedo/programmes/elearningpedagogy/workshops/session
3.aspx
Issues to take into account Issues to decide
Who are your learners? What will learners do (learning
What are your intended learning activity/ies)?
outcomes? How will they be supported?
Where does learning take place? How will learners receive
What learning technologies are feedback?
available? What resources will they use?
What learning resources are What technologies will they use?
available? What is the e-learning advantage?
What are the challenges?

19. Why„a technology-rich context‟?
• Video A Vision of Students Today
• (How) do these changes affect learning design?

20. Learning technology at UCL
• (How) do these technologies affect learning design?