Constructing Constructive Alignment

To begin this post, I feel that I need to situate myself in the learning of this lesson. First of all, I will be teaching a graduate course in Education on the topic of “Curriculum, Teaching & Learning”.  In addition, I am also the course developer. As a result, my learning in this course is primarily confirms my prior knowledge and experience related to various learning theories. Concepts such as constructive alignment are familiar and with the expert guidance of the Instructional Designer who worked on the course with me, I feel that the tasks and assessments have been developed mindfully to support and evidence the learning outcomes for the course.

Regardless of the care and expertise that went into the development of the course I will begin teaching next week, there is always a purpose in reflecting, so here goes…

What are the intended learning outcomes of the course? Do the learning outcomes reflect high-level cognitive skills or low-level skills (pay attention to the verbs)?

The learning outcomes for the course represent higher order thinking as described in Bloom’s Taxonomy. Attention has been paid to use the type of verbs that represent analysis, synthesis, and application when drafting the learning outcomes. Also, careful attention has been given to creating assessments that will represent the attainment of the learning outcomes while giving students latitude to apply the content to their specific context.

How is student learning assessed in the course (essays, quizzes, journals, machine-gradable tests, portfolios)?

Learning is assessed throughout the course rather than being based on high-stakes assessments (ie. exam, final major essay). This was done deliberately in order to engage students early and throughout the course. By giving students feedback early in the course, they will hopefully feel that they are seen and heard. The lifeworld of each student is the starting point for the first assignment in order to establish the context for the learning journey that will be undertaken during the course.

Learning will be assessed using reflective writing tasks, group writing tasks, a relevant curriculum re/design project, and a theoretical paper that explains & justifies choices made in the curriculum re/design project.

In what ways are the intended learning outcomes and the assessments aligned or not?

All of the intended learning outcomes and assessments are aligned and this is clearly demonstrated through the blueprint of the course which mapped each course-level learning outcome with the tasks and assessments of each unit in the course.

Identify 2-3 items or assessments that are worded in such a way that they limit students to a unistructural or multistructural response at best and re-write them so that they require a relational response at worst and include the results in your post.

Due to the graduate level of the course (EDUC5031) and the content of the course (Curriculum, Teaching & Learning), when I reflect on the assessments, I can confidently say that everything in the course involves some kind of deeper thinking and integration of knowledge with prior experience; however, this wasn’t the case during the development of the course.

Even knowing what I know about learning, I was tempted to write “comprehension” questions for students to complete after a reading. I think I did this as a form of accountability. My Instructional Designer was able to catch these and make suggestions to change these types of activities into more integrative and reflective ones. As a result, throughout the course, students are encouraged to critically grapple with the content through reflection and engagement in dialogue around the ideas presented.

I would be surprised to find a graduate course that is focused on unistructural or multistructual responses. I do realize that while the course is structured to encourage critical thinking, some students may respond to assessments such as reflective postings with lower level responses that merely repeat key ideas from the readings and avoid personal integration or questioning of the material. This is where my job is critical to support the “Roberts” to engage in meaningful learning!

One Reply to “Constructing Constructive Alignment”

  1. I really liked your reflections on these questions. It sounds as though you have a strong knowledge base of all aspects of the course and that the team you were on worked hard to ensure that the students engaged in meaningful learning.

    I like how you comment on the following:
    By giving students feedback early in the course, they will hopefully feel that they are seen and heard. The lifeworld of each student is the starting point for the first assignment in order to establish the context for the learning journey that will be undertaken during the course.

    I believe this takes into account the life/story of each student and also helps to set the tone for the classroom. In addition it ensures that the online environment is warm and welcoming. I have researched that this is of particular importance in the online world as it can often feel isolating when immersed in studies.

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