COURSE DESIGN AND PREPARATION




Objectives or goals :: the first step ::: everything should derive from the objectives >> outcomes


writing in behavioral language


goals and testing are inseparable :: 



interesting idea >>> objective of a course is not to cover certain set of topics byt to facilitate student learning and thinking.  >> related to life long learning process 

provide a base of concepts and skills that will facilitate further learning and thinking.

goals >>> think of what we relevant for now and the future of the students

>> situate the goals with the general goals of the university, the program, the major, the curriculum

trascend subject matter


personal values influence our choice of goals.


goals, content, teaching methods ::: interact



compiling the readings sounds better thAn a textbook. >> variety of points of view :::  
>>>how to provide an integration?

I am struck by the fact that the major influence on what the students learn is not the teaching method but the textbook. Is McKeachie referring to high school students? undergrads? In my experience as a grad student the least interesting and most boring classes have been the ones who try to follow a textbook. I wonder what is the best method to provide an integration between a selection of readings from different sources? any tips?




I like the idea of alternative assignments that McKeachie briefly mentions in Chapter 2. This sort of assignments are designed to provide more options and personal control to the students. Is there a more concrete definition of such assignments? any examples?



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* course goals : students will primarely learn:

-content : theory, application, facts

-skills: writing skills, computer skills, remixing skills, digital media production skills


-attitudes : appreciation for content creation/ distribution, collaborative work



* level of performance of the students


- knowledge: ability to recall facts, concepts

define, describe, identify, find


- comprehension : ability to understand ideas and translate them into other formats, grasp the meaning of the fact-concept (and its relationships to other facts)

demonstrate, indentify, explain, illustrate 



- application : ability to use ideas in particular and concrete situations, use fact-concept in a new context

apply, change, prepare, produce, show, use



-analysis: ability to identify constituent parts of a fact/concept and relationships among them.

alanlyze, compare, classify, differentiate, discriminate, distinguish


-synthesis : ability to take existing facts/concepsts and make something new with them

compose, construct, create, design, develop, integrate, produce



- evaluation : ability to judge the value of an idea, procedure






* class activities that will help students meet this goals

- discussions as in a seminar : leading discussion

- laboratory exercise and experiments

- field research

- group projects


* support to the students

- illustrative examples

-practice sessions

-references


* evaluation : meeting goals

- projects

- performance of skills

- writing > production : contributions



* uniformity of assigments

- standardized : no choice

- menu : students have choices from a fixed list



* evaluation approach

- summative for grades and evaluation

- formative for feedback



* class atmosphere for meeting the goals  // success

- cooperative

- collaborative

- participatory


* class attendance

- mandatory and graded


* expected behavior of students

- willingness to participate in class activities
- attendance
- prompt and completion of assignments
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