CREATING A UNIT HANDBOOK
CREATING A UNIT HANDBOOK
Creating Your Unit Handbooks
A course handbook provides comprehensive information about an entire academic program, which typically spans several years and includes multiple units or modules. A course handbook covers the whole course overview, unit descriptors, the curriculum of the whole course, admission requirements, graduation and career opportunities. This guide however will explore unit handbooks and explore the key components of an effective unit handbook, emphasising clarity, whilst aligning with creative education pedagogies.
What is a unit handbook?
A unit handbook is a document offered to students ahead of the unit commencing. It offers a comprehensive guide to students on their learning journey. It offers a more in depth exploration of the teaching and learning across the unit through developing further on unit the unit descriptor, exploring the learning objectives, assessment tasks, grading criteria, formative and summative feedback, schemes of work/ timetables, and indicative reading lists. You can now see how the course and unit handbook can complement each other, and the importance of a comprehensively designed unit handbook.
Who is the handbook for?
Your unit handbook is primarily for your students. However, it is also a useful tool for other teaching staff in your department, external examiners, validation panels, and support staff such as Learning Development Tutors, Liaison Librarians and EAP tutors. Creating a comprehensive unit handbook is essential for guiding both students and other staff through the academic journey.
What can and cannot be changed in a handbook?
At UCA we have flexibility in our unit handbook design. However, there should also be some elements of this that are consistent across the entire institution.
A well-structured handbook not only provides clarity on course expectations but also serves as a valuable resource for students to refer to throughout their time on the unit.
UCA recommends that however you design your handbooks, they all contain the following subheadings, and these should not be changed. These subheadings will be broken down in more detail as we explore the guide further:
• Front Cover
• Table of Contents
• Introduction
• Learning Objectives
• Assessment
• Indicative Reading
• Teaching Team and Academic Support
• Indicative Scheme of Work
• Additional Information
Front cover:
Visual content can enhance handbooks very much, and often give students a taste of the unit or course they are embarking on, offering some foundational visuals to inspire. If you choose certain visuals for the front, do ensure they are referenced correctly.
Your unit handbook front cover should include: School name, Unit Code, Unit Name, Term number and academic year, Level, Credit Value, Study Hours and Programme.
Table of Contents
A detailed table of contents allows students to navigate the handbook easily. It should list all major sections and sub-sections with corresponding page numbers. You can link your contents page in word so that when students click on the contents they want, Word will navigate straight to this.
Introduction
Through your introduction, provide a brief introduction to the unit, including a summary of the content, objectives, and significance within the broader curriculum and course. Clearly articulate what the unit intends to achieve and what students should expect to learn by the end of the unit.
Learning Objectives
According to Biggs and Tang (2011), welldefined objectives are crucial for aligning teaching methods and assessments. List the specific learning objectives for the course. These should be measurable and aligned with Bloom’s Taxonomy (Shabatura, 2022). For example:
• Understanding: Students will identify major movements in creative arts history.
• Applying: Students will create original artwork demonstrating understanding of contemporary techniques.
• Evaluating: Students will critically reflect on their creative processes and outcomes.
Assessment
Outline the assessment structure, including formative and summative assessment tasks throughout the unit.
Formative Assessment - Black and Wiliam (1998) highlight the importance of formative assessment in enhancing student learning. Including regular formative assessments can provide valuable feedback and improve performance. It is always good practice to highlight these opportunities for students through your handbook, align them to the learning objectives, and ensure they are staggered well throughout the unit teaching.
Summative Assessment - for each summative assessment component in the unit, provide detailed information:
• Description -what the assessment entails.
• Objectives -what the assessment aims to measure.
• Format -specific requirements (e.g., word count, format).
• Submission guidelines - how and where to submit.
• Feedback Mechanisms - how and when feedback will be provided (e.g., written comments, one-on-one meetings).
• Add the weighting percentage for each assessment and how that contributes to the final grade.
Grading Criteria - using the UCA Grading criteria rubric can provide transparency and consistency in grading for students. Explain how grades will be given and the criteria for each grade. You might find it helpful to add this as an appendix to your handbook. It is important to give the grading criteria time for discussions through a unit briefing so students can fully understand how it will be used to assess their work against the learning objectives.
Indicative reading
This is your opportunity to link any resources that will support students through the unit. For best inclusive practices, please consider alternatives to just books. The UCA library offer myReadingLists which enable you link resources directly through the handbook to the relevant resource within the library. This is much more helpful for students than directing them to the library with a list of books to find.
Teaching Team and Academic Support
This is a great opportunity for students to meet you. We would recommend you add some information on who you are, perhaps a photo, your role on the unit, contact details with office hours and teaching hours.
Please ensure you add a list of all academic support names and contact details and check these each time you revise the unit handbook in case of any staff changes. Please include:
• Gateway Services for the campus which the students are studying
• Learning Development Tutors
• Liaison Librarians
• Counseling Services
• ICT Advisors
• English for Academic Purposes (EAP) Tutor
• Dyslexia Advisor
• Careers and Employability Advisor
• Campus Registry
• Student Union Representative
Indicative Scheme of Work
Provide a week-by-week breakdown of topics to be covered through the unit. Use this space to indicate where formative feedback opportunities might be, and how each week will link to the learning objectives on the unit. Each week on the scheme of work should include:
• Lecture themes - titles and brief descriptions of each week’s teaching
• Activities, weekly discussions and assessmentdetails of in-class activities and assignments due and how this links to the learning objectives of the unit.
• Indicative readings - required and recommended readings for the week.
For more information on this, please look at our guide to lesson planning and LiteLearn videos.
Optional additional information
Include any other relevant information, such as:
• Attendance -expectations and consequences of non-attendance.
• Late Submission – information on what happens if the student submits late and how to apply for mitigating circumstances.
• Academic Integrity - UCA’s policies on plagiarism and academic misconduct. You can find the information you need on this here.
• Trips - details of any planned trips so students can budget accordingly.
• Guest lecturers/speakers – additional information on guest speakers and their contributions to the unit.
• Extracurricular opportunities – any related events, exhibitions, or competitions that can further support students on the unit.
Top Tips
Prepare handbooks to offer students in advance
Provide unit handbooks well in advance for the students to read and digest ahead of the unit briefing.
Go through the handbook in the unit briefing
Ensure there is plenty of time to explore the handbook through the unit briefing. Use it as a tool to guide the unit briefing session, explore learning outcomes and what these mean for the students, look through previous assessments and get students to peer assess these against the grading criteria and learning objectives.
Use clear language
Use clear, concise, and unambiguous language throughout the handbook. Avoid jargon. If you feel a glossary of terms would support the unit, it is recommended you add one.
Inclusivity
Ensure your handbooks follow British Dyslexia Assocation guidelines in using the right fonts and coloured backgrounds. Please do offer both digital and printed copies
Keep consistency in design
Ensure consistency in formatting, terminology, and style. Consistent headings, fonts, and bullet points help in creating a professional and easily navigable document.
Use visuals
Incorporate visuals where appropriate to enhance understanding. Visual aids can make complex information more accessible and help the students to gain a better understanding of the unit through alterative means than just the written text. It can also give students a starting point for their own research focus.
Feedback
Do seek feedback from your students on your unit handbook. This will help you in revisions for future cohorts. What works, what was not so clear and needed clarifying.
Resources:
Biggs, J. & Tang, C. (2011) Teaching for Quality Learning at University. McGraw-Hill Education
Black, P. & Wiliam, D. (1998). Assessment and classroom learning. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, 5(1), 7-74. Available at: https://www.gla.ac.uk/t4/learningandteaching/ files/PGCTHE/BlackandWiliam1998.pdf (accessed 5th August 2024)
Shabatura, J. (2022) Using Bloom’s Taxonomy to Write Effective Learning Outcomes. Available at: https://tips.uark.edu/using-blooms-taxonomy/ #:~:text=Bloom's%20Taxonomy%20is%20a% 20classification%20of%20the%20different% 20outcomes%20and,at%20the%20University% 20of%20Chicago. (accessed 5th August 2024)