Questions for curriculum planning | Creative Education

Curriculum & Course Design An analytical framework for the planning & evaluation of a course. What questions should be asked?

For further support, please email creatednet@uca.ac.uk

elements of a course Course Aims

Course structure course validation alignment with external policies and regulatory frameworks

Questions to answer

Why? What influences this decision?

Where to get answers

What is the end goal?

What do you want students to have achieved?

What are the key graduate attributes you want your students to gain? how long is the course? what level(s) of learning?

Credit bearing? final qualification? legal requirements? External validating bodies?

Internal academic regulations OfS conditions of registration QAA Subject Benchmark Statements for Art & Design Sector Recognised Standards Discipline specific industry expectations

• • • • • •

• •

Equality, Diversity, Inclusivity and Accessibility

Sustainability & ethics standards

aligned with EDIA policies, ensuring accessibility and inclusion? how will neurodiverse students’ needs be addressed? International students?

WP students?

Ensure mental wellbeing is addressed?

Aligned to the Equality Act 2010? environmentally responsible and socially engaged design thinking?

• • • •

• •

consultation with students, learning development tutors/liaison librarians, creative education, alumni, other stakeholders Office for Students: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/ internal Q&S requirements: https://www.uca.ac.uk/about-us/quality-assuranceenhancement/quality-and-standards-manual/ UCA academic regulations: https://www.uca.ac.uk/about-us/quality-assuranceenhancement/university-regulations-policies-and-procedures/ External bodies such as AHE / ARB / RIBA etc OfS conditions of registration: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/publications/regulatory-framework-for-highereducation-in-england/part-v-guidance-on-the-general-ongoing-conditions-ofregistration/ OfS Sector Recognised Standards: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/publications/sector-recognised-standards/ QAA subject benchmark statements: https://www.qaa.ac.uk/the-quality-code/subject-benchmark-statements needs to be explicit and embedded within the documentation UCA’s EDI policy: https://staff.uca.ac.uk/our-people/people-and-culture/edi/ The Equality Act 2010 is a legal requirement: https://www.advancehe.ac.uk/knowledge-hub/equality-act-2010-implications-colleges-and-heis-revised Office for Students (2023) Equality of Opportunity Risk Register. At: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/ UCA’s Sustainability policy: https://www.uca.ac.uk/about-us/environment-andsustainability/policy-and-governance/ Education for Sustainable Development: Sustainability Education (2025) Education for sustainable development. At: https://www.advance-he.ac.uk/knowledge-hub/educationsustainable-development-0

Interdisciplinarity

Encouraging collaborative teamwork across different creative disciplines?

other issues

size of cohort / number of tutors learning / teaching spaces available / timetabling technologies available – types of VLEs etc budgets for learning resources / visiting lecturers etc age of students – where are they coming from?

Their previous learning? what are their expectations? what are their motivations?

Widening participation / socio-economic considerations? How do you build a sense of belonging? length of terms / semesters?

How many units / modules per year?

How many days per week?

How will students be assessed?

How frequently?

In line with university policy?

student profile

yearly structure assessment

course / student progression UNITS

session content & pedagogic approaches

•

links to industry expectations & employability. Positive impacts on student satisfaction surveys

•

Assessing prior knowledge is essential: Cornell University (2024) Assessing Prior Knowledge. At: https://teaching.cornell.edu/teaching-resources/assessmentevaluation/assessing-prior-knowledge

•

Webster, H. (2022) Building student ‘Belonging’. At: https://www.advancehe.ac.uk/news-and-views/building-student-belonging

•

How does this impact assessment load? Are summative assessment points spread out, or are they bottlenecked at certain times of the year?

•

UCA’s assessment policy: https://www.uca.ac.uk/about-us/quality-assuranceenhancement/university-regulations-policies-and-procedures/ https://www.advance-he.ac.uk/teaching-learning/assessment-and-feedback Assessment advice from QAA: https://www.qaa.ac.uk/docs/qaa/quality-code/adviceand-guidance-assessment.pdf?sfvrsn=ca29c181_4

• •

How do students progress from one level of learning to the next?

Do the units & LOs build on previous learning and then develop it throughout all levels of the course?

How many? To run in sequence, or concurrently?

Optional or mandatory? length in weeks? Level of learning? Credit bearing?

Connection to other units – how do they build on each other?

Providing links to industry, through work placements / ethical internships?

•

• • • • • •

review the weighting of modules in terms of the final outcome versus the process itself cognitive overwhelm appropriateness for level of student are large credit modules overwhelming? do different credit amounts equate to different lengths of units? the difference in sophistication from one level to the next should be explicit - a level of depth and breadth that relates to SRS & SBSs – see links above

what do you want students to learn? how will you teach this?

Is it constructively aligned?

Inclusive content?

•

constructively aligned content: Biggs, J. (2003) Aligning teaching for constructing learning. At: https://www.advance-he.ac.uk/knowledge-hub/aligning-teachingconstructing-learning

•

clear evidence of progression needs to be evident – this must map to the UCA generic grading descriptors and external benchmarks.

See links above

Offering alternative content / giving students choice & autonomy in outputs?

• • •

feedback

assessed tasks

assessment

when will feedback be given? both formative and summative? integrated into the session planning?

Can students ‘fail forward’? Providing an opportunity to experiment and make mistakes?

Are the tasks repetitive? how do tasks interact with each other – especially in concurrent units? Do they complement other tasks?

Do the assessment tasks require students to evidence a range of learning outcomes? Is there variety in the assessment submissions?

Are students being assessed on their learning gained in process, not just skills?

Are the course team able to fully assess all of the skills and knowledge contained within a module?

Are assessment outcomes ‘indicative’? – so they can respond to emerging issues? Are students given agency to make decisions about their tasks, such as a choice of outputs? how will you assess students’ learning?

Is the process transparent for students? Will students be clear how they are being assessed, and what they have to do in the tasks to achieve success?

• • • •

• •

• • • • • •

•

UDL guidelines – providing multiple means of engagement, representation, action & expression: CAST, Inc (2024) The UDL Guidelines. At: https://udlguidelines.cast.org/ Social Constructivist Learning - student-led exploration and reflection: Mcleod, S. (2022) Constructivism Learning Theory & Educational Philosophy. At: https://www.simplypsychology.org/constructivism.html Experiential Learning - Emphasis on hands-on experience, learning by doing: Gibbs, G. (1988) Learning by Doing. Oxford, UK: Oxford Centre for Staff and Learning Development, Oxford Brookes University. At:https://stephenp.net/wpcontent/uploads/2015/12/learning-by-doing-graham-gibbs.pdf Project-Based Learning - real-world applications, live industry projects Blended Learning - Digital platforms, VLEs, online communications ‘Fail forward’ as a feedback approach – helping students to evidence continual improvement, meaning the emphasis is less on the final outcome and more on students’ development. (Effective for newer students).

Higher Education Academy (2017) 'Assessment and feedback in higher education' At: https://s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets.creode.advancehe-documentmanager/documents/hea/private/hub/download/acer_assessment_1568037358.pdf Constructive alignment – do the unit tasks enable students to evidence the learning as defined in the unit learning objectives? See link above to Biggs (2003).

If every unit relies on essentially the same approach (eg, PDF submissions, reflective journals, a written evaluation), it may limit variety, risk, and depth of assessment methods, and does not explicitly show a difference in the complexity or nature of tasks across levels.

Is there scope for increasing critical complexity through the programme – building continuously, within the year, and from level 4 to level 6?

Does the assessment policy cover a range of: Formative assessments - peer reviews, portfolio critiques.

Summative assessments - final exhibitions, research projects.

Alternative assessments - blogs, process journals, options to use alternative media, industry feedback. assessment drives learning / motivates students – see Biggs’ work on constructive alignment: Biggs, J. and Tang, C. (2011) 'Teaching according to how students learn' In: Teaching for Quality Learning at University. Maidenhead: McGraw-Hill Education. pp.16– 33.At: https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ucreativeebooks/detail.action?docID=798265 Do students know how they are being assessed? Providing students with clear expectations, enabling them to review their progress and what they have achieved,

Learning Objectives

student facing course materials

embedded course evaluation

Are all modes of assessment inclusive? Providing alternative equivalent options, such as audio and video submissions instead of written text?

In line with requirements of the Equality Act 2010?

How many LOs per unit? 3 – 5?

• •

supports ‘assessment literacy’: https://www.timeshighereducation.com/campus/helpyour-students-become-assessment-literate UCA’s policy on reasonable adjustments – a legal requirement: https://students.uca.ac.uk/student-services/disability/ appropriate constructive alignment between the course content and outcomes, using the format – ‘at the end of the unit, students will be able to…’ measurability, linked to levelness, starting at foundational knowledge, allowing scope to build up competency

Written from the point of view of the student • “ What exactly am I expected to be able to do with this?

• What does a ‘good’ example of this look like, and what does a ‘poor’ example look like?

• Where does this particular bit fit into the bigger picture of my module, course, degree, life?”

(Race, 2019:31) Are the LOs: clear / concise / specific / measurable / verifiable / level appropriate?

Do they avoid stating that students will ‘understand’ or ‘demonstrate knowledge’ – how can you assess this? Refer to Blooms for alternative verbs If you want to assess an aspect of students’ learning, is it defined in an LO?

•

PowerPoints / handouts / briefs unit handbooks / reading lists sources of support / guidance / information Are all written materials inclusive, and aligned to British Dyslexia Association Guidelines?

Do the unit handbooks provide all the required information?

Will students know where to get help and support?

•

British Dyslexia Association (s.d.) 'Dyslexia Style Guide' At: https://cdn.bdadyslexia.org.uk/uploads/documents/Advice/style-guide/BDA-StyleGuide-2023.pdf?v=1680514568

•

reading lists need to be aligned with university policy, and kept updated, current, diverse, with working links: Schucan Bird, K. and Pitman, L. (2020) 'How diverse is your reading list? Exploring issues of representation and decolonisation in the UK' In: Higher Education 79 (5) pp.903–920.

At: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10734-019-00446-9

Do you have a planned continuous cycle of evaluation and improvement?

•

Make full use of curriculum reviews / external examiners / graduate outcomes data / NSS – student satisfaction surveys / internal surveys Incorporate student perspectives through course boards and student unions Consider how to adapt to emerging trends, such as integration of new technologies, societal shifts, changing industry needs.

• • •

• •

• •

There are many resources to help with writing LOs: Race, P. (2019) The Lecturer’s Toolkit : A Practical Guide to Assessment, Learning and Teaching. Milton, UNITED KINGDOM: Taylor & Francis Group. See pp.29-35. At: http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ucreative-ebooks/detail.action?docID=5905035 Davies, A. (s.d.) Writing Learning Outcomes and Assessment Criteria in Art and Design.

Centre for Learning and Teaching in Art and Design, Royal College of Art and Wimbledon School of Art. At: https://teaching.unsw.edu.au/sites/default/files/uploadfiles/cltad_learningoutcomes.pdf Institute of Art, Design and Technology (2022) Guide to Writing Learning Outcomes. At: https://www.iadt.ie/content/files/IADT_Learning_Outcomes_Guidebook_June_2019.pdf Good advice on using Bloom’s taxonomy to help with writing LOs: Shabatura, J. (2022) Using Bloom’s Taxonomy to Write Effective Learning Outcomes. At: https://tips.uark.edu/using-blooms-taxonomy/