Subscribers have access to a rubric with standards related to the sector of their choice: Higher Education, K-12 Education, Educational Publishing and Continuing and Professional Education. The professional development training offered by the program is related to the use of the rubric as a tool for assuring quality in the design of online courses.

The 5 dimensions included in the rubric include succinct but detailed information and a set of questions to help evaluate and assess the effectiveness of existing learning outcomes. This rubric and the instructions would also be useful to use as a starting point for the design of learning outcomes.

The 5 dimensions included in the rubric include succinct but detailed information and a set of questions to help evaluate and assess the effectiveness of existing learning outcomes. This rubric and the instructions would also be useful to use as a starting point for the design of learning outcomes.

This paper presents some interesting findings regarding assumptions about critical thinking in higher education. The study involves both academics and students and suprisingly there was some alignment in terms of definitions and conceptual understanding of critical thinking. The results indicate that students are more concerned with critical thinking outcomes whereas academics are more focused on the processes that underpin critical thinking. The authors suggest that emphasis on curriculum design that promotes critical thinking  will have a positive impact on both the products and processes of critical thinking.

Are you thinking of designing an eLearning course and dont know where to start? This guide is comprehensive and well-designed, with a good balance of text, graphics and illustrations. The resource includes 5 chapter files which cover the basic concepts of e-learning, with a focus on adult learning and training. Included are tips and methodologies for creating and delivering interactive content and reference to some of the current technologies.

Do you understand know how to write learning outcomes/objectives? This interactive model explains concepts related to writing learning them whilst considering cognitive and knowledge dimensions. The authors describe a procedure using Bloom’s revised taxonomy (Anderson and Krathwohl 2001) that is specific to higher education. Verbs explain cognitive processes (in increasing cognitive complexity) and objects indicate types of knowledge (from concrete to metacognitive). Whilst the cognitive processes in this model are useful, the table explaining the knowledge dimensions may be confusing for some teachers. From Iowa State University Centre for Excellence in Learning & Teaching.

This infographic is worth a close look. Its value lies in helping teachers plan and design learning outcomes, assessment tasks and learning activities that enable learners to master lower level understanding and move toward higher order thinking and critical enquiry. It maps and explains Bloom’s learning levels and learning domains in a way that illustrates the hierarchy and relationships, however each learning level, within each domain, has embedded with a range of verbs that are not included here.

This is a great article for prompting teachers to reflect on the effectiveness of the feedback they currently provide to students. It includes timely, personalised, manageable and constructive suggestions for giving and receiving formative feedback, to maximise the ‘learning payoff’. 

From Curtin University’s ‘Teaching and Learning at Curtin (2010)’, the article refers to Phil Race’s book ‘Making Learning Happen (2005)’, in mentioning the fine balance between the effectiveness and efficiency of both providing and receiving feedback. Good feedback helps students learn effectively and helps teachers work efficiently. 

This is a great article for prompting teachers to reflect on the effectiveness of the feedback they currently provide to students. It includes timely, personalised, manageable and constructive suggestions for giving and receiving formative feedback, to maximise the ‘learning payoff’.