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Course Design Blueprint: Modules

How do we select modules, refine or and structure module content? 

Courses are structured into a set of modules, each with a defined credit value. Here we look at how all these elements might be brought together with the subject content to determine a module structure for the course.

The Development Process

  • Phase 1: Subject selection and refinement : Review essential areas of subject matter that need to be included in the course and identify elements that may be optional or out of the scope for the course.
  • Phase 2: Creating structure and order: Map the content into modules, determine the level of study for each, and plan the delivery sequence. 
  • Phase 3: Defining the student experience: Determine how the students’ learning will progress through the module structure, mapping how subject, academic and skills will be delivered, practiced, refined and assessed.
  • Phase 4: Optionality and Independence: Consider the inclusion of optional modules and how these may enable students to complete independent study on topics of particular interest to them. 

     

 

Once the subject areas are identified, these need to be placed into a Module structure. While it is not always easy to achieve, course teams should aim to divide the subject matter up into cognate collections that can each form a single module that represents a clearly understandable portion of the curriculum. Each level of studies will normally consist of six modules (of 20 credits each) including any required elements such as research methods in Honours degrees.

Remember: if you are redesigning a traditionally delivered course for Block and Blend, you may need to reorder the content within and across modules to ensure progression of skills, knowledge and behaviour through each level.

 

Once a course module structure has been defined plan in detail how the students' learning will progress. In particular, the course team will need to explore how subject, academic and transferable knowledge, skills and attributes will be delivered, practiced, refined and assessed through the course of the students' studies.
  • The delivery of academic skills learning will be an essential element of the early part of all courses, ensuring the students are appropriately equipped to engage with the studies they are embarking upon. While some course teams choose to employ a single module to deliver academic and study skills, it is more appropriate to develop these skills through a series of modules.
  • The planning of a progressive assessment strategy should inform how module assessment strategies are determined, ensuring that students have opportunities to practice and mastered fundamental competencies before moving onto more challenging content.
  • Where engagement with placement opportunities is a key feature of a course, the process through which students are prepared for this is important and needs to be threaded into the modules.

 

In practice, many courses do not have sufficient resources to be able to offer a range of study options for students. However, some courses will choose to include lower priority content or specialist pathways in optional modules. Some courses include independent study modules where a student is able to explore a subject related area independently, offering a means for students with particular passions to extend their studies in a personally meaningful way. We do not include optional modules at Level 4