Backward Design, per Wiggins and McTighe [1], begins with the establishment of (1) learning outcomes (what should students know or be able to do at the end of a course?) followed by (2) assessment (how will you know they have achieved the outcome?) and (3) instructional activities (how will you present the content and facilitate learning?). In the Learning Map project, we introduce two additional steps (1 & 2) to facilitate the (re)design of a course sequence:
- Identify the interdependent learning outcomes across the sequence
- Choose appropriate Bloom’s Taxonomy cognitive levels
- (Re)Define the course- or unit-level learning outcomes
- (Re)Design assessments
- Plan learning experiences and instruction
Step 1 is the identification of interdependent learning outcomes (outcomes that facilitate knowledge transfer and progression of learning across the sequence). The interdependent outcomes can be identified using learning maps or LMaps (See What are Learning Maps?) or instructors may already know where the key outcomes occur in the curriculum (e.g., design, teamwork, programming, etc.).
Once the interdependent outcomes are known, we move to the course- or unit-level learning outcomes (Step 2). These outcomes describe what students should know or be able to do within a given course or unit. In this step, instructors must consider the transition between learning outcomes in each course and the cognitive knowledge objectives per Bloom’s Taxonomy [2]. Ideally, the Bloom’s levels progress to higher levels across the sequence to ensure that students are building knowledge and deepening understanding rather than repeating learning outcomes at the same level throughout (Example below, modified from [3]). If the Bloom’s levels (learning outcome action verbs) change, this may require instructors to revise the learning outcome language in their individual courses (Step 3).
Through reflection and collaborative planning activities and worksheets, instructors next build consensus on how course- and unit-level learning outcomes will be assessed (Step 4) and what classroom instruction will look like (Step 5). Learning Map worksheets and templates can be used to guide the entire process from identifying interdependent learning outcomes through to planning instruction (coming soon!). The process is iterative, meaning that coordination among instructors is not a one-time event, but an on-going conversation that evolves and improves over time.