Written by Carmen Larsen, TCDC Curriculum Consultant Some students are used to taking a passive role in their learning, expecting that instructors will transfer their knowledge and wisdom to them through lectures and photocopied PowerPoint slides. These students are likely unaware of the research coming from the learning sciences illustrating that learning happens when people […]
Tag: Learning Design
Transformative Learning Experience for Instructor
Three days at Langara’s Instructional Skills Workshop (ISW) can alter teaching philosophy, inspire a new instructional style and create positive impactful results in the classroom. In this testimonial, Manuela Klick, Instructor, Co-Op & Career Development Centre, describes her ISW experience. “Attending the ISW has been significant for me…
TCDC Book Club: How Learning Works
Ever wondered how students’ prior knowledge (or misunderstandings) and the ways they organize new information impact their learning? Curious about what factors motivate students to learn? Want to know more about which types of practice and feedback actually enhance learning, or how you can help your students become self-directed learners?
Outcomes-Based Teaching & Learning
Would you build a house without a blueprint? Probably not. Would you develop a course without a plan? Maybe. However, obviously having a plan makes things easier. And just like having blueprints for a house, having an idea of what you want the learning outcome to be is a good place to start. In curriculum […]
Building capacity in critical thinking
Building Capacity to Measure Essential Employability Skills: A Focus on Critical Thinking Gary Kapelus, Nancy Miyagi, and Valerie Scovill, George Brown College A recently completed study follows a three-year exploration of critical thinking skills seeking to address the question of how we measure student learning of critical thinking, an essential employability skill. The authors learned […]
A Brief History of Learning Outcomes (or is it learning objectives?)
Educational objectives, instructional objectives, behavioural objectives, teaching objectives, learning objectives, learning outcomes, subject-specific outcomes…no wonder there is so much confusion! Although some suggest that the terms learning objectives and learning outcomes are synonymous, when we look at the history of these terms, it’s clear that they are not. Joanna Allan’s (1996) article, Learning Outcomes in […]
Five Ways to Teach Students to Be Learning Centered, Too
As instructors, we put a lot of time and effort into ensuring our courses, lessons and assignments are learning-centred. But what about our students? How much do they think about and take charge of their own learning? Do they even know how? Carl S. Moore offers 5 suggestions on how to “inspire your students to […]
