Course designs embed implicit epistemological commitments concerning knowledge. They assume knowledge can be tentative and contested, mastered techniques are correct, and personal experiences are valid evidence. These foundational beliefs shape disciplines but often remain unacknowledged, potentially obscuring students’ understanding of how knowledge is constructed and validated.
Course design teams often rely too heavily on academic entry requirements, inadvertently building curricula for an idealised student cohort that
Many universities continue to design courses focused on lecturers rather than learners. The latest Substack discusses shifting to a collaborative and transparent model, addressing topics like academic autonomy, neuro-inclusive design, the importance of institutional memory, and the challenges posed by the AI divide. This ongoing series supports an 8-Stage Learning Design Framework.
Many academics, while being subject-matter experts, lack training in course design, leading to ineffective curricula that reflect their own experiences rather than student needs. The 8-Stage Learning Design Framework (8-SLDF) addresses this issue, emphasizing Constructive Alignment and five development areas while encouraging honest engagement with AI in the design process.
Delighted to share the 2026 Comprehensive Taxonomies of Educational Objectives A1 poster now in portrait! This size is required to
This week’s Substack resource for paid subscribers includes six PNG’s that reflect the work I’ve been doing for over a
Have you got some time for professional development over the holiday period? Or do you have colleagues or design teams
This six-minute screencast (6’06”) is a top-level set of guidelines for developing effective teaching materials. For some, it may feel
Strategic Directions in Higher, Vocational and Professional Education: Exploring Contexts
Colleague interested in designing modules and programmes that enable a full range of skills development across domains (cognitive, affective, psychomotor,
Course: Designing Effective Intended Learning Outcomes (August 2022) I persist in being a fervent advocate for the use of a
Workshop aligned to UKPSF A5, K5, K6, V3 It may seem strange to design our evaluation structures before we have
Workshop aligned to UKPSF A1-A4, K3-K4, V1, V4 This post is a summary of the page for Stage 7 of
See Courses “Why do I need to worry about manual skills? I teach history/French/maths…”. My answer is simple. What tools are
Designing Engaging Learning Opportunities Workshop aligned to UKPSF A1-A2, K1-K4, V1 The third element in a constructively aligned course design
Courses available here Workshop available aligned to UKPSF A1, A4, A5, K2, K3, K6, V1-V4 This post is a shortened
There are five key considerations we should take into account as we either work with media in our learning
This 33-minute presentation is from a session delivered to an internal audience of colleagues on my final day at BPP University