Teachers usually design their lessons based on the course content, while learners often focus on the exam. If the teaching content is not aligned with the exam content, this can be frustrating for both teachers and students.
This is where John Biggs' Constructive Alignment comes into play, which has changed the planning of course content and the implementation of learning sequences worldwide.
The key message is:
The learning outcomes, the teaching/learning methods and the examination must be coordinated.
What does that mean for you?
It is helpful to define what the learners should be able to do before creating the learning content:
→ Define the learning outcomes.
If you also want to create an exam, you can measure the learning outcomes with suitable exam tasks:
→ Formulate the examination tasks.
Finally, think about how your learners can achieve these learning outcomes:
→ Plan the learning activities.
Sources:
Bachmann, H. (2011). In: Heinz Bachmann (ed.) (2011): Competence-oriented university teaching. The need for coherence between learning objectives, forms of assessment and teaching/learning methods. Forum Hochschuldidaktik und Erwachsenenbildung. 1st ed. (vol. 1). Bern, pp. 29-43.
Biggs, J. et al (2022): Teaching for Quality Learning at University. 5th ed. Maidenhead.
Vrabl, Olivia. To be aligned or not to be aligned. That is the question. The formula COULD-(OVER)EXERCISE step-by-step guide to using Constructive Alignment in course planning (in German): https://oliviavrabl.com/pdf/schritt_fuer_schritt_anleitung_koennen_pruefen_ueben.pdf