SETU and units

The course materials in this unit were of high quality

The use of the 'q' word means that student responses will be based on their individual notions of quality of course materials and their assessment of how well the unit learning materials measure up. While it may be argued that students, especially commencing students, may not be well qualified to judged certain aspects of course material quality (such as discipline accuracy, depth, rigor, etc.), there are many aspects that contribute to their overall perception of course material quality that they are well qualified to assess. Over the course of their studies, student will experience a wide range of teaching and learning, and be well placed to make comparative judgements of quality (Ramsden, 1991). The most thorough coverage of subject theory will be compromised by poor, obtuse or boring formatting, and rightly rated by students as low quality.

'Course materials' encompass a wide range of learning resources, including study guides, readers, textbooks, CD-ROMs and online materials. It is important that the selected media are used appropriately. Making large volumes of ostensibly print materials available only online means that students have to read off the screen and/or print out large amounts of reading material. Simply duplicating existing materials on a CD-ROM and/or online doesn't add anything new for students. If a range of course materials are employed, it is important to consider the relationship between them. How do they link together? Are there appropriate cross-references in them to highlight how the various materials are supposed to work together? Is it clear how each item is supposed to be used and how it contributes to the overall learning in a particular unit? Commonly observed student complaints about course materials include:

• the textbook being of poor quality and/or being rarely referred to, if at all in a unit;
• availability of materials, including late delivery of off-campus materials, late appearance of online materials and late availability of preparatory materials such as laboratory manuals;
• study guides with no suggested answers to review questions;
• study guides with apparent inconsistencies, errors or other ambiguities; and
• study guides with radically different style and/or formatting between sections, highlighting that the content has been sourced from a range of authors.

A key message from a large evaluation of student feedback given in the course experience questionnaire (CEQ) was that students desire learning methods that engage them (Scott, 2006). While course materials may not be able to replicate identically the level of engagement that is possible in a tutorial or workshop, careful design of course materials can maximise student engagement. Prior to launching into the main content of a section, it is important to provide some direction to students through the use of one or more preliminary organisers including: objectives, new and/or prerequisite terms, a concept map, a discursive introduction, key/core questions, etc. In the main text of the section, in addition to the content 'text', it is important to integrate activities that provide opportunities for reflection, confirmation, testing, exploration, interaction, etc. This can be achieved through the inclusion of review questions, worked examples, supplementary readings, case studies, audio commentaries, video clips, reflective questions, etc. Where such activities introduce additional content, their purpose should be explained. Following the main text, it is important to provide a summation of the key ideas of the material through the use of one or more retrospective organisers including a concluding summary, checklist of new terms/concepts, self-assessment test, etc. Finally, for students wishing to explore a topic further, a list of relevant additional readings in the form of an annotated bibliography is valuable.

As an aid to considering or reviewing unit course materials, the Deakin Knowledge Media Division (KMD) has developed a set of 10 core quality principles for course materials, they are:

1. reliable - Content is accurate, current, appropriate and relevant
2. informative - Relevant administrative and technical information is provided
3. well communicated - Content uses appropriate tone/level for audience, is logically structured and well communicated
4. acknowledged - Content is clearly identified, acknowledged and accurately branded
5. navigable - Navigation through content is clear, accurate and consistent
6. presentable - Content is formatted and presented appropriately and meets technical standards
7. compliant - Content meets legislative requirements (copyright, accessibility, privacy, plagiarism)
8. appropriate in media mix and quantity - Content is delivered in appropriate media and quantities (media mix and volume)
9. learner-centred - Learning content employs appropriate learning approaches
10. explained - Learning approaches are explained (Knowledge Media Division Deakin University, 2010).

Accompanying the core quality principles are detailed best practice guidelines and course materials standards that provide exemplars of the application of the quality principles in a range of media formats.You can use this set of principles yourself, or seek the assistance of your KMD Faculty client services manager. This is an area where it is also likely to be very helpful to get a trusted colleague(s), either inside or outside of Deakin, to conduct a frank and honest appraisal of course materials for you, considering both content and presentation aspects.

Activity

In addition to the KMD 10 core quality principles for course materials, are there any other characteristics of course material quality that you would identify? What are they?

Forward to: The workload in this unit was manageable