When designing a course or program, thoughtful design is key to success. A Backward Design approach is the most effective way to create a strong course and cohesion across a program.

Principles of Curriculum Design & Development

When employing the backward design approach, the instructor begins by identifying what they want students to be able to do by the end of the course. These are the course competencies and should be based on external standards for the profession. The course competencies must be appropriate for the student’s understanding level and must be observable, measurable, and achievable within the course timeframe. Additionally, learning objectives that support the course competencies must be identified. Subsequently, the instructor should determine the evidence needed to ensure students achieve those goals. This is the assessment strategy, which contains the criteria students need to meet to demonstrate competency for each course competency successfully. Finally, the instructor will decide on the learning activities that will support students in achieving the course competencies by the end of the course.

If you want to learn more or review the curriculum design for a course or program, our instructional design specialists can help you.

A course outline is a detailed document that outlines a course’s objectives, requirements, assessments, and delivery structure. It serves as a roadmap and a legal contract for faculty and students, outlining expectations, assessments, and learning outcomes. For faculty, it aids in course planning and delivery, while for students, it provides essential information to navigate the course successfully and understand how it fits into their academic journey. The course outlines at Michener include multiple elements to provide clarity and understanding between faculty and learners regarding course expectations and outcomes and to set the tone for the course.

• The program administrative assistants and the chair initiate the annual renewal/review of course outlines for their faculty
• The instructional design and curriculum experts are available for one-on-one consultations with faculty and programs to review and develop all course outlines
• For the development of new courses, please review the Course Outline Template and book a consultation with our team

At Michener, we use competency-based learning to ensure students develop the knowledge, skills and judgement required for success in their specific health professions.

• A competency is something that a person must be able to do successfully and efficiently in a specific job role.
• A competency statement is used in course outlines and the curriculum to describe what a competent individual does and in what context. For our programs, these competencies are informed by the professional bodies of the specific health profession, and they aid in:

Competency-based instruction provides the foundation for designing instruction, ensuring that learning objectives, activities, and assessments align with professional standards.

COMPETENCY-BASED INSTRUCTION
Learning Objectives	Identification of appropriate and specific competencies that align with the professions standards
Learning Activities	Creating training, practice opportunities in the classroom and laboratories in the required skills and skills
Assessment	Development of opportunities for learners to demonstrate their abilities to perform the specific tasks or skills with a required level of proficiency

 

When designing competency statements, we utilize all three learning domains, which are included in Bloom’s Taxonomy. This taxonomy encompasses cognitive, psychomotor, and affective domains.

• Cognitive: focuses on thinking or knowledge
• Psychomotor: focuses on doing or performing
• Affective: focuses on the development of attitudes and interests

Competency statements and learning objectives have the same purpose. They both clarify specific, observable, and measurable behaviour that a student should be able to demonstrate at the end of their learning.

• Learning objectives provide the supporting skills, knowledge and attitudes that lead to mastery of a competency. These are sometimes seen as the sub-skills to the overarching competency, as they represent the content in terms of performance and provide cues for developing learning activities and assessments.

Example:
Competency Statement:

• Explore legal and ethical requirements related to professional practice

Learning Objectives:

• Explore the scope of practice for the profession
• Apply federal and provincial legislation as outlined by the profession’s standards of practice
• Apply the requirements of the provincial regulatory body for professional practice, including the scope of practice and sexual abuse prevention
• Apply the code of ethics in clinical practices and decision-making
• Demonstrate clinical practice in a manner that recognizes patient’s rights

Resources that can support you.

• Bloom’s Taxonomy Verb List – Language from writing competencies and learning objectives
• Competencies Information Sheet  
• Learning Objectives Information Sheet
• Self-assess the competencies and learning objectives using the following rubrics:
  • Competencies Self-Assessment Worksheet 
  • Learning Objectives Self-Assessment Worksheet

Learning plans are valuable tools that benefit both instructors and students by providing a structured framework and transparent approach to the learning experience. For students, learning plans offer a guide that connects the overarching course competencies with the learning objectives of the activities designed to prepare them to be competent in their assessments.

By breaking down course competency statements into smaller, manageable learning objectives within the learning plan, it becomes more manageable for learners to understand the instructors’ vision through each stage of the course’s learning process. This helps students stay engaged, track their progress, and apply their skills to real-world situations. Learning plans also provide flexibility, allowing students to catch up if they fall behind or work ahead.

The Learning Plan ensures that activities are aligned with specific competencies and learning objectives, guiding the design of activities and assessments. Instructors can use the plan to keep lessons focused and organized, ensuring all course goals are met. Additionally, learning plans help instructors engage students effectively by following the three phases of the learning cycle and structuring activities that motivate engagement, guide feedback, and assess students’ practice of their knowledge.

1. Motivation:

The desire to learn something is influenced by the learning environment, such as a lecture, lab, tutorial or interactive activity – this engages students and inspires them to learn by telling them what the learning objective is. Ask: Why must they learn this? What do they already know?

2. Comprehension:

This is where most learning occurs: information is received into short-term memory and stored. The lesson design needs to facilitate the transfer of this information into long-term memory. Ask: How can the information be reinforced? What are the opportunities for students to attempt and receive feedback?

3. Practice:

Applying what has been learning through guided practice is important for storing information in long-term memory and connecting with other courses. Ask: How can students use this information to consolidate understanding and verify their comprehension with feedback?

4. Application:

This is the retrieval of long-term memory and extending it to address learned problems and decision-making; this is the assessment portion of the course. Ask: What are the ways to verify that students can recall and demonstrate this knowledge, skill and judgment to be competent with the information learned?

Learning plans provide a consistent and coherent teaching framework that benefits both students and instructors. Learners must move between understanding and practicing before fully applying themselves. This helps reduce cognitive overload and can be achieved by breaking the learning into manageable pieces and incorporating frequent practice and feedback, which can be formative or low-stakes evaluations.

For effective course design, it is important to align the assessments to the learning objectives and learning activities developed for the course to ensure effective course design. This alignment ensures that the evaluations accurately reflect the student learning experience and the achievement of overarching competencies of the course.

Key considerations for alignment:

1. Learning Objectives:

Define what you want students to know and be able to demonstrate by the end of the course.

2. Learning Activities:

These instructional strategies used both in and outside the class reinforce the learning objectives and prepare the learner for the assessment by providing feedback on their understanding and areas for improvement.

3. Assessments:

Determine the tasks that will effectively measure whether students have achieved the required knowledge, skill, and judgment to be competent.

If there is a misalignment between these elements, this can hinder student motivation and ability to achieve the learning objectives.
For example, suppose your assessment evaluates the student’s independent ability to perform venipuncture on a task trainer with a simulated participant (SP). However, your instructional activities only emphasize that students working in partners should recall the checklist steps for performing venipuncture. In this scenario, students may not learn the communication and tactical skills needed to succeed in assessment independently.

Well-aligned assessments are designed to measure the different types and levels of learning objectives. Below are examples of activities that correspond to the different levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy. This table is not a list of all the possible types of assessments; you can develop others; just be sure they align with your course.

Learning Objective Level	Example Assessment Activity
Remember	Terminology Quiz: Knowledge based questions on key concepts directly from course content
Understand	Case-Based Questions: Students can explain in their own word’s material learned in course content (i.e. pathophysiology of a disease, symptoms, etc.)
Apply	Patient-Care Scenarios: Case study style questions where connections need to be made between the classroom theoretical knowledge and determining the appropriate intervention for the real/clinical world
Analyze	Chart Review and Planning: Activities where students need to identify and review patient information (i.e. chart, requisition and medical history) to identify the next steps in care
Evaluate	Clinical Simulation Debriefing: which allows for students to then review their performance and reflect on their clinical decisions and communication
Create	Procedure Guideline: Students research and creating a protocol for a specific procedure, including best practices, relevant safety considerations, addressing common challenges and solutions to clinical practices to enhance patient care and quality

Grading Methods and the Role of Rubrics in Assessments

The method of assessment grading varies depending on the type of evaluation being conducted. Multiple-choice evaluations are common at The Michener Institute and higher education, reflecting what students can expect when preparing for their board certification exams. However, when assessments move beyond multiple-choice, rubrics become essential to clearly define expectations and ensure a fair evaluation process.

Well-designed rubrics make assessment criteria transparent by outlining what constitutes satisfactory versus unsatisfactory performance. While constructing rubrics requires time and effort, their benefits are significant:

• Upholding high academic standards: Rubrics ensure consistency and clarity in evaluating student work
• Increased equity and reduced grader bias: A standardized evaluation process minimizes subjective interpretation, promoting fairness
• Targeted feedback: Rubrics allow instructors to provide detailed feedback on areas where students are below competency expectations
• Student reflection and understanding: Rubrics align with learning objectives, helping students relate criteria to broader categories of understanding
• Motivation to succeed: When students clearly understand what is expected, they are more motivated to meet those standards
• Conflict reduction: Transparent grading criteria reduce disputes between students and instructors regarding grades

Engaging students requires thoughtful course design that connects with their interests, learning styles, and experiences. Active learning strategies such as case-based discussions, peer collaboration, and real-world applications are key in both online and in-person settings. Incorporating interactive tools, technology, and feedback mechanisms enhances engagement by immersing students in their learning journey.

For online classes, consider using interactive tools like quizzes, polls, whiteboards and synchronous/asynchronous chats to keep students actively involved. Discussion forums, voice-over PowerPoint presentations, and video content add variety, while real-time feedback and virtual breakout groups with shared documents are used for enhanced collaboration.

In in-person settings, active learning techniques such as group work, peer teaching, simulation and problem-solving exercises create dynamic learning experiences. Classroom ed-tech tools and active learning classroom models encourage participation and deeper discussions.

The approaches to engaging students will vary depending on your course and program. If you find that we don’t have a resource to support your teaching needs, please feel free to contact us for additional assistance. We’re here to help tailor solutions that work best for you and your students.