Course Design

As part of NTU's Education Strategy 2020, all NTU courses are designed using an outcomes-based teaching and learning (OBTL) approach, a curriculum design framework focused on “first identifying the intended outcomes or goals of a module or programme and then aligning teaching, learning, and assessment to maximise the likelihood that students achieve those outcomes or goals.” (Deneen, Brown, Bond, & Shroff, 2013).

OBTL is underpinned by the principle of constructive alignment (Biggs, 1996) based on an earlier work by Ralph Tyler (1949) and Thomas Shuell (1986), where assessment and teaching activities are aligned to guide learners to achieve the defined learning outcomes.

Stiehl and Sours (2017) examines the contrast between the content framework and the OBTL framework. Traditionally, curriculum is designed using a ‘content framework’ organised around a list of topics, typically using a textbook as a primary source of information and quizzes to assess learners’ knowledge of the topics covered. The OBTL framework, on the other hand, focuses on what learners can do at the end of the course with what they have learnt. Learning activities and assessment become more meaningful when learners can see the connections between the learning outcomes and activities. 

At NTU, OBTL is incorporated into the course submission process. Faculty and instructors receive feedback on their course design from CTLP. Final course outline documents are then shared with learners, who can be better informed about what to expect from courses. Faculty and instructors are encouraged to continue to reflect and refine their course design.  

To build on the insights present in these course outline documents, NTU has recently amended the course outline document and launched a web-based form to collect key information. The new course outline document (OBTL+ form) provides insights on how courses (i) adopt diverse modes of pedagogical approaches to engage learners, (ii) foster NTU’s graduate attributes and specific competencies, (iii) integrate educational technology and learning analytics, and (iv) which courses involve research or collaboration with external partners to offer learners real world problems to work on. 

Find out more about how NTU adopts the OBTL approach with the help of this self-contained Course Design online module hosted on Workday (click here).