A previous post introduced Robert Talbert’s book, Flipped Learning: A guide for Higher Education Faculty and that chapters 4, 5, and 6 focus on the process of designing (or redesigning) a course for flipped or hybrid delivery. In chapter 4, Talbert spends time discussing the importance of the course design process and introduces two course design models or frameworks.
He briefly introduces the backward design model of Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe (2005) from their book, Understanding by Design. He uses this model to stress that the main point in course design is student understanding and not content coverage. However, he moves beyond the 3 stages of this model and stresses the importance of combining the backward design model or framework with the more structured approach in the “design for significant learning” model of Dee Fink (Talbert, 2017, p. 88)
The bulk of chapter 4 focuses on the design for significant learning framework from Dee Fink (2013) in Creating Significant Learning Experiences: An Integrated Approach to Designing College Courses. The author introduces the 12 steps in Dee Fink’s framework and then discusses how each relate to the design (or redesign) of a flipped or hybrid course.
Interesting is the author’s adaptation of the Instructional Strategy Step 7 of the model. During this step of the model, instructional strategies (learning activities done in a sequence with the students working toward a learning goal) (Talbert, 2017, p. 90) are developed based on the Course Structure (Step 6). In Dee Fink’s model, these learning activities are designed in a castle-top diagram alternating between in-class and out-of-class activities.
For flipped or hybrid course design, Talbert (2017) suggests viewing these not as in-class/out-of-class activities but rather as individual space activities and group space activities (p. 96). He briefly describes these individual space activities as students working online in the university’s learning management system (LMS), reading pages in the textbook, reflecting on discussion forum posts, etc. These individual space activities are designed to prepare students for their group space activities (most likely classroom-based) and then within these group space activities, we design activities to prepare students for the next set of individual space activities. More details on this castle-top approach to building these alternating activities is introduced in the next chapters.
Citations
Fink, L. D. (n.d.). A Self-Directed Guide to Designing Courses for Significant Learning. Retrieved from https://www.deefinkandassociates.com/GuidetoCourseDesignAug05.pdf
Talbert, R. (2017). Flipped Learning: A Guide for Higher Education Faculty. Stylus Publishing, LLC.
McTighe, J., & Wiggins, G. (n.d.). UNDERSTANDING BY DESIGN® FRAMEWORK. Retrieved from http://www.ascd.org/ASCD/pdf/siteASCD/publications/UbD_WhitePaper0312.pdf
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