This section of the webpage is currently under development, the below link will bring you to resources that have been developed to support Academic Staff to Design, Teach and Assess a Module.
All TU Dublin modules should be entered onto the Programme and Module Catalogue (PMC) and submitted for approval to the relevant Head of School (or nominee).
Staff can log in to the catalogue using their TU Dublin Single Sign On Login Credentials.
Detailed instructions for entering modules are available on the PMC training hub:
Enter a Module in the Programme & Module Catalogue.pdf
and training videos are available at: PMC
New Module Codes should be requested from the Curriculum Management Team in advance of submitting the module for approval to the Head of School.
https://forms.office.com/e/ZYAyed8iuR
A module learning outcome is a statement of what the learner is expected to be able to do on successful completion of the module to demonstrate their knowledge, understanding, skills and/or competencies.
Module learning outcomes focus on learning rather than teaching. They do not specify what the lecturer or tutor can provide. All module module learning outcomes should be accessable.
Module learning outcomes start with the phrase:
On successful completion of the module, students will be able to
and are written:
+active verb + the object of the verb followed by a phrase that gives the context.
- Verbs used should be active and lead to observable outputs or behaviours e.g. identify, describe, list.
- Verbs which reference internal states (e.g. understand, appreciate etc) should be avoided as they are not observable and therefore difficult to assess.
Example:
Identify (Active Verb) a wide variety of learning and teaching methods (Object of the Verb) that may be employed effectively in higher education (Context)
For each 5 ECTS module generally there are 4 - 8 learning outcomes.
Modules are not assigned to specific NFQ Levels but when writing module-learning outcomes, it is important to give consideration to how the module fits into an overall programme and align to appropriate NFQ and learning taxonomy.
For more details and examples please refer to the https://tudublin.sharepoint.com/sites/LTA-CurriculumManagementToolkit
Module assessment needs to allow students to demonstrate that they have achieved the module learning outcomes (summative assessment) and also enable students to improve their future performance (formative assessment).
When designing module assessment you need to be cognisant of other assessments that students are doing and work in conjunction with colleagues to ensure that assessments are evenly spread throughout the semester and that students have a range of assessment types so they can develop their transversal skills and there is time for feedback to be provided and acted upon. Assessments should adhere to the university's Assessment Principles.
There are a wide range of assessment methods to choose from and each assessment method chosen can be used to measure achievement of one or more learning outcomes. If multiple assessment methods are chosen for a module, the percentage weighting specified for that assessment component should be reflective of the student workload.
Further details on assessment techniques and approaches are available at:
https://tudublin.sharepoint.com/sites/LTA-CurriculumManagementToolkit
Learning and teaching methods are the activities undertaken to facilitate students so that they can learn and practice the skills required so that they will be able to demonstrate that they have achieved the module learning outcomes. .
Examples include VLE resources, traditional lectures, online lectures, recorded lectures, in-class group and individual activities, in-class polling, required reading etc.
The workload associated with students participating with each learning and teaching method should be estimated. Each 5 ECTS module should have an estimated workload of 100 hours of student effort.
Students all learn differently, so there needs to be:
- Multiple Means of Engagement: use a range of ways to motivate and engage all learners
- Multiple Means of Representation: use a range of ways to show and represent knowledge to our learners
- Multiple Means of Action/Expression: give learners a range of ways in which to evidence and demonstrate their learning
For further details please refer to the Universal Design for Learning Information Pack
The four Learning Modalities at TU Dublin are:
- In-Person On-Campus and Technology-Enabled: Students attend all scheduled lectures, tutorials, and labs etc. in-person and on-campus only. No live instruction is delivered online but academic staff employ a range of different digital learning technologies before, during, and/or after the in-person on-campus activities to deliver an engaging technology-enabled teaching, learning and assessment experience.
- Blended: Blended Learning is the pedagogically-informed fusing of coherently sequenced, synchronous and asynchronous, teaching, learning and assessment experiences, that occur through a pre-planned mix of in-person on-campus, and online, contexts over the duration of a module. There can be varying degrees of in-person on-campus versus online teaching, learning and assessment experiences designed and delivered from module to module. Students cannot choose their modality, rather each experience is offered in one mode only and all of the students engage with each scheduled experience together.
- Online: All teaching, learning and assessment experiences are delivered in the online context only. Students and academic staff never meet in-person on-campus. The term ‘online module’ covers everything from a module where 100% of the instruction takes place in real time (synchronous) to a module where 100% of the instruction is pre-recorded and accessed by students at a time of their choosing (asynchronous), and every possible mix of synchronous and asynchronous teaching, learning and assessment experiences in-between.
- HyFlex: A HyFlex module is offered in-person on-campus; synchronously online; and asynchronously online, at the same time. The students are usually* free to choose their modality from week to week or topic to topic, therefore a student can choose to be an in-person on-campus learner only, a synchronous remote learner only, an asynchronous remote learner only, or a flexible learner who exercises a degree of choice of modality each week or topic. All teaching, learning and assessment experiences are designed and delivered in an equitable manner. *There may be individual module requirements to attend mandated practical sessions as appropriate.
Detailed guidance to inform module design and delivery for each module is available on the links below (Internal access only
New modules can be approved to be delivered through multiple modalities will allow for flexibility, over time, in the offering to students. This does not commit to provision in multiple modes, rather, the school, in consultation with its staff, will determine the mode of delivery for each given instance.
The selection of mode of delivery needs to be determined in advance of the commencement of teaching and clear communication must be provided to students on their timetabled attendance and engagement requirements in advance of the start of the module.
All new module descriptors should be input via the Programme and Module Catalogue
New Module Codes should be requested from the Curriculum Management Team in advance of submitting the module for approval to the Head of School.
https://forms.office.com/e/ZYAyed8iuR
Heads of School or their nominee check to ensure that
- Module aim(s) are appropriate and aligned to the programme(s) aims;
- Learning outcomes are written correctly;
- Assessment types are appropriate and aligned to the learning outcomes;
- Learning and teaching methods are aligned to the learning outcomes and assessments;
- Reading lists are up to date and available to the students;
- Learning hours are appropriate and aligned to the module learning outcomes.
- Where feasible, all the lecturers who will be delivering the module have been consulted;
- Where practical, student feedback has been sought;
Heads of School or their nominee may bring forward any new module descriptors for discussion at the relevant programme committees / discipline programme boards prior to making a decision to approve the module.
Faculty Boards should have oversight of any new modules approved Faculty Board may make a recommendation to a School to review any approved module changes to make further revisions to enhance the module aIt will also have specific oversight to ensure that all University policies are appropriately adhered to and the module information is provided in the correct format, including the appropriateness of how the learning outcomes are written.
Approved modules will be reviewed periodically by Academic Affairs, and lecturers may be requested to edit the module descriptors as appropriate
Further details on Curriculum Design are available via LTA Team's Curriculum Tookit: https://tudublin.sharepoint.com/sites/LTA-CurriculumManagementToolkit (Internal Access Only) and on using the Programme and Module Catalogue through the training hub (Internal Access only)
If there are any other resources that you would like to see included here, please contact academicaffairs@tudublin.ie