Module level design

Module level Design

Useful Guidance

Principles of Module level design

In the same way that our programmes follow the principles of constructive alignment, the design of our modules at the University of Northampton ensures that students are provided with the appropriate learning and teaching activities, experiences and support to develop the skills and knowledge needed to meet the requirements of the assessments.  This results in them evidencing the extent to which they have met the learning outcomes. The key principles are as follows: 

  1. your learning outcomes should clearly inform the students what they will be expected to know and be able to do by the end of the unit of study; 
  2. your teaching and learning activities should be designed to support the achievement of those outcomes; and 
  3. your assessment tasks are designed to enable your students to demonstrate achievement of the learning outcomes.

When designing modules, the learning outcomes and assessments are also developed to ensure that they are supporting the achievement of programme level learning outcomes.  At the same time modules need to incorporate principles which enhance the student experience, such as considering Equality, Diversity and Inclusion within the design of the assessment, linking the learning outcomes to Education for Sustainable Development principles, and ensuring that Employability and Social Impact knowledge, skills and experiences are scaffolded throughout the levels or sequence of study. 

In this way, the modules are designed in consideration of the holistic nature of the programme in order to provide a cohesive programme of study for our students.  This avoids fragmentation of learning whereby assessment skills are required once within a module or overused (and over-assessed) due to a lack of insight into the student experience and assessment mix within and across the levels of study.  

These principles are evidenced within the appendices of the programme specification where each module is mapped against the programme level learning outcomes (Appendix 1) and the range of assessments (Appendix 3).  These can be used to inform the design of a module through identifying previously developed skills and knowledge or providing a focus for how the module will best fit within the programme. 

For more information on the support provided to develop modules, please review the Creating Aligned Interactive educational Resource Opportunities (CAIeRO) guidance here. 

Useful Guidance

The links below provide guidance on a range of learning design areas such as the construction of effective learning outcomes which you can do using our award-winning COGS (Constructing Outcomes for Graduate Success) Learning Outcomes Toolkit. You can also find out more about designing effective group assessments, the maximum limits on assessment volume and an overview of how we mark student work. You will also find a paper based on research into student perceptions of Active Blended Learning which provides guidance on how to effectively overcome barriers to ABL.