Course Development: Learning from our Elders

Division/Program: Youth Justice – Corrections/Law Enforcement Studies

Role: Program Manager/Instructor

Recommended course design resource:  

• Everything offered by BCcampus!

What makes you recommend it: 

The Facilitating Learning Online (FLO) Micro-courses have been my go to over the past two years to learn different ways of offering curriculum in a virtual world. I have learned so much from attending these courses from the topic being introduced to watching the facilitators and how they use technology.

Division/Program: Centre for Teaching, Learning & Innovation

Role: Program Director

Recommended course design resource:  

• A Comprehensive Guide to Applying Universal Design for Learning

  By Dr. Seanna Takacs, Junsong Zhang, Helen Lee, Lynn Truong and Dave Smulders

What makes you recommend it: 

As instructional designers, Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is at the forefront of our minds as we create learning resources that are learner-centered, accessible and inclusive. This open guide is a wonderful foundation for UDL written by our own CTLI staff!  Anything and everything you would like to know about getting started with UDL in your course design is in this guide from the basics of UDL to learning strategies and assessments.

Division/Program: Conflict Resolution

Role: Program Director/Instructor

Recommended course design resource:  

• Community & Social Justice Division (CSJD) Course Design Development Handbook

What makes you recommend it: 

This was something that we created in Fire & Safety Division (FSD) and I’ve changed slightly for CSJD. Not sure if this is useful!  There are two references in there as well that might be helpful for others. The table was adapted and modified from Emergency Management Division (EMD).

Division/Program: Centre for Teaching, Learning & Innovation

Role: Instructional Designer

Recommended course design resource:  

• The Open Faculty Patchbook | A Community Quilt of Pedagogy

What makes you recommend it: 

This is a wonderful resource of faculty stories about teaching and learning in colleges. The stories are practical, accessible and relatable. They focus on the pedagogy that shapes teaching and learning and include reflection on teaching practices. There are so many great stories – I recommend reading the whole book! But you can also pick and choose stories to dive into.

Division/Program:  Fire and Safety Division 

Role:  Instructional Designer

Recommended course design:

Moore, C. (2017). Map it: The hands-on guide to strategic training design. Montesa Press. 

What makes you recommend it:   

The action mapping process described in this book is something that I have incorporated into my practice as an ID. It has repeatedly and without fail, proven to visually illustrate where information dumps exist in course redesign projects. 

Division/Program: Police Academy

Role: Instructional Designer

Recommended course design resource:  

• Antoine, A., Mason, R., Mason, R., Palahicky, S. & Rodriguez de France, C. (2018). Pulling Together: A Guide for Curriculum Developers. Victoria, BC: BCcampus.

•  UBCx: IndEdu200x. Reconciliation Through Indigenous Education. edX online course.

• First Peoples Principles of Learning. First Nations Education Steering Committee. 2006

What makes you recommend it: 

Pulling Together: A Guide for Curriculum Developers is a very comprehensive, open access guide specifically focusing on post-secondary education. It encompasses a full range of topics including basic definitions, incorporating Indigenous epistemologies and pedagogies, engaging with Indigenous communities, and promoting systemic change in post-secondary institutions.

Reconciliation Through Indigenous Education is a great online course developed at UBC. It is aimed at advancing reconciliation in classrooms, organizations, and communities through the teaching and learning of Indigenous ways of knowing. The focus is broader than post-secondary education. However, it contains a wealth of frameworks and specific suggestions for educators. I also found the references introduced in each section extremely helpful.

This course is instructor-paced and is currently archived. However, most of the non-interactive content is accessible throughout the year.

First Peoples Principles of Learning is a single-page poster describing a set of learning principles specific to First Peoples.  The First Peoples Principles of Learning were articulated by Indigenous Elders, scholars and knowledge keepers to guide the development of the curriculum and teaching of the the English First Peoples course created by the BC Ministry of Education and First Nations Education Steering Committee in 2006/2007.

While very condensed, I found this resource extremely helpful as it provides a holistic insight into how Indigenous pedagogies are different from the Western tradition.

Division/Program: EMD

Role: Coordinator/ Instructional Designer EMD

Recommended course design resource:  

• Dirksen, J. (2016). Design for how people learn. 2nd Edition. New Riders.
• Shank, P. (2017). Practice and Feedback for Deeper Learning. Learning Peaks. 

What makes you recommend it: 

Design for how people learn is accessible, well organized and a very good resources especially for those new or occasionally engaged in curriculum development. Low on the jargon and with good visual aids, examples and ideas.   

Practice and Feedback for Deeper Learning is clear, varied and research-based strategies for developing learner opportunities for deeper learning and outcomes. She explore the job context, self-direction, practice for transfer, effective feedback and retrieval practice. Includes well organized and robust reference list.  is clear, varied and research-based strategies for developing learner opportunities for deeper learning and outcomes. She explore the job context, self-direction, practice for transfer, effective feedback and retrieval practice. Includes well organized and robust reference list. 

Division/Program: Emergency Management Division

Role: Instructional Designer/Coordinator

Recommended course design resource:

• Quick Reference Guide for writing copyright attributions
  Authored by yours truly with guidance from Christine Louise (JIBC Library)

• Emergency Management Division’s Curriculum and Program Development Work Plan
  Our official work plan template, authored by Sarah Wareing.

What makes you recommend it: 

Including correct copyright attributions for images and videos can be confusing! The Quick Reference Guide for writing copyright attributions summarizes all you need to know!

The EMD Curriculum and Program Development Work Plan is a comprehensive list of every task you need to complete when developing or redeveloping a course. For each course I work on, I use a pared down version of this workplan to create a Gantt chart in Excel, customizing it specifically to the course I am working on.

Division/Program: Office of Indigenization

Role: Coordinator

Recommended course design resource:  

• Sanderson, J. (2010). Culture brings meaning to adult learning: A Medicine Wheel approach to program planning. Pimatisiwin: A Journal of Aboriginal and Indigenous Community Health 8(1). Pp. 33-54.

What makes you recommend it: 

Indigenizing post-secondary education requires the application of Indigenous cultural knowledges and is more genuine when applied during program development. This resource offers an entry point for educators to use Medicine Wheel Teachings as one Indigenous framework to conceptualize and create programming that prioritizes equity, holism, wellbeing, identity, and community.  

Heather also offered up a bunch of other useful resources worth our attention:

• Carter, M., Cassidy, E, Mihalicz, M., Pobuda, T. (2020). Into the Longhouse, around the Medicine Wheel. Pressbooks. 
• LaFever, Marcella (2016) Switching from Bloom to the Medicine Wheel: creating learning outcomes that support Indigenous ways of knowing in post-secondary education, Intercultural Education, 27:5, 409-424, DOI: 10.1080/14675986.2016.1240496 
• LaFever, Marcella (2017). Using the Medicine Wheel for Curriculum Design in Intercultural Communication: Rethinking Learning Outcomes. 
• Bell, Nicole (2014). Teaching by the Medicine Wheel: An Anishinaabe framework for Indigenous education. EDCan Network. 

Division/Program: Centre for Teaching, Learning & Innovation

Role: Program Manager, Faculty Development/Instructional Designer

Recommended course design resource:

• Roundabout Design by Flower Darby

What makes you recommend it: 

“Teaching a great online class requires more than an understanding of pedagogical strategies powered by technology. It requires a cohesive course design that enables all of our students to learn and succeed….”

Darby offers a different way of looking at course design, less of a straightforward linear process and more like a roundabout with jumping on and off points. Much more responsive to ongoing course design actions.

Division/Program: Police Academy

Role: Program Manager/Curriculum Developer

Recommended course design resource:

• Create Curriculum Map, by Texas A&M University

What makes you recommend it: 

There are many examples of curriculum mapping available online, to use depending on your ultimate purpose for the map. This site reminds us that curriculum mapping links directly to program design.  The map will not only show where curriculum exists, it also allows you to “see” why it is there. From this vantage point, you can also “see” where curriculum may be missing.