Course outline example, EDPS 501 - Centre for Teaching and ...

General Description:
University of Alberta, Faculty of Education
Department of Educational Policy Studies
Summer 2010
EDPS 501 B1: Teaching in Higher Education
(course weight: ∗3) M, T, W, H 9:00am – 11:50am
Classroom: Education North 7-102
Instructor: Heather Kanuka, PhD
Office: Telus Building, Rm #137. Phone: 492-2812
E-mail: heather.kanuka@ualberta.ca
Office Hours: By Appointment
Course Description
This course will examine the philosophy, theory and methods of teaching and learning in
higher education. Drawing on both seminal and current research into teaching and
learning in adult and higher education, the first part of the course is organized into three
areas of roughly equal emphasis: (a) philosophies of teaching in adult learning and higher
education, (b) leading learning theories in higher education, and (c) the relationship
between philosophical and theoretical orientations and practice
Course participants will also consider the practical aspects of implementing
leading philosophies and theories, as well as how they connect to a university's Academic
Plan. The philosophical and theoretical foundations covered will be used as guiding
frameworks for the second part of the course.
Building on the stated course outcomes, course participants will focus on the
design, delivery and assessment of programs and courses, particularly (but not
exclusively) at the undergraduate level. Focus will be placed on the course design cycle
with emphasis on the challenges for students to engage fully with course content and
processes, and how design decisions can enable structuring and scaffolding for effective
teaching and student learning.
Rationale:
Effective and knowledgeable leadership and practice at all levels and areas of teaching
and learning in higher education requires the ability to understand and apply the results of
research and development in the field. Equally important, instructors in higher education
are often called upon to deal with learning challenges requiring basic knowledge of the
theory and practice of teaching and learning with adult learners in postsecondary
environments. Therefore, this course provides teacher-practitioners with informed
1 – EDPS501 Course Outline

EDPS 501 LEC X5: Teaching in Higher Education Instructor: Heather Kanuka 2
understandings of the conceptual issues relating to the philosophies, theories and methods
in adult and higher education, as well as practical issues involved in teaching within the
postsecondary sector.
Drawing on the theories, philosophies and methods in adult and higher education
covered in the first section of this course, participants will develop an awareness of the
underpinning practical considerations, and associated implications for curriculum
development. Additionally, participants will apply their knowledge and understanding by
working on the development and delivery of a particular course. Participants will also be
encouraged to expand their repertoire of strategies and practical approaches to teaching
by moving outside their familiar frameworks and engaging in investigations and
discussions across disciplinary boundaries.
Course Conspectus:
1. To provide knowledge, skills and attitudes related to teaching and learning in higher
education through a focus on philosophies and theories used in evidence-based active
application within the postsecondary sector. The first half of the course is geared toward
broadening the course participants’ understandings of learning approaches in ways that
can be explored through diverse ways of teaching.
2. To introduce the instructional design cycle for course development or redevelopment.
The general purpose of instructional design is to develop, or redevelop, learning
experiences and environments that promote the acquisition or enhancement of
knowledge, skills and attitudes. This is achieved through carefully planned interactions
between the instructor, learners, materials, instructional activities and performance
environments bringing about the desired student learning outcomes. In terms of the
student assessment in the design cycle, the contrasting and often competing goals and
functions, and the available empirical evidence will be covered in this course by means of
three illustrative themes: (1) alignment of instructional methods/strategies of assessment
and intended learning outcomes, (2) the growing evidence on the benefits of formative or
learning oriented assessment and the impact of developments in assessment practices, and
(3) learner evaluation strategies.
Course Outcomes:
• Assess and reflect on personal educational philosophies relevant to higher
education.
• Develop a personal teaching philosophy statement.
• Determine the appropriate learning theory(ies) to match a personal
philosophy
• Design and develop a course plan that is aligned with personal philosophies
and theories that links: learning outcomes, teaching strategies, and
assessment/evaluation

EDPS 501 LEC X5: Teaching in Higher Education Instructor: Heather Kanuka 3
Reading Material
Text: Required
Pregent, R. (1994). Charting your course: How to prepare and teach more effectively.
Montreal: Magna Publications, Inc.
Text: Recommended
Kuh, G., Kinzie, J., Schuh, H. H. Whitt, E., & Associates. (2005). Student Success in
College: Creating Conditions that Matter. Jossey-Bass.
Journal Articles: Recommended
Philosophy
Barnett, R. (2005). Recapturing the universal in university. Educational Philosophy and
Theory, 37(6), 785-797.
Barnett, R. (2000). Thinking the university, again. Educational Philosophy and Theory,
32(3), 319-326.
Barnett, R. (1993). The idea of academic administration. Journal of Philosophy of
Education, 27(2), 179-192.
Barnett, R. (1988). Does higher education have aims? Journal of Philosophy of
Education, 22(2), 239-250.
Kanuka, H. (2008). Understanding e-Learning Technologies-in-Practice through
Philosophies-in-Practice. In T. Anderson & F. Elloumi (Eds.), Theory and Practice
of Online Learning, (pp. 91-118). Edmonton, AB: Athabasca University Press.
Kanuka, H. & Anderson, T. (1999). Using constructivism in mediated learning:
Constructing order out of the chaos in the literature. Radical Pedagogy, 1(2).
[online]. Available: http://www.icaap.org/RadicalPedagogy/
Toohey, S. (1999). Beliefs, values and ideologies in course design. In Designing courses
for higher education (pp. 44-70). Buckingham: SRHE and Open University Press.
Zinn, L. M. (1991). Identifying your philosophical orientation. In M. Galbraith (Ed.).
Adult Learning Methods. Malabar, FL: Krieger Publishing Company.
Content
Jonassen, D., Beissner,K., & Yacci, M. (1993). Explicit methods for conveying concept
maps. In Structural knowledge: Techniques for representing, conveying, and
acquiring structural knowledge (pp. 155-163). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Donald, J. G. (1983). Knowledge structures: Methods of exploring course content.
Journal of Higher Education, 54(1), 31-41.
Outcome
LaSaere Ericson, B., & Weltner Strommer, D. (1991). Knowing, understanding and
thinking: The goals of freshman instruction. In Teaching college freshmen (pp. 65-
80). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Shulman, L. S. (1999). Taking learning seriously. Change, 31(4), 11-17.

EDPS 501 LEC X5: Teaching in Higher Education Instructor: Heather Kanuka 4
Entwistle, N. (1998). Approaches to learning and forms of understanding. In B. Dart &
Boulton-Lewis (Eds.), Teaching and learning in higher education (pp. 72-101).
Melbourne: ACER
Strategy
McAlpine, L. (2004). Designing learning as well as teaching. Active Learning in Higher
Education, 5(2), 119-134.
Weimer, M. (2003). Focus on learning, transform teaching. Change, 35(5), 49-54.
Angelo, T. A. (1993). A teacher’s dozen: Fourteen general, research-based principles for
improving higher learning in our classrooms. AAHE Bulletin, 45(8), 3-13.
Kanuka, H., Rourke, L., & Laflamme, E. (2007). The influence of instructional methods
on the quality of online discussion. British Journal of Educational Technology,
38(2), 260-271.
Assessment
Ramsden, P. (1992). Assessing for understanding. In Learning to teach in higher
education (pp. 181-213). New York: Routledge.
Angelo, T. A., & Cross, K. P. (1993). What is classroom assessment? In Classroom
assessment techniques: A handbook for college teachers (pp. 3-11). San Francisco:
Jossey-Bass.
Grading in General:
Evaluation
Grades will reflect the degree to which written and in-class activities exemplify work that
is organized, rigorous, and critically analytical. Course products must also demonstrate an
ability to integrate theory and practice.
Written assignments must use APA (American Psychological Association) style.
It is important to reference sources accurately. The effort to use an appropriate academic
style helps structure and present academic work in a clear and accurate manner.
Moreover, it respectfully acknowledges the contributions of author-researchers whom
you have used to strengthen your presentation and arguments.
You can access information about the APA Style Manual and associated guides
by using this WEB site: http://www.apastyle.org/
Evaluation Criteria:
Course participants will have the opportunity to demonstrate their understandings of
philosophies, theories and practices of adult learning in higher education through the
following activities:
1. Working philosophy statements (20 points)
This assignment will require two philosophical working statements that are
discipline-related, outlining personal assumptions on the role of student, learning,
teaching, and relationship to a University Academic Plan.

EDPS 501 LEC X5: Teaching in Higher Education Instructor: Heather Kanuka 5
Version 1: 5 points – Due July 28, 2010
Version 2: 15 points – Due Aug 2, 2010
2. Group presentation (25 points) – Aug 9-10, 2010
Working in small groups on a selected topic (disciplinary relevant but of interest
and understandable to a diverse audience), participants will facilitate a learning
event using an instructional strategy consistent with their personal teaching
philosophy and appropriately aligned with an articulated learning theory.
Course participants will also have the opportunity to demonstrate their understandings of
design and development of learning, teaching and assessment in higher education through
the following activities:
3. Development of a course plan (20 points) – Due Aug 5, 2010
Using an existing or a new course, participants will develop a course plan within
their program (context). The course plan will include: course content, course
goals, learning objectives, learning outcomes, instructional strategies, and
assessment/student evaluation.
4. Teaching dossier/portfolio (35 points) – Due Aug 11, 2010
Using the products developed throughout the course, create a teaching dossier
Late assignments will have 5% deducted for each overdue day.
The four point letter grading system will be used (GFC 61.1) for graduate
student courses.
The course assignment points will be applied to the 4-point letter grading system,
mindful of the University’s guiding distribution with approximately 40% of grades
falling in the A (Excellent) range, about 33% of grades fall in the B+/B (Good) range,
and about 20% falling in the B-/C (Satisfactory) range. B+ is the expected class
median grade.
Grade Descriptors
A range: Excellent. superior work in all respects including technical quality; meets all
criteria consistently
B+, B range: Good. some above-average work; meets most criteria consistently;
minimal technical problems
B-, C+ range: Satisfactory. competent but inconsistent work; meets some criteria;
some technical errors or problems
C, F range: Failure. inadequate work; does not meet criteria; many technical errors or
problems
Grades will be set based on a combination of
absolute and distribution.

EDPS 501 LEC X5: Teaching in Higher Education Instructor: Heather Kanuka 6
The Faculty of Education is committed to providing an environment of equality and
respect for all people within the University community, and to educating faculty, staff
and students in developing teaching and learning context that are welcoming to all.
Policy about course outlines can be found in Section 23.4(2) of the University Calendar.
The University of Alberta is committed to the highest standards of academic integrity and
honesty. Students are expected to be familiar with these standards regarding academic
honesty and to uphold the policies of the Univeristy in this respect. Students are
particularly urged to familiarize themselves with the provisions of the Code of Student
Behaviour (on line at www.ualberta.ca/secretariate/appeals.htm) and avoid any behaviour
which could potentially result in suspicions of cheating, plagiarism, misrepresentation of
facts and/or paritcipation in an offence. Academic dishonest is a serious offence and can
result in suspension or expulsion from the University. (GFC 29 SEP 2003)