Constructive alignment in context

Constructive alignment therefore involves:

  • intended learning outcomes;
  • assessment tasks; and
  • learning activities.

 Alignment_All-v2.png

As the constructive alignment figure above shows, these three core components are nested within the broader context of a course, and therefore must be aligned to course learning outcomes. It is also important to think about your unit's content and resources within this alignment, so that all activities, assessments, resources and content are well organised and focused.

Optional reading

Biggs, J. (1999). What the student does: Teaching for enhanced learning. Higher Education Research & Development, 18(1), 57-75. doi:10.1080/0729436990180105

Nightingale, S., Carew, A. L., & Fung, J. (2007). Application of constructive alignment principles to engineering education: Have we really changed?. Proceedings of the 2007 Annual Conference of Australasian Association for Engineering Education Conference, Melbourne, Australia: Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering, The University of Melbourne. Retrieved from http://ro.uow.edu.au/engpapers/4221

 

Image source: http://www.teaching-learning.utas.edu.au/unit-design/constructive-alignment