2 Context Analysis
Course: A unit of study in a subject area defined by a course description, title, and number in the Course and Program Catalogue. This unit of subject material is normally presented over a term to students in one or more registered classes. The smallest formally recognized academic unit of the curriculum is the course – a unit of study in a subject area identified by a description of activities. – USask Academic and Curricular Nomenclature.
Class: While “course” is used to identify subject matter, “class” is used to refer to the offering of a course to one or more students for a specific period of time. – USask Academic and Curricular Nomenclature.
Just as each learner is unique, so is each course and each class offering. There are several considerations you need to make related to the context of each course and each class.
Course Contextual Considerations
Before learners take the course, what pre-requisites do they need to have taken? If this is a new course, that information will need to go into the initial course plan and any documents needed for approval of the course. If it’s an existing course, the prerequisites should already be listed for students when they go to register.
How and where will students be engaging in the learning process? Will the course have a lab or field component? Will students or the learning space need certain equipment or technology such as software, goggles, microscopes, etc.?
You also need to consider how the learners will apply what they learn in the course when they are in future courses, the workplace, or within their communities. If the standard in your field outside of university is to use software A, having the students complete learning activities using software B may not be the best way to prepare them to apply the knowledge they’re learning in the course. If they’ll need to write white papers or create presentation posters, having them write a lengthy research paper or essay is unlikely to prepare them for the form of communication they will need to engage in in the future.
The H5P Documentation tools below can be used to collect responses and generate a document containing all the input submitted throughout the process. You can export this document for your convenience and use it for your thinking for future planning.
Example document here: Documentation Tool Example
Class Contextual Considerations
There are additional contextual factors that you need to consider at the class level as well.
There are additional contextual factors that you need to consider at the class level as well.
- What will the learning space look like for the individual class offering? Learning activities will likely be different in an online class than in a large lecture course.
- Will discussions happen in person or on the LMS discussion forums? You can use those forums even if you are teaching an in-person class.
- You may want to have students get up and walk around or move their desks, but the class has been assigned to be offered in a lecture hall where the desks and chairs are bolted down. Or, you may have taught the course several times in the past with 40 students per class, but now you have a section with 120. What changes might you make because of that?
- Another consideration is how much help you will have. The number of teaching assistants you have can affect your plans for the class.
- Does your class need to align with other sections of the course? Do you need to work with a lab coordinator to make sure the lab for your section aligns not only in terms of learning outcomes but also the timing of when certain concepts will be covered?
As you begin to design or redesign a course, what are the contextual considerations you will need to determine to adjust your design accordingly?