ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to help university teachers promote deeper, more meaningful and longer-lasting student learning through better subject design – without increasing teaching workloads. It offers a practical, step-by-step process well supported by current theory and research to help busy academics design or redesign subjects. This learning-centred design process combines backward design and constructive alignment strategies to improve student outcomes in face-to-face, blended or fully online subjects. It also aims to make subjects easier and more enjoyable to teach. The chapter’s first half summarises relevant literature informing this design process. The remainder provides examples and specific directions on how to implement the process, including three overarching decision rules, ten first-order design questions – to guide choices of specific subject content, teaching techniques, assessment methods, etc. – and a seven-point design quality checklist. Relevant citations are provided for easily accessible online resources, as well as for more extensive peer-reviewed scholarship.
