Curriculum Development
Academic Policy
Definitions of Curriculum
Curriculum Overview
"The term curriculum is used in a number of different ways by parents, educators, and businesses."
link to website
Developing a New Curriculum
Good Practice: Curriculum Development
Developing a proposal, implementing and monitoring change.
link to website
ABC: Aligning and Building Curriculum Project
"Curriculum does not happen sequentially. Decisions made at one point often need to be revisited and revised in light of later decisions. What is important is that the curriculum be coherent-- that there is congruence and a “match” among all the components."
link to website
Theories of Curriculum
Designing a College Curriculum
"A number of important principles emerge from the literature on curriculum. These principles apply both to college-wide and more restricted disciplinary curricula and to curricula at both the undergraduate and graduate levels."
link to website
Curriculum Review
"An approach to continuous program improvement that asks the right questions can provide academic administrators, faculty members, and others with the information they need to develop an appropriate, effective, and efficient academic program."
link to website
Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities
Published College Program Standards
"Program standards apply to all similar programs of instruction offered by colleges across the province. Each program standard for a postsecondary program of instruction includes the following elements:
Vocational standard,...Essential employability skills,...and
General education requirement."
link to website
Designing a Course
Creating a New Course
Course Design - Questions to Consider
"Exploring these questions should help you develop a detailed course plan."
link to article
Preparing or Revising a Course
Preparing or Revising a Course
"In designing or revising a course, faculty are faced with at least three crucial decisions: what to teach, how to teach it, and how to ensure that students are learning what is being taught."
link to website
Building a Syllabus
"A
perpetual part of teaching in higher education is
the creation of course syllabi. As routine as this
process may sound, or even become, the development of thorough, complete, and well-
conceived course syllabi can provide the groundwork for a
successful semester of learning."
link to document
Universal Learning Design
What is Universal Design for Learning?
"In today's schools, the mix of students is more diverse than ever. Educators are challenged to teach all kinds of learners to high standards, yet a single classroom may include students who struggle to learn for any number of reasons..."
link to website
Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Guidelines
Available in pdf, doc, and html.
link to website
Universal Design for Learning
An outline of considerations for UDL.
link to document
Learning Outcomes
Writing Learning Outcomes
"Learning outcomes are the most important section of your course outline—the essence of your
course."
link to article
How to Identify Learning Outcomes
"...learning outcomes should identify skills and knowledge that are measurable, and should be a concrete articulation of the complex learning that occurs at the university level."
link to website
Learning Outcomes and Expectations
Offering advice for learning outcomes, including "Considerations for the Crafting of Learning Outcomes".
link to document
Lesson Plans
Sample Lesson Plan Templates
From the University of Alberta.
link to website
Teaching Philosophy
Writing a Teaching Philosophy Statement
"Your philosophy of teaching statement should reflect your personal values and the needs of your students and your department."
link to website
Writing Your Teaching Philosophy: A Step-by-Step Approach
"A teaching philosophy is a self-reflective statement of your beliefs about teaching and learning."
link to website
Choosing a Textbook
Choosing a Textbook for Your Course
"This post considers in role of supplements, textbook apparatus, and pedagogy in the selection process."
link to website
Evaluating E-Textbooks in a Business Curriculum
"Given the growing popularity of electronic textbooks (e-textbooks) in academia, it is important to evaluate the educational value of such textbooks and whether users can interact with the interface."
link to article
Textbook Selection: A Multistep Approach
"The eight-steps identified range from determining the composition of the selection committee and its responsibilities to conducting a final review of the texts, adopting one, and then assessing the choice."
link to article
What About Textbooks?
"...take a critical view of reality in regard to the assumptions guiding the use and selection of textbooks and their overall role in the learning process."
link to document
Course Evaluation
Course Evaluation
"...They are a means to produce useful feedback which the teacher and school can use to improve their quality of instruction...."
link to website
Tools for Reflecting on Your Teaching
"To help you reflect on your teaching, you need some data."
link to article
Teaching Essential Skills
Language Across the Curriculum
Writing Across Curriculum: Evaluating a Faculty-Centered Approach
"This paper discusses research on a pilot study for implementing a Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) program in the College of Business (CoB) at a California Public University."
link to article
Successfully Incorporating Writing Across the Curriculum with Advanced Writing in Nursing
"The purpose of this article is to...describe the incorporation of advanced writing into a baccalaureate nursing program and provide suggestions for accessing resources and promoting success."
link to article
Writing to Learn by Learning to Write in the Disciplines
"Data from interviews with students who wrote lab reports in a biology lab suggest five ways in which writing promotes learning in scientific disciplines."
link to article
WAC Clearinghouse
"The WAC Clearinghouse...publishes journals, books, and other resources for teachers who use writing in their courses.
link to website
Essential Skills
Essential Employability Skills
"All graduates...must be able to reliably demonstrate the Essential Employability Skills required in each of the following six categories..."
link to website
Association of Canadian Community Colleges - Project Essential Employability Skills
Project objectives and results achieved are outlined
link to website
Bringing the Library into the Classroom
Seneca Libraries Liaison Librarians
Contact your liaison librarian to help you to find up-to-date readings for your course, assist in integrating library resources into your Blackboard course, and more.
link to contact list
Library Instruction Classes
Invite a librarian to speak to your class about research skills, academic honesty, library resources, searching the internet, and more.
link to request form and checklist
Course Readings
Contact the library to make your required, recommended and supplemental weekly readings
available online for your students.
link to website
Tips for Creating Library Research Assignments
"A good library research assignment: provides a positive and rewarding library research experience, provides students with basic electronic research skills, is focused and has a clear outcome.
link to article
Copyright
Seneca Libraries Copyright Information for Faculty
Learn about copyright dealing with course packs, photocopying, music, the internet, audio-visual materials and more.
link to website
Bev's Teaching Tips
