Presentation on lecture and lab content in course outline of record

To Hartnell College Curriculum Committee

April 1, 2021

Ann Wright

How to start a new course?

How to revise and existing course?

1. Determine the type of course that it is

1. What is the need for the course?

2. What should students be able to do when they have completed the course?

2. What is its role in the institution?

1. Degree applicable?

2. Meet requirements of C-ID?

3. Transferable?

4. Gen ed?

5. Skill development? Outside agency certification?

6. Part of a sequence?

3. Components are written separately but must be integrated

1. Course objectives                

2. Content (match content to objectives!)

3. SLOs (match SLOs to objectives!)

4. Methods of evaluation

5. Modality (course outline is the same regardless of modality)

6. Prerequisites or co-requisites, if applicable

7. Technical components (don’t forget to verify that lab resources are available or will be)

8. COR ensures that course content and objectives are the same regardless of the instructor (unform quality; “contract with students”- and colleagues)

4. Resources

1. Your colleagues

2. Similar course outlines

3. Parallel courses (might be needed for justification when writing a new course)

4. Textbook (often helpful for sequence and scope of course content; objectives often articulated too- use with caution- you’re teaching the subject, not the book)

5. Guides such as The Course Outline of Record: A Curriculum Reference Guide Revisited, the Program and Course Approval Handbook, etc.

6. Title 5 (usually not your first choice to read)

5. Course content and formatting- this is the specific subject-based component of the course outline

1. Match content to objectives

1. Frequent recommendation for objectives in COR is fewer than 20, so specific objectives are often grouped.

2. Depending on the course, it may be necessary to specify every objective, so number may be much higher.

2. Write the course content so that it can be taught in all the modalities specified

3. Equity/Inclusivity/anti-racist/anti-sexist component of course content

1. This may seem more obvious for some courses than others
2. Content or how the course is taught (or both)?

1. If not in course outline, is it optional?
2. Distinguish the discipline and the profession?

3. Resources that might help include:

1. Inclusivity checklist (about science courses)
2. Hartnell Equity Rubric
3. Glendale College guide for creating equitable curriculum
4. Sheridan Center for Teaching and Learning newsletter

4. Appropriate number of units; as an example, use a 4-unit course with 3 units of lecture and one unit of lab

1. Lecture content (3 units: 48-54 hours of lecture and 96-108 out-of-class hours in this example, but it will vary)

1. Topics align with objectives
2. Amount and type of content (match to time spent in lecture and the goals of the course)- Challenge the students, but be realistic
3. Outline format (use correct capitalization and punctuation)

1. Hartnell curriculum committee likes subheadings
2. Be as detailed as you need to be
3. Remember that everything in course content should be taught, so don’t include topics that will not be taught (but you can add topics that are not in the outline)
4. Spell out any acronyms; define terms as needed (ask yourself: will any content expert/potential instructor know this?)

2. Lab content (depends on course; see above)

1. Remember that lab assignments are to be conducted and completed in lab (we do not distinguish between lab, activity, studio at Hartnell)

1. Should complement lecture content but might not align exactly (consider balance of time spend in lecture and lab)
2. One lab topic might invite several activities for exploration (so if you have 16 lab meetings per semester, you do not need to specify 16 different items)

2. Also outline format

1. Some courses do not include subheadings in their outlines; provides some flexibility in designing lab activities to explore the topic (“a lab a week”)
2. Some are extremely detailed, especially if course is designed to train students on certain equipment or techniques
3. State what will be done, not how, in the course content component (whether students write lab reports, work in pairs, etc.)

3. Proceed with caution when referring to specific equipment/software/technology

6. Revising courses- it’s not just updating the textbook!

1. Conferring with colleagues who also teach the course is very helpful

1. Is there some content that you don’t actually teach (or no longer teach), and why?

2. Is there content that should be added, and why?

2. Are there external factors that must be addressed (agency requirements, changes in the descriptors, etc.)

3. Any changes in prerequisites/corequisites?

4. Specific language about equity and inclusivity might be new and/or need to be added

7. Special considerations

1. Repeatability (see Title 5-55041)

2. Courses related in content (physical education, visual and performing arts) (see Title 5-55040)