Course development

Course development and modification We are constantly adding new courses to our curriculum in response to needs of students and their employers We also modify existing courses, again based on the needs of our graduates Series of questions help us decided how to organize a new or existing course

Four main components What is the purpose of the course? What experiences will be provided to students to attain the purpose? How do we organize these experiences? How do we know when students have reached the goals?

Define target students and their needs Who is taking the course? – General students at the university – Students in our own program Beginning Advanced – Students in other, related programs Who may be taking the course in the future (other European students)? This will help make the course more effective and efficient

Define needs of society What does Armenia need? What does Europe need? What does rest of world need?

Define needs of the discipline What are the core areas in this subject matter? What are the important contributions this makes to larger discipline?

When planning a course or program of study What is the purpose of the learning? What learning experiences will best support the students learning? How is the material best organized? What evidence can be presented that documents the quality of the students learning and achievement?

Identify instructional objectives What content should students learn? At what level should they learn the content? Should they memorize or be able to apply and evaluate content?

Select the scope of course content How much depth? What topics?

Organize sequence and structure What comes first? What follows?

Select presentation method(s) Lecture Interaction with students Active learning ideas

Design assessment activities How do you know whether students understand? Different methods of assessing Oral exam Written exam Quizzes Open-book exams Papers Many others

Determine grading system European Credit Transfer and accumulation System GradePercentile A B65-90 C35-65 D10-35 E0-10 FX- F-

ECTS also includes a standard grading scale A: best 10%: outstanding performance B: next 25%: very good performance C: next 30%: good performance D: next 25%: passable performance E: next 10%: adequate performance FX: "fail - some more work required before the credit can be awarded" F:fail – considerable further work required