Writing material for educational courses

Principle 10Aims of writing/teaching

Glenn MartinMarch 2017

Principle 10 Following from Principle 9, the aim of

writing/teaching should be to enable students to acquire the knowledge and skills that are given as the outcomes of the course.

The aim is about learning The emphasis in writing an educational

course should be on how students are going to learn, not simply on presenting the content to students.

The content of the course (1)

The content of a course should reflect an understanding of four things:

1. The learning process and the stages of learning

2. 3. 4.

The content of the course (2)

The content of a course should reflect an understanding of four things:

1. 2. How this applies for different types and

levels of content 3. 4.

The content of the course (3)

The content of a course should reflect an understanding of four things:

1. 2. 3. How students may approach learning

differently (learning styles) 4.

The content of the course (4)

The content of a course should reflect an understanding of four things:

1. 2. 3. 4. Variations among

students in pre-knowledge and readiness

Further learning There should be opportunities for students

to extend their learning as well, enriching and deepening their understanding.

NB The word ‘educate’ comes from Latin ‘educare’, meaning ‘to lead out’. (There is always somewhere further to go.)

In the end…. The designers of the

course should be confident that students who complete the course will have a solid grounding in the relevant concepts and skills, and can address a variety of situations involving those concepts and skills.