When we develop courses, one of the first things we ask is: What knowledge and/or skills should a successful student exhibit when the complete the course?
This question is again asked within each module and gets to the heart of Backwards Design (Wiggins and McTighe). By looking at what you want your students to be able to do, you can work backwards to connect the content and develop the learning outcomes to align your entire course.
The Course Alignment Map was developed with Backwards Design in mind.
This document can be used as a template to help you map out your entire course, module by module, and see how your assessments are measuring your learning outcomes. The pathway to learning becomes clear to you and your students.
Certainly, other learning ideas and recommendations for deepening/extending learning can be included, but by illustrating the alignments, the students have a clear understanding of what they need to know and how to perform for the level of expectation – and then they can further explore once they have mastered the core concepts.