Planning a Course: Lecturers’ Understanding of Design Components in Constructive Alignment

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to assess the lecturers’ understanding of design components in constructive alignment. The design components are the intended learning outcomes, teaching methods, and assessment methods. For intended learning outcomes, the lecturers’ understanding of programme learning outcomes, graduate attributes, and learning taxonomy domains are assessed. For the teaching and assessment methods, the lecturers’ understanding are assessed for each learning taxonomy domain. A survey method was used in this study. The data were collected by using online questionnaires from 61 lecturers at one of the public universities in Malaysia. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics such as frequency, percentage, and inferential statistics, namely Kruskal-Wallis Test. This study found that the majority of lecturers had a good understanding of programme learning outcomes; a fair understanding of graduate attributes; a fair understanding and a good understanding of Bloom's cognitive domain; and a low understanding of Simpson's psychomotor domain and Krathwohl's affective domain. There are elements of design components in constructive alignment that have significant differences in terms of the level of understanding according to lecturers' teaching experience. Nevertheless, some elements have no significant difference in terms of the level of understanding according to lecturers' teaching experience. This study provides an opportunity for the faculty and university to take appropriate measures to enhance the lecturers’ understanding of the design components in constructive alignment in the future. This study has contributed to the research literature on the topic in the world generally and Malaysia specifically.

Keywords:Constructive alignment, Graduate attributes, Learning taxonomy, Outcome-based education, Programme learning outcomes

DOI: 10.7176/JEP/13-12-11

Publication date: April 30^th 2022