Michael Wills

There were many areas for consideration in the curriculum design project that further warranted

impact and reflection. The first area is how “student’s current level of development interacts with the

social, emotional, and intellectual climate of the course to impact learning” (Ambrose et al., 2010).

This aspect is vital information for the researcher and important for curriculum design. There is no

way to dictate the process students are going through in their development (Ambrose et al., 2010),

but it should be possible to figure out their stage of life and make considerations for this during the

process. If the researcher is designing an online course for older students, specific modifications

can happen due to the influences in their lives, including their experiences (Jones et al., 2017). Due

to this aspect, “developing competence” (Ambrose et al., 2010, p. 160) becomes an essential

consideration as “this dimension involves intellectual, physical, and interpersonal competence”

(Ambrose et al., 2010, p. 160). There are consequences to this area of development for

consideration. A curriculum design should focus on the desired potential outcomes. Specifically, the

researcher wants his curriculum design to produce effective Christian counselors, so the course

work needs to focus on the interpersonal interactions of the students with their eventual clients.

This researcher does not want the outcomes of the curriculum design to be ineffective counselors

who ultimately provide more harm to people. In this regard, the curriculum needs to be theologically

correct. 2 Timothy 4:3-4 states, “For the time will come when they will not tolerate sound doctrine;

but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance

with their own desires, and they will turn their ears away from the truth and will turn aside to myths”

(New American Standard Bible, 1960/2000). There should be every effort made to avoid a situation

interpreted as this. Lastly, intellectual development is essential (Ambrose et al., 2010). The

coursework must be challenging to stimulate academic conversations and growth (Ambrose et al.,

2010). This part is where learning takes on a more meaningful role as students seek new knowledge

and make it a part of their identity (Ambrose et al., 2010). This aspect is vital to the researcher’s

curriculum design as he does not want the coursework to become stale or hurt the student. There

should be a desire to continue learning built from the curriculum, and it should stimulate the

students to be the best in their chosen learning path.

Ambrose, S.A, Bridges, M.W., DiPietro, M., Lovett, M.C., & Norman, M.K. (2010). How learning works:

Seven research-based principles for smart teaching. Jossey-Bass.

Jones, T.P, Cartwright, J., Etzel, G., & Jackson, C. (2017). Teaching the world: Foundations for online

theological education. B&H Academic.

Life Application Study Bible, New American Standard Bible. (2000). The Lockman Foundation

(original work published 1960).

This researcher will focus her discussion on chapter five, specifically feedback on goal-directed

tasks (Ambrose et al., 2010, p. 137). The authors believe effective feedback can help students

understand what they are struggling with and any misunderstandings they may have regarding

course assignment requirements. It also helps students understand their performance and how they

should direct their efforts (p. 137). The authors suggest continuous or sequential learning so that

students can improve their work and make corrections where necessary after receiving feedback

from the educator. Unlike a sequential approach, a once-off assignment with feedback will not

necessarily measure the student’s understanding effectively (p. 141). If the instructor provides

feedback, there is no way for the student to implement and apply the feedback. The advantage of

sequential learning is that after the input has been provided, the students can build on their initial

coursework as they use the corrections and suggestions made by the instructor. This researcher has

intentionally included quizzes in her coursework, which will serve as a means of reviewing the

previous work and helping students complete the other assignments as they can learn from their

answers from the quizzes.

Furthermore, the authors discuss appropriately timing the feedback (Ambrose et al., 2010, p. 142),

allowing the students to correct their mistakes and promptly build on the previous content. Suppose

an educator needs to provide timely feedback on a sequential assignment. In that case, students

cannot make the necessary corrections as they move forward, resulting in any previous

misconceptions, errors, or lack of correct content being repeated. The authors suggest strategies

that address the need for targeted feedback (p. 148).

This researcher will use discussion forums to establish the student’s prior knowledge when

discussing strategies that address goal-directed practice (Ambrose et al., 2010, p. 145). This

researcher has structured her course week that includes discussions. In the class discussions, this

researcher will allow classmates to evaluate their peers and provide peer feedback. Furthermore,

this researcher believes that when classmates read one another’s discussion posts, it helps them

see where they may have missed something and helps them better understand content that may not

be clear to them. Although it is not 100 % accurate, it will help indicate the learner’s prior knowledge.

Furthermore, this researcher will ensure she provides sufficient and clear instructions to the

students, minimizing any gray areas.

Rubrics are valuable measuring tools that help direct and communicate the specific assignment

performance criteria to the students (Ambrose et al., 2010, p. 146), which this researcher agrees

with and will implement in her course planning. The Rubrik serves as a great asset to students and

educators. If there are means of measuring the students’ expectations, students will be able to

understand what is required. Furthermore, when marking the assignments, the educators can assess

the performance and provide sufficient and more accurate feedback about grades and what is

lacking.
“I will instruct you and teach you how you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you”

(English Standard Version Bible, 2001/2008, Psalms 32:8).

References

Ambrose, S., Bridges, M., Lovett, M., DiPietro, M., & Norman, M. (2010). How learning works: 7

Research-based principles for innovative teaching. Jossey-Bass.

English Standard Version Bible. (2016). Crossway Bibles. (Original work published 2001).
Read Less