Effective Unit Design for Higher Education Courses: A Guide for Instructors

A clear and concise course design is integral to effective student learning in units of study; however, unit design can be a daunting task for academics. Effective Unit Design for Higher Education Courses is a practical resource based on theoretical foundations, designed to assist both professional course designers and academics with varied levels of curriculum design and development experience or background in higher education units and courses.

This book provides a variety of practical advice, skills and resources to assist academics in designing curriculum that focuses on enhancing student learning. Readers are given a range of evidence-based developmental tools that challenge some of the currently accepted conventions behind unit design. Appropriate for any skill level, this book is designed to provide an accessible and structured process to design or revitalise high-quality units of study. Chapters cover a range of topics including developing assessment methods, strategies for providing feedback and evaluating unit design. The book has been structured to follow a design process, but as unit design is non-linear, chapters can be read in any order depending on interest or need.

An essential guide for curriculum designers of all skill and experience levels, this book will appeal to all higher education academics tasked with an aspect of unit design.

Sharon A. Cooper was a mathematics teacher and lecturer in teacher education before becoming lecturer, Curriculum Design and Development at the University of Newcastle. In this role she has designed and coordinated Graduate Certificate units in course and assessment design. She now works as a sessional academic and curriculum design consultant.

Siva Krishnan is a senior lecturer in Engineering at Deakin University. His work as an engineer, and then engineering lecturer inspired his curriculum design and development work. He has provided leadership and support for many course improvement projects for Deakin Learning Futures. As Course Director, he oversees unit design and delivery with a particular focus on enriching students’ learning experiences.