Learning and
Teaching Services (LTS)

The Course Outline is an essential component of every credential offered at Algonquin College. It forms the foundation of each course and broadly documents the curriculum. It identifies program- or vocational-level learning outcomes, course learning requirements, evaluation methods, learning activities, and learning resources. It also provides information to students seeking PLAR (Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition). 

For more information: 

• Understanding Course Outlines  
• What Are Learning Outcomes?  
• Writing CLRs and EKSs 
• Evaluation and Assessment Tip Sheet

Relevant Algonquin College Policies: 

• Policy AA13: Assessment and Evaluation of Learning 
• AA13 Infographic (Recent Changes to AA13 and What It Means for Faculty)
• Policy AA26: Course Outlines and Course Section Information 

The Weekly Schedule (also called the Learning Schedule, Course Section Information, or CSI) documents the curriculum at the course level in greater detail, outlining weekly learning outcomes, specific assessment details, and other information pertaining to the delivery of the course. It also identifies the learning resources (textbook chapters, websites, open-educational resources, podcasts, videos, etc.) that students should engage with each week.  

If a course has hybrid or lab components, this should be clearly differentiated within the Weekly Schedule.  

For more information: 

• Weekly Schedule  
• Evaluation and Assessment Tip Sheet

Relevant Algonquin College Policies: 

• Policy AA13: Assessment and Evaluation of Learning 
• AA13 Infographic (Recent Changes to AA13 and What It Means for Faculty) 
• Policy AA26: Course Outlines and Course Section Information 

Algonquin College uses the Brightspace Learning Management System (LMS) to host all course learning materials including the weekly schedule (also known as the Course Section Information or CSI document), Course Outline, lesson content, lesson plans, assessment instructions, and grading tools. It can also be used to build interactive content directly within a course using built-in tools such as H5p. Students use Brightspace to access these materials as well as engage with various features including online discussions, quizzes, and grades. 

Course developers and faculty are expected to create a ready-to-launch course within Brightspace as their final deliverable, so it is important to request Brightspace training from your assigned Instructional Designer early in the development process. 

For more information: 

• Brightspace Support Knowledge Base
• H5p Learning Activities

Relevant Algonquin College policies: 

• Policy AA42: Learning Management System
• More information and support resources for Policy AA42 

Additional support: 

• Current Professional Development Training Opportunities  
• Book an Appointment with an Educational Technologist (for Brightspace 1-on-1 support and training) 
• Digital Learning Environment (DLE) Team (for Brightspace technical help)

Assessment is the process of gathering data to give the learners (and the instructor) a sense of how they have done on a particular task and how they are progressing in a course. A good assessment evaluates whether a learner has met the intended learning outcomes, identifies gaps in learning, and provides feedback for improvement. 

Backward Design is a suggested method for developing course content because it designs the course around the learning outcomes. After the course outline is completed, think about what kind of summative assessments could be used to evaluate learners’ achievement of the course learning outcomes (CLRs). Then, think about the formative and diagnostic assessments that could progress learners towards the evaluations.  

For course development, a full set of detailed assessment instructions, learning activities, tests/quizzes, should be developed along with appropriate grading tools (rubric, checklist, rating scale, etc.), answer keys, and/or samples (if applicable). 

For more information: 

• Assessment Types: Diagnostic, Formative, and Summative (Queen’s University)
• Backward Design (Vanderbilt University)
• Assessment Template

Relevant Algonquin College Policies: 

• Policy AA13: Assessment and Evaluation of Learning 
• AA13 Infographic (Recent Changes to AA13 and What It Means for Faculty)

Course content includes all of the materials, resources, and activities that will be used to teach, whether the course is delivered face-to-face, online, or hybrid (face-to-face and online components). In backward design, the course content provides the learning experiences and instruction that help to ensure students can accomplish the assessments successfully, thereby demonstrating achievement of the learning outcomes (CLRs). While not inherently the requirement, for many courses this comes in the form of weekly slidedecks (e.g., PowerPoint presentations). Course content could also be detailed weekly lessons plans with plenty of in-class, hands-on activities and other resources. For hybrid courses, this also includes detailed instruction for what learning activities students should be engaged in independently outside of class time. 

Optional Templates: 

• LTS PowerPoint Template
• Slide-Free Lesson Template 
• Lesson Plan Template 

Instructor Notes or Lesson Plans provide much needed detail to instructors for how to teach the course. While not all instructors may need or use these, they are particularly vital to faculty that are new to teaching or are teaching new courses for the first time. These notes or lesson plans do not need to be verbatim speaking notes but should be written to provide enough detail for the course to be taught as was intended in its design. They also might provide additional class activity options or ways to modify the lessons and activities.  

Optional Templates: 

• Instructor Note Template
• Instructor Notes Weekly Template 
• Lesson Plan Template