Design & Planning

• Schemes of Work
• Writing a Scheme of Work
• Reflecting on Planning
• Programme Specifications

Writing a Scheme of Work

One of the first tasks confronting teachers at the beginning of a course/programme is how to structure a series of learning experiences for the students that complies with the appropriate academic level, the discipline specific/professional body requirements, the University and QAA requirements. It is the responsibility of the teacher(s) to mediate for example, between the demands of the syllabus as set down by the University/ Examining and Validation Body, the students' requirements and needs. Each module should have a scheme of work. This provides a structured plan, illustrating how the planned learning experiences are sequenced to meet the intended learning outcomes and module aims. The programme specification provides a more comprehensive picture of how the programme is structured.

Before we turn to writing Programme Specifications, we will look at what is involved in writing a scheme of work.

The scheme of work normally includes:

• Module Aim(s) of the sessions
• Topic Title Session Number
• Objectives/learning outcomes of the session (What you want the students to have learned by the end of each session)
• Subject content (in outline sub-headings)
• Teaching strategies (i.e. how you will deliver the learning outcomes?)
• Student activities (i.e. how you will involve the students in actively learning?)
• Assessment methods (i.e. how will you check to see if the intended learning outcomes have been met?)
• Evaluation (i.e. the kind of data you decide upon and how you intend to gather this, to check that learning opportunities have been successful.)
• Resource requirements (i.e. text books, on-line resources, placements, library and ICT requirements.)
• Learning support requirements (i.e. how you plan to meet any diverse learning needs.

The first stage in writing the scheme of work is to identify the content and the topics to be covered. You will need to refer to the syllabus and programme specification for guidance on this. It is important to ensure that the topics are relevant, manageable, coherent and not fragmented.

The second stage is to consider for whom you are planning the scheme; what you need to consider before planning; and what you need to consider when planning.

Do not worry about being inexperienced. The whole purpose of this module is to develop your knowledge and understanding of the factors involved in planning to meet learners' needs. At this stage, you will have planned at least individual learning sessions or used plans that colleagues have produced and had to interpret them. You may have written or contributed to writing a scheme of work, or you may have inherited one. Either way, you can still carry out the reflective analysis and the following questions will assist you to do this.