Route Map clarifies the design of the learning process(es)
The teacher who prepared the Route map presented besites has decided to use three IT options in his course:
- Stimulate the self-study by using digital assignments and feedback.
- Give additional explanations about complex topics through short videos prepared by himself and colleagues.
- Introduce a simple test to check if the students have mastered the subject matter.
Why
The teacher expects the students to study more actively and achieve higher results. He also expects them to be able to apply the content they have learned in the follow-up course(s).
The Route Map visualises a course program.
In the Route map, the teachers prepare an overview of the learning process(es) to be realized in their course.
Visualization provides a reality check by externalizing your thoughts. It enables you to evaluate if your ideas will achieve the intended impact and are viable in practice. Should you abandon the idea, or is there a way to refine it? One method to visualize the learning journey is to create a roadmap.
The main design task in the DD process is to find learning paths to follow in the redesigned course. The relevant information you collected is used to make the learning environment with your Design Principles (DPs), the relevant learning activities and materials, the diamond diagram, the pedagogical concept, your quality criteria and possibilities to sequence the course content or other possible sequences you like.
- The Route map helps the teachers check if their course design is expected to be successful.
- Subsequently, the teachers employ the learning process outlined in the Route Map and any additional Route Maps required to prepare the course Blueprint.
In the Route map, the teacher prepares an overview of the learning process(es) to be realised in their course. The Route map is the outline of a course.
Particularly, you must consider the following components and questions in designing the Route map: What are the main topics and learning activities? What are the sequence topics? Where should the ideas for ITedu tools be introduced? What is the alignment between ITedu tools, F2F and self-study?
As a result, the Route map reflects the learning process(es) thought up by the teacher and helps the teacher designers decide whether their course design can succeed. Creativity plays an essential role in the designing of a route map.
Some other examples of Route Maps
An example of a learning processes thought up by a teacher.
Eijl P van PJ Wagenaar S Peursen W 2007.
See also Nedermeijer 2023
You design the Route Map step-by-step
You develop the Route map step by step. Ideas and concepts are conceived and then described in the format of a Route map. You assess whether you believe the described learning process is sufficient and feasible. After that, you evaluate the Route map using the formulated quality criteria and requirements.
The diamond diagram, the pedagogical concept, and the list of necessary qualities are the basis for formulating ideas for the route map. The steps are detailed below:
Possible sequences in your course
From, Nedermeijer, J. (2023). Evidence-Based Blended and Online Learning. Course design for University Teachers. Leiden: Brill.
Sequencing means breaking up your course content into smaller or larger topics. There are many possibilities regarding how to split up the course content. Splitting up depends on the curriculum model of the instructional strategy you follow. You must follow a specific order that supports and motivates the students to master the objectives in an effective, efficient, well-liked, and valued learning path. Such a learning path needs to be feasible for students and teachers.
You can split your course content according to different principles. You must elaborate on the splitting idea to see if the results fit your expectations. After you split your course content, you can follow different sequences. Some of these principles are listed below:
Different types of course sequences
(according to Reigeluth and Keller, 2009 and Earl, 1987).
Look for an organiser for your course
An Organiser is a ‘bit of content’ crucial in your course. It might be a working procedure, a problem, a systematic overview of the content, a process, some cases or a poem. This idea can be compared with the advanced organiser.
There are two unique properties an organiser needs to have during the (re)designing of courses. It enables the teacher designers to ‘see’ how they will set up the students’ learning experiences during the course and if the design is feasible. They can use the organiser in the study guide to give the students a clear and correct insight into what they will learn and why.
An excellent example is given in Pirsig’s book (2006) Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values. The main character in the book has to teach students to write an essay. He started his course by discussing grammar, writing styles and techniques. The result of this approach shows that the students are rather pessimistic about him as a teacher and, more importantly, that the quality of the final essays does not satisfy him and his boss. Next year, he decided to start differently: the students had to evaluate two essays in class. Pirsig’s question was what is the best one and why?’ 90% of the students select the same essay as the best one. No one could explain which qualities they have experienced to select this essay best. Pirsig challenges the students to find out in his course how to write an essay that matches the professional qualities of the selected essay. (Of course, in the book, the quality of the final essay is increased enormously).
Other examples of an organiser are given in Earl (1987) and Nedermeijer (2023).
