Reflection on Colleague’s Review

“[W]ell done!! your course outline is almost ready to go; remember to put in outcomes
for group work and written/oral communication. Nice ...”

I received the above comment from Dr Margo Burns on 2nd November, 2017. It clearly
refers to the course outline of a new course that I had modified and included in my e-
portfolio for the course, CUTL 5001. The course I am referring to, you may recall, is
called ‘Principalship in the Global South, which is proposed for offer to students
pursuing a Masters in Education degree. While I am glad, well actually very glad, that
the course outline is considered ‘well done’ by my colleague I was more interested in
how I might improve the course outline. Dr Burns’ comment suggested that I include
outcomes that will allow students’ cooperative learning through group work and
emphasize written/oral communication.

To be honest, this feedback surprised me because I knew that I had built into my
course outline these elements that were identified as missing. According to that
assessed course outline, in the Teaching/Learning Strategies section (see table 1
below), opportunities for both group work (highlighted in green) and for written and oral
communication (highlighted in yellow) appear.

Initially, I wondered if Dr Burns had not realized, but I quickly dismissed this because I
think she is quite perceptive. So, I reasoned that there must be something that I
missed. I read the feedback again, more slowly the next time, and realized that her
comment “to put in outcomes for…” didn’t mean that I hadn’t put in outcomes for group
work and written/oral communication in my course outline – because they were clearly
present – but that she meant that I hadn’t mentioned those outcomes within the
‘Course Learning outcomes’ section of the course outline.
Table 1 - Teaching/Learning Strategies taken from my first draft of the 'Principalship in the Global South' Course
Outline
10. Teaching/Learning Strategies

Method Description
Lectures Tutor-directed instruction of course materials, through the use
of literature, multimedia, videos, etc.
Action research Designing and implementing interventions for use and
evaluation within their respective school contexts
Problem-based learning Student exploration of critical incidents and case-specific
school turnaround situations
Tutorials One-on-one guidance to students on their literature reviews,
reports and during the design and implementation of the
structures, plans and policies for respective school redesign.
Reflection Opportunities through blogging for students to reflect on their
philosophies and beliefs about the various aspects of
principalship
Seminars, Student-led Student group discussions and presentations using a variety of
Presentations and Discussions mediums on aspects of the principalship role informed by
literature and professional experience

I was actually surprised at myself because I know very well that all aspects of a course
outline need to be well-aligned with each other. The outcomes or objectives need to
be aligned particularly to teaching strategies, learning activities and assessments.
When I looked at my course learning outcomes (see figure 1), I shame-facedly realized
that the outcomes for group work and written/oral communication were noticeably
absent.
 5. Course Learning Outcomes

Upon the successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

1. Review the literature on school turnaround, focusing on the principalship role;

2. Implement a cadre of institutional structures, plans and policies that they have
designed in order to initiate and sustain school change within identified legal
frameworks locally;
3. Develop at least three strategies for managing the conflict and ambiguity in their
personal leadership roles;
4. Develop their own philosophy of leading and managing schools through engagement
with the successful school leadership literature;
5. Identify with the multidimensional nature of the principalship role within the global
south.

Figure 1 - Course Learning Outcomes taken from my first draft of ‘Principalship in the Global South’
Course Outline.

When I had overcome my shame and disbelief somewhat, I turned to addressing the
matter at hand. I had to fix the learning outcomes so that the teaching/learning
strategies and thus the course outline would be well-aligned. I didn’t want the new
learning outcomes to read exactly like the teaching/learning strategies that I had
identified or in like manner as the course assessments. So, with a timeline of
November 20th to December 10th, I revisited the course materials on writing course
learning outcomes provided by Dr Burns on Schoology (How do I write course learning
outcomes? - https://app.schoology.com/page/1252126000). I studied the examples of
course learning outcomes provided on the site. I read through the resources on
Blooms’ verb wheels, looking for appropriate action verbs and I ensured that I
developed as many outcomes as is considered acceptable (6 to 8 outcomes), noting
too that according to UWI’s guidelines, 10 to 12 outcomes are acceptable. Figure 2
shows the revised learning outcomes for my course as presented within my revised
course outline. The learning outcome for group work and oral communication is
presented at point 1 and points 2 to 6 provide opportunities for written communication.
 5. Course Learning Outcomes

Upon the successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

1. Work in groups to orally present a review of the literature on school turnaround, focusing on aspects
of the principalship role;
2. Develop their own philosophy of leading and managing schools through engagement with the
successful school leadership literature;
3. Demonstrate their knowledge of the roles, functions and challenges of principals within the global
south through a variety of assessments.
4. Identify with the multidimensional nature of the principalship role within the global south;
5. Implement a cadre of institutional structures, plans and policies that they have designed in order to
initiate and sustain school change within identified legal frameworks locally;
6. Develop at least three strategies for managing the conflict and ambiguity in their personal leadership
roles;

Figure 2 - Course Learning Outcomes taken from my revised draft of ‘Principalship in the Global South’ Course Outline.

Now, the learning outcomes are aligned to the teaching learning strategies and the
assessments for the course, ‘Principalship in the Global South’, as reflected by the
course design matrix for this course. I have, consequently, learned how to ensure
better alignment amongst course learning outcomes, teaching/learning strategies and
assessments. I can now write better course learning outcomes.