Design: the backbone of the course
Step 1 / 3·Three things that must line up
0/3 steps done
Learning objectives — after this module you will:
- Grasp constructive alignment (objectives ↔ activities ↔ assessment)
- Build a lesson plan with a clear rhythm
- Apply the opening – body – close structure
Three things that must line up
Understand why alignment is the soul of Design.
The most important principle of the Design stage is ALIGNMENT — three things must line up: (1) the LEARNING OBJECTIVE (what they must be able to do), (2) the ASSESSMENT (how you know they can), (3) the LEARNING ACTIVITY (how they practice it). If the objective is 'extract espresso' but the whole course is lecture and the test is theory multiple-choice — the three are misaligned and the course fails despite pretty slides.
Misaligned vs aligned
Misaligned
“Objective: 'handle customer complaints'. Activity: watch 3 videos. Assessment: a 10-question quiz on policy.”
Learners never PRACTICED handling complaints, and the test measures policy recall not skill — they leave unable to do the job.
Aligned
“Objective: 'handle complaints'. Activity: role-play real situations + feedback. Assessment: score a role-play case against a behavioral rubric.”
Practice exactly what's needed, and measure exactly what was practiced — learners leave able to do the real job.
Key takeaway: Objective ↔ Activity ↔ Assessment must line up; one misaligned link breaks the whole course.