Module 6: Writing the Course Guide
After developing the complete set of module study guides and assignment guides, your next task is to develop the course guide. The course guide gives students an overview of the course and how it will be implemented. The course guide is similar to a course syllabus but it is more detailed and, like the module and assignment guides, written for students who are learning at a distance. This module will help you develop the course guide for your course.
Objectives
After working on this module, you should be able to:
- Explain the purpose of course guides;
- Describe the parts of the course guide; and
- Put together the course guide for your course.
What is a course guide?
In traditional classrooms, teachers normally hand out a syllabus on the first day of the term. The syllabus gives the course coverage, including the course description, course objectives, course requirements, and grading scheme. In UPOU, faculty members distribute a course guide.
A course guide is more than a syllabus because its purpose is not only to provide an overview of the course but also to guide learners in independent study and collaborative inquiry online. The course guide sets the tone for the course, and it gives learners a clear picture of what to expect, including what they need to do in order to successfully complete the course. A course may be seen as easy or difficult, formal or informal, based on the course requirements and course policies laid out in the course guide. Furthermore, the schedule of learning activities in the course guide allows learners to plan their personal study schedule and pace themselves as they engage in dependent learning and, in some instances, collaborative learning.
Students learn to value the course guide as a tool for navigating their way through the course and achieving the course objectives.
Parts of the Course Guide
While there might be differences in the way a course guide is written based on the writing style and personality of the teacher, the essential parts of the course guide remain the same. A course guide normally includes the following:
- Course objectives
- Course outline
- Course materials
- Schedule of learning activities
- Assessment scheme/plan
- General guidelines
- Contact information
Course objectives state what students should be able to do (i.e. what skills or competencies they should develop) by the time they complete the course. The course objectives should be the same as those indicated in the approved course proposal. You may also add the course description to provide a context to the course objectives.
The course outline shows the course coverage in the form of a two-level outline, with the unit titles as first-level entries and the module titles as second-level entries. If the modules are not clustered according to units, the module titles will be the first-level entries and the sub-topics will be the second-level entries.
The course materials section lists the learning resources that students will study in the course. These resources include the study guides, required readings (e.g. book chapters, journal articles), online resources (websites), and multimedia materials that comprise the course package. In the case of book chapters, the book title and chapter number/s should be clearly stated. In the case of a website or other online materials, the URL or website address should be included so the student can access the site even without logging in to the course site on MyPortal. State also whether digital copies of or links to the materials will be made available on the course site.
The study schedule is the schedule of the learning activities that students are expected to do. The usual learning activities are reading the module study guides and learning resources, participating in discussion forums, and writing assignments. In formulating the study schedule, the faculty member plans the time allotment for each topic and activity. For the student, the study schedule provides guidance regarding course pacing. The study schedule should be presented in the form of a matrix or calendar of activities (see Activity 6-1).
The assessment scheme/plan includes the list of course requirements, including assignments and examinations; gives the guidelines for discussion forums; and explains the grading system to be used in the course.
List of requirements
To pass the course, you must:
- participate in asynchronous online class discussions (20% of the final grade)
- submit three assignments (60% of the final grade)
- take and pass a final examination (20% of the final grade)
And then describe each requirement in detail.
Discussion Forums
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what a discussion forum is (this is necessary for the first course in a program, for students who are new to UPOU)
-
how many such forums will students be expected to participate in the objectives of the forums in general (in the context of your particular course)
-
minimum expectations regarding student participation (including frequency of participation, length of posts, and courtesy)
-
other guidelines for forum participation
It is not necessary to have one discussion forum for each module. You could decide to have one forum for a set of modules (or a unit). What is important is to balance the number of forums with other course activities/requirements.
Assignments
List all assignments, including their due dates, that students must submit to pass the course. (Note that the study schedule should also include the assignment due dates.) Detailed guidelines for each assignment may be provided separately in the form of assignment guides (see Module 5). But in this section of the course, state general guidelines that apply to all assignments, such as your preferred referencing format (e.g. APA, MLA) and file formats (e.g. MS Word.)
Note that assignments should be submitted in digital or electronic format through the course site on MyPortal (not via email). Hard copy submissions take longer to transmit to the FIC, causing delays in feedback to the student. In the case of assignments where supporting documents or evidence is required, such evidence may be submitted also in digital format (e.g. a scan or photograph) instead of in paper format.
Ideally, feedback on student work should be provided within two weeks of the submission of assignments. Please consider this when determining how many assignments to require and when they are to be submitted.
Examinations
Examinations are usually given at strategic points within a term, such as after each unit (consisting of several modules), mid-term, or at the end of the course. For some courses, the main assessment activity could be examinations rather than assignments. Other courses could require mostly assignments and only a final or end-of-term examination.
In this section of the course guide, state how many examinations are required and when. You might also specify the mode of examination – for example, online, “take-home”, proctored at the learning center, and/or “open book”. In a distance education context, a “take-home” exam is a set of questions given to students on a set date and time, by email or via the course site on MyPortal, and which students are expected to answer within a specified period (for example, within 3 hours from the time the exam questions were posted). The questions may be essay questions or problems sets (for example, in mathematics).
State your minimum expectations regarding how students should comport themselves during examinations, and clarify examination-related policies. For example, do you give make-up examinations for students with a valid excuse for missing a scheduled exam? If yes, what would count as a valid excuse and when should it be submitted (e.g. XX weeks before the scheduled exam)?
Grading System
Describe the grading scale that will be used in the course.
Clarify the conditions for the assignment of a grade of EXT. This is equivalent to a grade of Incomplete (INC) in other campuses. Please notes that EXT may be given if the student’s class standing is passing, which in turn can be ascertained only if the student has complied with about half of the course requirements.
General guidelines (also known as ‘house rules’) include policies or guidelines about academic integrity, referencing styles, and netiquette for the course. You may refer students to the University’s policy on cheating and plagiarism and the preferred referencing style in your discipline (e.g., APA or Chicago). If you have a preferred set of netiquette guidelines, please indicate the URL or web address.
Contact information shows the contact details of the faculty-in-charge and student support staff members.
Putting It All Together
Complete your course guide by doing the following activity.
Activity 6-1
Objective: To complete the course guide
Task: Write the content of the different parts of the course guide.
Procedure: Use the template below to write your course guide.
| UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES OPEN UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF ________ Course Number / Title __ Semester AY 20___COURSE GUIDE COURSE OBJECTIVES After completing this course, you should be able to –
COURSE OUTLINE Unit 1 – (title) Unit 2 – (title) Unit 3 – (title)
COURSE MATERIALS Module 1 Module 2 Module 3
STUDY SCHEDULE
COURSE REQUIREMENTS List of requirements GENERAL GUIDELINES / HOUSE RULES ABOUT THE FACULTY-IN-CHARGE |