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Designing a Topic Proposal and Topic Booklet

The Course Approval Process

As the procedure of designing and submitting a topic proposal is presently under review, this website offers a guide only to the type of information that could be included. This website will ultimately be an online form that will automate the process and will create a topic booklet. Watch this space!

General Information

Department or Academic Organizational Unit

Topic Number

Programs for which the topic will be available

Semester

Year

Duration

Course Title

Unit Value

Course description
This would ultimately appear in the Calendar. This is an important first statement about what the course will cover; ensuring that the wording is accurate and precise helps to attract students who are genuinely interested in your class (and, conversely, dissuade those who are not). It would also give the students a sense of what will be expected of them.

This section is primarily for the purposes of submitting topic approval, as it deals with the factors affecting how the course will be run within the department as a whole

1. Course details

Topic Co-ordinator's Name

Email

Office Phone

Teachers involved and teaching load allocation

Additional Staff resources required

Teaching Location

Topic restrictions

Pre-requisites for enrollment (if any)

Co-requisites (if any)

Topics to be discontinued as a result of this topics inclusion (if any)

Proposed enrollments

Proposed quota

Additional computer facilities required (if any)

Other resource requirements (if any)

DEETYA Subject codes (for HECS purposes)

2. Reading and Audio-Visual Material

List the required readings for the topic. State where these texts can be purchased, and list approximate costs. Identify those texts that are on reserve at the library. If you are using computer technology, advise the students of what resources they will need during the semester.

Readings: Text Books (Recommended and Required)

Entries:

Readings: Reference Books

Entries:

Readings: Preliminary

Entries:

Readings: Further

Entries:

AV Material

3. Additional Information

Include any information that does not fit into the above categories:

Educational Issues

These are the centerpiece of your course outline, since everything else (assessment, readings, use of computer technology, visual aids, content, modes of instruction) is essentially shaped by them. Even though they occupy a mere five or six lines on your final document you should expect to spend several hours deliberating over what these should be.

1. Aims and Evaluation

1.1 Aims
What the topic sets out to cover and achieve. This is what the teaching team takes responsibility for and is what is ultimately evaluated through SETeacher, SETopic and through Peer Review.

Your final submission might look like this:

This course has three specific aims: to introduce students to the range of research methods available to X-discipline; to instill the habit of thinking first about asking good questions and then deciding upon the methodology that is likely to be the most feasible and fruitful; and to encourage the development of analytical skills that enable the student to evaluate the quality of individual and other scholars' research

1.2 Evaluation
How will the topic be evaluated?
How will you know that you achieved your intentions?
Who will evaluate?

• peers?
• external experts?
• students?

2. Learning Outcomes

This is what will be assessed. It should include broad statements of what you hope students will achieve and demonstrate as a result of taking your topic. It is through this that students realize these goals. It is important to be clear about the core learning expectations that will be assessed as achieved by the students as a result of completing this topic.

To assist you, the following has been typed into the template:

"On completion of this course, students should be able to..."

and then use about five words from the following (in exhaustive) list to described your perceived learning outcomes.

analyze	appreciate	classify	collaborate	compare
compute	contrast	define	demonstrate	direct
derive	designate	discuss	display	evaluate
explain	identify	infer	integrate	interpret
justify	list	name	organize	outline
report	respond	solicit	state	synthesize
conduct	apply

Your final submission might look like this:

"On completion of this course, students should be able to..."

• Develop an interesting and important research question.
• Demonstrate a basic level of competence in the use of a variety of disciplinary research methods.
• Discuss the process of developing an argument in the X-discipline.
• Analyze and evaluate the quality of research of other scholars in terms of its methodological rigor.
• Outline a research proposal that documents how a given research question might be addressed.

You should also include how these achievements could be observed, in other words, how do you recognise that students have attained the core learning outcomes? Do these represent high order thinking and performance or are they limited to recall of information. These learning outcomes should guide the development of the assessment tasks students must complete

Examine the following sites for guidelines and assistance in formulating this section.

• Teaching final years
• Teaching first years
• What's worth learning

3. Assessment

For assistance within this section visit the Assessment first:

3.1 General description of Assessment methods

3.2 General description of tasks to be assigned

3.3 Weighting and grading

3.4 Grading Methods used

3.5 Value of Topic to the course as a whole

3.6. Relationship between Assessment and Learning Outcomes

3.7 Inclusive Education issues

3.8 Criteria for successful completion of the topic

4. Teaching Strategies

4.1 Teaching Team: Names and Contact details

4.2 Teaching Contact

4.3 Teaching Mode
Sites you might like to look at first are:

• Flexible Education
• Ideas for Tutoring
• Effective Lecturing Techniques
  

4.4 Assumed knowledge requirements

4.5 Teaching Strategies
Sites you might like to look at are:

• Problem-based learning
• Lecturing
• Tutoring

4.6 Relationship between Teaching Strategies and Learning Outcomes

4.7 Work experience in industry component
Sites you might like to look at are:

• Practicum

5. Topic Organisation

5.1 Course/Topic Relationship

The placing of the topic in the context of the course as a whole helps both student and teaching staff find the purpose in the topic.

5.1.1 Relationship of the topic to aims of the courses in which it will be offered

5.1.2 Location of the topic in the course structure

5.1.3 Equivalent topics

5.1.4 Assumed knowledge requirements

5.15 Associated majors

5.1.6 If revising a topic, provide reasons for introducing the change to the topic.

5.2 Week by Week Focus:

It is helpful to think in terms of a book or article: include an introduction, body, and conclusion. Give comprehensive titles to each part and lecture (c.f. 'chapters'). Preparing a short three-line summary of each lecture is also useful, both in the planning stages (for instructors) and in helping students prepare for class.

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