Overview
In Design for Learning, you will study learning design principles and processes within the context of tertiary and adult education. You will critically analyse evidence that will inform ongoing improvements to learning and teaching design. Using constructive alignment, you will develop skills around the characteristics and benefits of writing aligned and meaningful learning outcomes. You will develop a range of learning design artefacts that will help underpin future work in learning design. To enhance your personal learning, you will use reflective practice to examine your experiences to improve future performance.
Details
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites
Pre-req = OLTC20003 - Nature of Learning and Teaching or OLTC20005 - Adult Learning in Practice
Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).
Offerings For Term 1 - 2026
Attendance Requirements
All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes - in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).
Recommended Student Time Commitment
Each 6-credit Postgraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.
Class Timetable
Assessment Overview
Assessment Grading
This is a pass/fail (non-graded) unit. To pass the unit, you must pass all of the individual assessment tasks shown in the table above.
All University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
You may wish to view these policies:
- Grades and Results Policy
- Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework)
- Review of Grade Procedure
- Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure - Domestic Students
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure - International Students
- Student Refund and Credit Balance Policy and Procedure
- Student Feedback - Compliments and Complaints Policy and Procedure
- Information and Communications Technology Acceptable Use Policy and Procedure
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
Feedback, Recommendations and Responses
Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.
Feedback from Lecturer
Continue to add contemporary literature to support the design process through the assessment tasks.
Refine supporting literature.
- Critically analyse the constructive alignment of a learning design
- Recommend evidence-based improvements to learning design
- Create meaningful learning outcomes
- Design engaging learning informed by scholarship
- Apply the principles of reflective practice to enhance learning
N/A
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| 1 - Written Assessment - 0% | |||||
| 2 - Written Assessment - 0% | |||||
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| 1 - Knowledge | |||||
| 2 - Communication | |||||
| 3 - Cognitive, technical and creative skills | |||||
| 4 - Research | |||||
| 5 - Self-management | |||||
| 6 - Ethical and Professional Responsibility | |||||
| 7 - Leadership | |||||
| 8 - First Nations Knowledges | |||||
| 9 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures | |||||
Textbooks
There are no required textbooks.
IT Resources
- CQUniversity Student Email
- Internet
- Unit Website (Moodle)
All submissions for this unit must use the referencing styles below:
For further information, see the Assessment Tasks.
j.fleming@cqu.edu.au
Week 1
Begin Date: 09 Mar 2026Module/Topic
Topic 1: Introduction to instructional design
Chapter
Refer to activities within this topic.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 2
Begin Date: 16 Mar 2026Module/Topic
Topic 2: Learning design processes
Chapter
Refer to activities within this topic.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 3
Begin Date: 23 Mar 2026Module/Topic
Topic 3: Learners and their context
Chapter
Refer to activities within this topic.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 4
Begin Date: 30 Mar 2026Module/Topic
Topic 4: Learning outcomes
Chapter
Refer to activities within this topic.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 5
Begin Date: 06 Apr 2026Module/Topic
Topic 5: Constructive alignment
Chapter
Refer to activities within this topic.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 6
Begin Date: 13 Apr 2026Module/Topic
Topic 6: Instructional strategies
Chapter
Refer to activities within this topic.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Vacation Week
Begin Date: 20 Apr 2026Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 7
Begin Date: 27 Apr 2026Module/Topic
Topic 7: Curriculum design
Chapter
Refer to activities within this topic.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 8
Begin Date: 04 May 2026Module/Topic
Topic 8: Technology enhanced learning
Chapter
Refer to activities within this topic.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 9
Begin Date: 11 May 2026Module/Topic
Topic 9: Online learning
Chapter
Refer to activities within this topic.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 10
Begin Date: 18 May 2026Module/Topic
Topic 10: Continuous improvement
Chapter
Refer to activities within this topic.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 11
Begin Date: 25 May 2026Module/Topic
Work on assessment as required
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 12
Begin Date: 01 Jun 2026Module/Topic
Students with extensions to finalise all submission of assessment tasks
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
1 Written Assessment
This assessment task will provide you with opportunities to engage with the steps of learning design as you design a new unit, or re-design an existing unit in your discipline area.
Assessment Context
In both Vocational Education and Training and Higher Education, educators are routinely called upon to design new units or to substantially re-design existing units. This often occurs as part of a school/faculty response to student feedback and/or recent changes in a discipline area.
For this assessment task you are asked to identify a new or existing unit from your discipline area which you can design or re-design (do this in the first 2 weeks of the term). Ideally, this chosen unit will be part of your staff workload allocation and will be a unit that you are able to teach after its development/re-development.
Unit proposal [2500 words]
You will use the 'Unit proposal template' that will guide your development of your new or revised unit of work. You are then required to present a critical reflection on your work. There is space for this within the same template. You are also required to develop a course mapping, using the 'Course mapping template'. Both templates are available in Moodle.
Week 6 Thursday (16 Apr 2026) 4:45 pm AEST
Upload word file into Moodle
Week 8 Thursday (7 May 2026)
Feedback will be provided.
Constructive alignment – Has utilised the ‘Course Mapping Template’ to demonstrate alignment of the proposed learning design.
Evidenced-based learning design – Recommends evidence-based improvements to proposed learning design, including analysis of learners and their context.
Learning outcomes- Creates meaningful and descriptive learning outcomes that are achievable and measurable.
Scholarship - Uses persuasive and compelling language and literature to support design decisions.
Reflective practice – Applies the principles of reflective practice using critical reflection to unpack design process decisions.
- Critically analyse the constructive alignment of a learning design
- Recommend evidence-based improvements to learning design
- Create meaningful learning outcomes
2 Written Assessment
This assessment task will provide you with opportunities to progress your unit learning design for your new or re-designed unit. The focus in this task will be on developing teaching strategies across the unit informed by your learning.
Unit curriculum design [1000 words]
Using the 'Unit Curriculum Design Template', fill out the general information section which includes the unit synopsis, learning outcomes, assessment description and any improvements you may have made since assessment task 1.
You will then complete the rest of the template. It is important that you provide sufficient detail about your strategies and choices that the reader has a clear picture of how you have taken a learner-centred approach in your planning.
It is anticipated that you will provide varied pedagogical strategies and resources across the unit to cater to the needs of your students. Each learning event/lesson will contain a description of an introduction, body and conclusion.
You do not need to do the entire units worth of curriculum planning, just provide up to 4 topics/modules or weeks worth of strategies.
Critical reflection on your planning decisions [1000 words]
Referring to the activities described in your unit curriculum design template, critically reflect on your planning decisions to demonstrate the following:
- How your planning decisions were informed by key theories about learning and instructional design;
Your knowledge of the needs of your learners;
How you maximised opportunities for learning for all students regardless of their mode of study;
Your understanding of the need to sequence learning and teaching strategies and to ensure that the planned learning goals are met;
Any feedback on AT1 to strengthen your unit design/re-design.
References to key theories.
Additional Notes: If your submission relates to a unit offered at an institution other than CQUniversity, then please include your institution’s generic skills requirements, and relevant frameworks, policies and procedures in your discussion in this assessment task.
Week 11 Friday (29 May 2026) 4:45 pm AEST
Upload word file into Moodle
Exam Week Friday (12 June 2026)
Feedback will be provided
Constructive alignment – Assessment, learning outcomes and activities are aligned and will allow for student success.
Evidence-based learning design – Instructional strategies, learning activities, learning resources and student support are clearly articulated and evidence-based.
Learning outcomes – Mapped to weeks and/or topics and model best practice.
Scholarship - Uses persuasive and compelling language and literature to support curriculum design decisions.
Reflective practice – Applies the principles of reflective practice using critical reflection to unpack instructional strategies and learning activity decisions.
- Create meaningful learning outcomes
- Design engaging learning informed by scholarship
- Apply the principles of reflective practice to enhance learning
As a CQUniversity student you are expected to act honestly in all aspects of your academic work.
Any assessable work undertaken or submitted for review or assessment must be your own work. Assessable work is any type of work you do to meet the assessment requirements in the unit, including draft work submitted for review and feedback and final work to be assessed.
When you use the ideas, words or data of others in your assessment, you must thoroughly and clearly acknowledge the source of this information by using the correct referencing style for your unit. Using others’ work without proper acknowledgement may be considered a form of intellectual dishonesty.
Participating honestly, respectfully, responsibly, and fairly in your university study ensures the CQUniversity qualification you earn will be valued as a true indication of your individual academic achievement and will continue to receive the respect and recognition it deserves.
As a student, you are responsible for reading and following CQUniversity’s policies, including the Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure. This policy sets out CQUniversity’s expectations of you to act with integrity, examples of academic integrity breaches to avoid, the processes used to address alleged breaches of academic integrity, and potential penalties.
What is a breach of academic integrity?
A breach of academic integrity includes but is not limited to plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, cheating, contract cheating, and academic misconduct. The Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure defines what these terms mean and gives examples.
Why is academic integrity important?
A breach of academic integrity may result in one or more penalties, including suspension or even expulsion from the University. It can also have negative implications for student visas and future enrolment at CQUniversity or elsewhere. Students who engage in contract cheating also risk being blackmailed by contract cheating services.
Where can I get assistance?
For academic advice and guidance, the Academic Learning Centre (ALC) can support you in becoming confident in completing assessments with integrity and of high standard.
What can you do to act with integrity?
