This page focuses the question of how you orchestrate the ideal blend of learning outcomes, assessment methods, and teaching content to enhance student learning in a blended learning environment, It builds on the backward design principles and gives you an overview of constructive alignment to design course content based on your learning outcomes. The aim is to offer practical tips on designing assessments and learning activities that align with your learning outcomes. Please note that KI offers a toolkit on Designing Assessments so we will not go into depth on the topic of designing assessment in this toolkit.

Constructive alignment in blended learning

Constructive alignment in education underscores the integration of learning outcomes, assessment methods, and teaching content to enhance student learning. As a learning designer, your role involves orchestrating the ideal blend of these elements, which becomes particularly complex in designing blended learning courses. This includes redefining learning objectives and outcomes to incorporate activities for both face-to-face and online settings. Learning objectives should cover activities that bridge these environments, such as using digital resources for online activities and emphasising problem-solving and collaboration in-person. It's essential that activities in both settings build upon each other. The success of a blended learning course depends on how you interlink activities, which not only adhere to the principles of constructive alignment but also adjust to the unique features of blended learning design (Vaughan, Cleveland-Innes, & Garrison, 2013).

Determining your blend

Once you have developed your blueprint, you can begin to ask yourself some questions to think about how you will blend your course:

What learning objectives could be best delivered face-to-face? What learning objectives could be best delivered online?
Is there content that students typically struggle with? What approach (face-to-face or online) might best support students in understanding this content?
Is there content that students may benefit from more active or hands-on learning opportunities?
How will the face-to-face and online sections of the course relate to and build upon one another?
Is the workload reasonable for students? How would the workload compare to a non-blended course?

Source: Cleveland-Innes, M., & Wilton, D. (2018). Chapter 4

What is Constructive Alignment?

How can we get students to learn what we want them to learn? How can we design teaching that engages the learner, has appropriate content, and a clear path of achievement? Listen to the tips from Chris in this video (5.55 min).

Your choice

If you prefer to read the transcript for this video you can open it in preview mode or download the Word file below.

M1.5 What is Constructive Alignment.docx

Tip: If you open the ReadSpeaker TextAid link in the "Module" view you will be able to Annotate the file as well as download an audio version of the file to listen to on-the-go (one page at the time)!

Reflect: Ask yourself

What learning assessment strategies do you currently use, and how will they change when you create a blended learning environment?

Write you reflections in your reflection log.

References