① LO#1: Situational Factors
Identifying Situational Factors
What is it?
John Fink's guide for significant learning is outlined in his book Creating Significant Learning Experiences: An Integrated Approach to Designing College Courses. This guide is widely used in higher education and provides an initial and structured approach to course design.
Why use it?
Fink's framework focuses on designing courses that foster deep, transformative learning experiences for students. The tenets in his model are the same found in Backwards Design (Learning Goals/Outcomes, Feedback and Assessment, and Teaching and Learning Activities). These components are organized to reveal their inter-relatedness.
How do I use it?
| What differs in this model, is the addition of a fourth component: Situational factors. This initial step suggests gathering information about the factors and surrounding contexts that will strongly influence the (re)design of a course. Things to include might be how many students are in the course; the kind of prior knowledge students bring with them; and university, program, and course goals, etc. |
ReferencesFink, L.D. (2003). A self-directed guide to designing courses for significant learning. Jossey Bass. Fink, L. D. (2013). Creating significant learning experiences: An integrated approach to designing college courses. John Wiley & Sons. |