Our Philosophy
At TLI, we believe that intentional, systematic curriculum development, grounded in evidence-based teaching practices, can create a learner-centered classroom where all students have the opportunity to thrive.
The phrase “curriculum development” is often used to refer to various levels of instruction: an individual course, a set of courses, or entire programs. Whether working with a 1-hour first-year seminar or a department’s entire course sequence, curriculum development should always encompass the entire learning process.
Thus, TLI begins the curriculum development process with the 3 foundational principles of backwards design:
- What do we need students to know or be able to do?
- How will students show that they have learned what they need to know or be able to do?
- How can we use instructional techniques to help students learn what they need to know or be able to do? (Wiggins & McTighe, 1998)
An ideal curriculum carefully addresses each of these 3 questions and insists on the inextricable interrelatedness of them.
At the same time, TLI recognizes that curriculum development is multifaceted, and the ideal process can be complicated or require trade-offs with the realities of individual units, departments, and programs.
Our role at TLI is to help faculty navigate these realities, while developing a curriculum grounded in best practices to support the mission and vision of the department. As such, we’ve created the following resources and programs below to support faculty and departmental needs.
| The Curriculum Refresh Collaborative | The Curriculum Development Guide |
If you’re not sure where to start, can’t find what you need, or just want to discuss your ideas with a member of our team, please submit a Request for Service, and we’ll set up a time for a consultation.
References: Wiggins, G. & McTighe J. (1998). Understanding by Design. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.