News

New guide aims to help universities rethink curriculum design

Supporting universities to take blended learning to the next level.

Co-created with sector experts, our new guide to curriculum design aims to support universities to take blended learning to the next level.

This guidance comes at a significant juncture for higher education as the sector balances the post-pandemic drive for in-person teaching with the changing expectations and demographics of students.

The beyond blended guide contains downloadable resources and supports organisations to explore a fresh perspective on blended learning. It is referenced in Policy Connect’s new report about leveraging the benefits of technology in higher education, launching at a parliamentary event today.

Beyond blended explores increasingly important issues that need to be considered in curriculum design:

  • The new skills and resources needed when integrating times and spaces for learning, especially live
  • The different preferences, needs and choices expected by learners and teachers
  • How learners manage asynchronous time (self-efficacy, time and task management)
  • How digital technologies redefine relationships with space and time
  • The impact of AI, both in curriculum production and in student production of learning outcomes

Sarah Knight, head of learning and teaching transformation, higher education, Jisc said:

“All learning is blended to some extent. The challenge lies in making informed choices about the different blends that are possible and that best respond to student preferences and needs.

“Understanding the pedagogic value of these choices can sometimes demand new skills and resources. The materials offered in the guide acknowledge that learners differ in their management of time and approach to learning, and consider how digital technologies like AI can create new relationships to space, place and time.”

Liam Earney, Jisc’s managing director of higher education and research, is speaking at the Policy Connect parliamentary event today. He said:

“Beyond blended places the focus back on pedagogy and offers guidance for senior leaders and practical resources for academics to rethink and enhance their practice to meet the changing landscape of higher education.

“We hope that the beyond blended guide will prove helpful in creating new and up-to-date curriculums that reflect the multifaceted technological world we live in. We’re committed to supporting universities along the way.”

Beyond blended builds on the past two decades of Jisc’s support for universities with technology and learning and curriculum design.

Find out more