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Definition
Alignment as used in curriculum theory refers to a deliberate and intrinsic connection between aspects of the curriculum and assessment methods, and ideally including teaching methods, institutional policies, and climate. Teaching and learning then take place in an integrated system, in which all components interact with and support each other. In this article, alignment is addressed primarily in the postsecondary context.
Theoretical Background
The concept of alignment in curriculum has been around for many years. Aligning assessment tasks to what it is intended students should learn, and grading student on how well they reach preset standards, as in criterion-referenced assessment(CRA), is an example of one form of alignment. An example of nonaligned assessment is when students are graded not on what they have learned as such, but on how they compare with each other, as in norm-referenced assessment (NRA). As for the broader curriculum,...
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References
Biggs, J., & Tang, C. (2007). Teaching for quality learning at university. Maidenhead: McGraw-Hill and Open University Press. A revised fourth edition due in 2011.
Cohen, S. A. (1987). Instructional alignment: Searching for a magic bullet. Educational Researcher, 16(8), 16–20.
English, F. W. (1975). School organization and management. Worthington: Charles A. Jones Publishing Company.
Shuell, T. J. (1986). Cognitive conceptions of learning. Review of Educational Research, 56, 411–36.
Tyler, R. W. (1949). Basic principles of curriculum and instruction. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
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© 2012 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC
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Biggs, J., Tang, C. (2012). Aligning the Curriculum to Promote Learning. In: Seel, N.M. (eds) Encyclopedia of the Sciences of Learning. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1428-6_1705
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