JJ Johnson from Pierce College presented at the Quality Matters (QM) Quality in Action conference on “Quality Review and the Impact on Course Quality for Accelerated Programs.” Johnson has decades of experience in higher education and QM. Johnson spoke about design tenets:
- Programmatic Alignment
- Workforce Relevance
- Active Learning Strategies
- Intentional Connections
- Standards-Based
Johnson then described the roles of an instructional designer and timeline for course development. They reviewed the QM Specific Review Standards and importance of learning objectives and alignment. Instructional materials need to align with course and module learning objectives, include a variety of types of materials, and have citations. Learning activities and interaction, Johnson noted, should go back to the course policies. Standard 6 refers to the course technology and emphasizes that the technologies used should promote learning. Learner support, standard 7, includes course support and resources. Johnson suggested having a page of resources that is used for courses at that institution to have a centralized and easy-to-update resource. Standard 8 refers to accessibility and usability to support access for all learners. Johnson described the review process and quality review service provided by QM. Johnson spoke about the QM review report and how improvements can be made. In some cases, all improvements can’t be made in the timeframe. The review report is intended to be detailed so that instructors can make changes. The last fifteen minutes were devoted to discussion about training of instructional designers and internal course improvement initiatives.
