Alignment Principles

By Connie Barbour, Ed.D, MSN, RN, CNE

University of West Georgia

What is Alignment?

Principles of Alignment based on Quality Matters’ Standards from the Quality Matters Higher Education Rubric, 6th Edition.

The definition of alignment from Quality Matters (2018) states “Critical course components including learning objectives (standard 2.1 and 2.2), assessments (standard 3.1), Instructional Materials (standard 4.1), learning activities (standard 5.1) and course technology (6.1) reinforce one another to ensure that learners achieve the desired learning outcomes. When aligned, assessments, instructional materials, learning activities, and course technologies are directly tied to and support the learning objectives” (Quality Matters, 2018, p. 5). Download the QM Higher Education Standards here.

So, what does this mean? Alignment refers to the interdependence among the critical course components that ensure students achieve the desired learning objectives for the course. Everything the students are expected to learn and the skills they are expected to acquire is determined by the learning objectives. Learning Objectives must be created first. They serve as a guide (course map) to determining the other four critical course components which are:

  • Assessment & Measurement (Standard 3)

  • Instructional Materials (Standard 4)

  • Learner Activities and Learner Interaction (Standard 5)

  • Course Technology (Standard 6)

Writing focused and measurable learning objectives will become the learning activity, and the “measured” part of the learning objective will be the product of the action which can then be evaluated or assessed by means of rubrics or checklists, for example.

If learning objectives are written effectively, students should understand how the objective is being met through interaction with the course material, learning activities, and product to be assessed.

  • 2.1 The course learning objectives, or course/program competencies, describe outcomes that are measurable.

  • 2.2 The module/unit-level learning objectives or competencies describe outcomes that are measurable and consistent with the course-level objectives or competencies.

  • 2.3 Learning objectives or competencies are stated clearly, are written from the learner’s perspective, and are prominently located in the course.

  • 2.4 The relationship between learning objectives or competencies and learning activities is clearly stated.

  • 2.5 The learning objectives or competencies are suited to the level of the course.

Learning objectives are important for both the instructor and the learner. They also influence the overall effectiveness of the course. General Standard 2 of the Quality Matters Rubric acknowledges the use and importance of course learning objectives (Standard 2.1) and module/unit level objectives of a course (Standard 2.2).

Bloom’s Taxonomy is a classification of the different objectives and skills that educators set for their students (learning objectives). The taxonomy was proposed in 1956 by Benjamin Bloom, an educational psychologist at the University of Chicago. The terminology was updated to include the six levels of learning.

How does Bloom’s Taxonomy work with learning objectives?

You may notice that there are verbs associated with each level of Blooms' Taxonomy. These verbs help guide the generation of action verb to be used in the creation of learning objectives. Some of these verbs are associated with multiple Bloom’s Taxonomy levels as they could be applied to different activities.

If you haven't had training on how to write effective learning objectives, we strongly recommend these further readings (optional):



The Process of Alignment

Based on the principles of alignment, learning objectives must be written FIRST. There are two levels of learning objectives you must consider for alignment: course learning objectives (CLOs), and module learning objectives (MLOs). CLOs may be given to you by the institution, school, or department and therefore you cannot change them. If they are not written with action verbs and can’t be measured, it is recommended that you bring this to the attention of the administration. If you find that your CLOs are not written with action verbs and can’t be measured, BUT you can modify them, then you are encouraged to do so to better align them with your MLOs. Therefore, the first thing to do, when designing an online course or improving an existing online course, is to determine the alignment between your MLOs and CLOs.

Once the alignment of assessments and MLOs has occurred, you now ask yourself what course materials, technology, and learning activities do I need that will SUPPORT or help ACHIEVE the MLOs, while accommodating students with limited access to technology? For example, if your MLO is that students will explore self-image themes in current audio/visual social media, but then you have them read articles from the 1970s about magazine ads and watch a film from the 1960s, you have not aligned your course material, technology, and learning activities with your learning objective. Alignment also takes into consideration the multiple ways students can interact in the online environment that will help achieve the MLOs. These include “learner to learner,” “learner to content” and “learner to instructor” interactions. Learner to content takes into consideration course materials and technology. Whereas, Learner to learner interactions takes into consideration learning activities and technology. Lastly, learner to instructor takes into consideration the learning objective, instructions, the assessment, and grading criteria.

Once you have aligned your MLOs to your CLOs, you must consider how course materials, technology, learning activities, and assessments can be developed and used based on the principles of alignment already discussed.