Teaching & Learning

Learning Activities & Delivery Modes

Once you have well-written intended learning outcomes (ILOs) and assessment tasks that effectively measure learner achievement of them, the next step in developing your unit is to consider the learning activities learners will participate in, and complete, to help them develop the skills, knowledge and understandings identified in the ILOs, as measured by the assessment criteria.

This third step in the effective design of a unit is the planning of learning experiences and teaching methods. There are a multitude of ways to deliver learning activities and content. The method you use will depend on who the learners are, how you want them to learn, where they are, and what you want to teach (the ILOs). Depending on your cohort and their needs you will need to select the most appropriate delivery method. There is no one-size-fits-all design. The best approach is to use a combination of strategies that suit your teaching style and the learning needs of your learners. 

Decisions about the delivery mode should be taken to best meet the chosen learning design and the needs of the target cohort (Brown, Kregor, & Williams, 2013, p.18) 

These decisions should only be made following a careful analysis of the teaching/learning situation – the ILOs, assessment tasks and criteria, and the nature and backgrounds of the learners. This means that decisions about learning should occur before decisions about delivery. The traditional approach of fitting content into a prescribed model of two 50 minute lectures and a 50 minute tutorial per week no longer reflects best practice

Depending on your position, you may have more or less say in the design of the learning for a particular class. Sessional staff involved in tutoring and demonstrating may find the downloadable Guide to Tutorials (Word, 414KB) helpful, particularly before your first class.


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Modes and Locations of Delivery

There are many options for where students are when they participate in, or prepare for learning activities. The mode you use to deliver or facilitate these activities and experiences will also differ both between and within units.  

Learn more about where and when high impact learning experiences can be provided.

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Planning Learning Activities

Effective learning activities and experiences take many shapes, and can occur synchronously (at the same time for everyone) or asynchronously (at different times for different participants).

Get some ideas for learning activities to use in your unit.

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Facilitating Learning Experiences

Regardless of your role and position, if you are responsible for teaching, part of that responsibility will include the delivery of learning experiences, often conducted in tutorials, seminars and demonstrations and practicals.

Learn more about different aspects of facilitating the learning experiences of your students, particularly in small classes.