It is one thing to read about a framework such as the SECTIONS framework from Bates and Poole (2003) and it is another to actually apply it. In this course we have had two recent exercises where I had an opportunity to apply it in the context of selecting a learning management system (LMS). As this is a framework for selecting and using technology, it can be applied to more than an LMS, for example when deciding if a particular technology is appropriate to add to a course.
I also started to think if the broad categories of the SECTIONS framework could be used to guide the design of a course before it is developed. I work in a Post-Secondary Institute where curriculum development is very process oriented and curriculum excellence is based on following this process. Developing a course is a two-step process: first a learning design is developed and approved, and then the course moves into the development stage. Prior to implementing the second stage, the learning design is reviewed and approved by the Academic Chair or has been validated by co-faculty in the subject area or program. Without the design stage, and I have been guilty of this, Instructors and Subject Matter Experts dive into developing content without a plan that has been reviewed or validated. Not all institutes take this 2-stage approach as I found out in a group project in another MET course where the team members, all from Post-secondary institutes, spent a lot of time negotiating the importance and value of charging ahead developing a course without first creating at least a basic course design to guide the development of the course.
Course design is a challenging process as it forces the instructor to think about and write down many aspects about a course including the outcomes, how they will teach it, how the students will learn, course pacing and how the assessments will tie the course into the outcomes. Course design sometimes results in Instructors stopping the process and getting advice from others before proceeding. SECTIONS provides a framework that could guide instructors in asking themselves questions that would help them put a design into play before developing the course. If an Instructor was to apply the SECTIONS framework before developing a course, it could trigger key questions and provide insights that could be missed before, during or after the course development.
Bates A. W. & Poole, G. (2003). A Framework for Selecting and Using Technology. In A.W. Bates & G. Poole, Effective Teaching with Technology in Higher Education (pp. 75-108). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. 4.