I would propose four different formats and themes that might be useful
frameworks for our course investigations and documentation: the course
as anatomical structure; the natural history of a
course; the ecology of courses; and courses as
investigations.
Quoted from Lee Shulman, "Course Anatomy: The Dissection and Analysis
of Knowledge Through Teaching", in The Course Portfolio,
Hutchins, Pat (ed.), 1999. Summarized list by Josh Tenenberg.
- Anatomy
- parts, structure, part-part relations, aggregations of parts,
function of parts and aggregates.
- Natural History
- developmental trajectory; narrative, journey, itinerary,
coherence.
- Ecology
- programmatic context; it's fit within the scheme of
things.
- Investigation
- course as series of experiments to test learning conjectures.
What do you want to understand about your students?