Having settled on content and course learning objectives, I began to plan out weekly topics and learning objectives. I searched several textbooks for ideas on how to sequence topics, with an ulterior motive of perhaps selecting one for students.
However, none of the textbooks aligned with my combination of context and approach. I then recalled research in statistics education stating that the order of topics probably doesn’t matter all that much.
Although I wanted to make evidence-based decisions in course design, I decided to simply rely on my own experience and intuition to sequence topics. In hindsight, I might have reached out to other biostatistics instructors I know for their courses’ weekly learning objectives.
Once I finished sequencing topics, I used Bloom’s Taxonomy to help me create weekly learning objectives. Because of the literacy focus, I used the verbs Identify, Explain, Describe, and Evaluate repeatedly.
As a final check of alignment, I mapped each of my weekly objectives to the four course objectives. There was relative balance, with all course objectives mapped to between 14-17 of the 47 total weekly learning objectives.
Statistical Journeys 