DfL Priorities
Design for Learning (DfL) is an ambitious project that directly supports La Trobe University’s Strategic Objective 1 to “Transform student lives through learning”.
DfL is an institution-wide effort involving the review and, where necessary, redesign of the undergraduate curriculum and of related student engagement and student academic support services. DfL is aimed at providing all La Trobe’s Bachelor-level students – regardless of their background or campus – with the opportunities and support required to achieve and demonstrate high standards of learning in challenging, well-designed, distinctive and relevant courses of study.
Successful implementation of DfL will therefore help La Trobe to achieve its strategic enrolment growth targets and improve student retention and success rates whilst ensuring academic quality and responding to external demands for social inclusion and accountability.
Design for Learning will ensure that every Bachelor-level course at La Trobe will make clear to staff and students alike:
- What all students are expected to know and be able to do at the beginning, middle and end of their course (i.e., the intended learning outcomes);
- How, when and where students will learn and develop intended skills and knowledge;
- What standards student learning will be assessed and evaluated against, and when and how students will be provided with any feedback needed for improvement; and,
- What academic support and enrichment activities are available to students.
Key elements or priorities of DfL can be summarised under the following headings: