Foreword to the first edition: "This book is an exceptional introduction to some difficult ideas. It is full of downright good advice for every academic who wants to do something practical to improve his or hers students' learning." Paul Ramsden, Brisbane, Australia "Biggs and Tang present a unified view of university teaching that is both grounded in research and theory and replete with guidance for novice and expert instructors. The book will inspire, challenge, unsettle, and in places annoy and even infuriate its readers, but it will succeed in helping them think about how high quality teaching can contribute to high quality learning." John Kirby, Queens University, Ontario, Canada This best-selling book explains the concept of constructive alignment used in implementing outcomes-based education. Constructive alignment identifies the desired learning outcomes and helps teachers design the teaching and learning activities that will help students to achieve those outcomes, and to assess how well those outcomes have been achieved. Each chapter includes tasks that offer a 'how-to' manual to implement constructive alignment in your own teaching practices. This new edition draws on the authors' experience of consulting on the implementation of constructive alignment in Australia, Hong Kong, Ireland and Malaysia including a wider range of disciplines and teaching contexts. There is also a new section on the evaluation of constructive alignment, which is now used worldwide as a framework for good teaching and assessment, as it has been shown to: Assist university teachers who wish to improve the quality of their own teaching, their students' learning and their assessment of learning outcomes Aid staff developers in providing support for departments in line with institutional policies Provide a framework for administrators interested in quality assurance and enhancement of teaching across the whole universityThe authors have also included useful web links to further material. Teaching for Quality Learning at University will be of particular interest to teachers, staff developers and administrators.

About the Author

John Biggs has held Chairs in Education in Canada, Australia, and Hong Kong. He has published extensively on student learning and the implications of his research for teaching. Catherine Tang is the former Head of Educational Development Centre in the Hong Kong Institute of Education and also in the Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

Table of Contents

Foreword to original edition Preface to fourth edition Acknowledgements The outcomes we intend readers to achieve Part 1: Effective teaching and learning for today's universities The changing scene in university teaching Teaching according to how students learn Setting the stage for effective teaching Contexts for effective teaching and learning Knowledge and understanding Constructively aligned teaching and assessment Part 2: Designing constructively aligned outcomes-based teaching and learning Designing intended learning outcomes Teaching/learning activities for declarative intended learning outcomes Teaching/learning activities for functioning intended learning outcomes Aligning assessment tasks with intended learning outcomes: principles Assessing and grading for declarative intended learning outcomes Assessing and grading for functioning intended learning outcomes Part 3: Constructive alignment in action Implementing, supporting and enhancing constructive alignment Constructive alignment as implemented: some examples References Index