Designing rigorous and relevant learning experiences for future teachers

Abstract

Teaching and learning at the university should help students develop complex thinking about the issues they are dealing with and practice skills needed to solve real-world problems. The Rigor/Relevance Framework, developed by the staff of the International Center for Leadership in Education (ICLE), is a useful tool for designing learning experiences that increase the rigor and the relevance of the curriculum. This model integrates Bloom’s taxonomy with its six levels (remembering, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation) with the Application Model, which has five levels (knowledge in one discipline, apply in discipline, apply across disciplines, apply to real-world predictable situations and apply to real-world unpredictable situations). The combination of these two dimensions results in four quadrants: Acquisition, Application, Assimilation, Adaptation, in which learning experiences can be designed to raise the rigor and relevance of instruction. The aim of this study is to exemplify the use of the Rigor/Relevance Framework in designing the learning experiences offered during two courses for future teachers for primary and preschool education. The implications of selecting appropriate instructional strategies and student assessment methods are discussed.