3 Module components
Each module is designed for approximately two to three hours of independent study time for a learner with good English and at least secondary level education. Each study session follows a standard template that provides users with a familiar framework and so makes it easier to plan study activities. The main components of each study session are as follows:
- a title that concisely and clearly describes the session contents
- learning outcomes, each tested by at least one SAQ (see below)
- an introduction that lays out what will be covered in the study session
- core content, text with illustrations, diagrams, graphs, examples etc.
- key points that are highlighted
- a summary, which includes key points covered in the study session
- at the end of each study session there are four self-assessment questions (SAQs) to help students test their learning.
The structure creates a learning pathway for the student that links the components in a narrative route through the text. They can track the introduction of a topic and a statement of the corresponding goal in a learning outcome, through the relevant section of core content to the summary points and SAQs at the end. Table 1 describes some of these components in more detail and highlights the reasons why they are included in each study session.
| Component | Description | Purpose |
| Learning outcomes | A set of statements that indicate what students should have achieved by the time they have completed a particular study session. | Learning outcomes are goals. They are important tools for both trainers and students. For trainers, learning outcomes provide a way of making it clear to students what they are expected to have accomplished by the end of a study session. Learning outcomes indicate a knowledge outcome (what the trainer wants students to know) or a skill outcome (what the trainer wants students to be able to do). For students, learning outcomes highlight what is expected of them. Outcomes provide a way for students to assess their own learning. For example, students should be encouraged to turn learning outcomes into questions and see if they can answer them. |
| Key points | Important terms, highlighted in boxes, that students should be familiar with by the time they complete the study session. | Students can often feel overwhelmed by the number of ideas, concepts and principles that they encounter in a session. The highlighted points are words and concepts that they really need to focus on and understand by the end of the study session. |
| Core content | Materials authored by experts, covering the topics outlined by the module title and learning outcomes. | DIY Learn modules provide new teaching material and can also reinforce or complement existing teaching and curriculum. Trainers in a classroom setting should integrate this material into a session, and not just read out the written material to a class. Instead, trainers are ‘learning guides’, creating sessions that comprise short talks and activities based on the DIY materials (see Section 5). |
| In-text activities | Interactive activities embedded within the core content that learners are expected to complete as they read through the materials. | In-text activities encourage students to pause in their study and check their understanding of what they are learning. The activities are based on preceding sections of the study session or may refer back to earlier study sessions in the same module, or invite students to consider how their own experiences are relevant to the topic. This reinforces prior learning and encourages students to reflect on what they have read. This Handbook provides group alternatives for each activity in Appendix 2 – see Section 5 for more detail. |
| Summary | A brief overview of the main concepts covered in the study session. | The summary brings together the key ideas and concepts from the different parts of the study session. For trainers, the summary (and any subsequent discussion) can be used to recap important ideas and concepts at the end of the session. |
| Self-assessment questions (SAQs) | Another set of tools for learners and trainers to use to evaluate learning achievements in the session. | We outlined above how students should be encouraged to transform learning outcomes into questions that can help them assess their learning. That task is essentially completed for them in the SAQs that appear at the end of each session. They can be used to test the student’s knowledge of the material. |
| Badged quizzes | Each has a set of 15 questions, with three alternative presentation styles for each, which further test understanding. Students receive an immediate score, and hints to help them try again when they have got an answer incorrect. | Mozilla Open Badges are an online standard to recognise and verify learning. The badged quiz questions are optional, and students can complete the module and test their learning without engaging with the quiz. However, satisfactory completion of the quiz will award them a Mozilla Open Badge to acknowledge that they have completed this short, informal course of study. |
2 DIY Learn modules