aligning-curriculum

name	aligning-curriculum
description	Review course consistency by checking that outcomes, content, and assessments align. Use after designing sessions.

Curriculum Alignment Check

Triggering Contexts

• User has completed (or partially completed) session designs
• User feels the course is "drifting" or inconsistent
• User wants to verify course quality before teaching
• User asks "does this course make sense as a whole?"

Core Principle

Alignment = Every piece connects to the whole. If a topic doesn't serve an outcome, cut it. If an outcome has no assessment, add one. If a session has no purpose, redesign it.

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Alignment Checks

Check 1: Outcome Coverage Matrix

Map every session to the outcomes it serves:

Session	Out. 1	Out. 2	Out. 3	Out. 4	Out. 5
S1	I
S2	P	I
S3	P	P	I
S4		P	P	I
S5	A		P	P	I
S6		A	A	P	P
S7				A	A

Legend: I = Introduce, P = Practice, A = Assess

Red flags:

• ❌ Outcome column is empty → Outcome never taught
• ❌ Outcome has I but no P → Introduced but never practiced
• ❌ Outcome has no A → Never assessed
• ❌ Session row is empty → Session serves no outcome (cut it)
• ⚠️ A appears before P → Assessing before students practiced

Check 2: Prerequisite Chain

Verify no session requires knowledge not yet taught:

Session 3 requires: [concept from S1] ✅, [concept from S2] ✅
Session 5 requires: [concept from S3] ✅, [concept from S7] ❌ NOT YET TAUGHT

Fix: Resequence sessions or move prerequisites earlier.

Check 3: Difficulty Progression

Plot the difficulty curve:

Difficulty
  ▲
  │          ╱──╲
  │      ╱──╱    ╲──╲
  │  ╱──╱              ╲
  │╱                     
  └──────────────────────→ Sessions
  S1  S2  S3  S4  S5  S6

Red flags:

• ❌ Flat line → No progression, students get bored
• ❌ Spike → Session is too hard relative to neighbors
• ❌ Drop after spike → Inconsistent difficulty
• ✅ Gradual incline with occasional plateaus → Healthy

Check 4: Format Distribution

Count format types across all sessions:

Format	Count	% of Total	Assessment
Lecture	12	40%	⚠️ Too high if > 40%
Workshop	8	27%	✅ Good
Discussion	4	13%	✅ OK
Project	3	10%	✅ Good
Assessment	3	10%	✅ Good

Red flags:

• ⚠️ Lecture > 40% → Course is too passive
• ⚠️ Workshop < 20% → Not enough practice
• ⚠️ Assessment < 5% → Not enough feedback loops

Check 5: Persona Balance

For each persona, check their experience across the course:

### Beginner Persona: [Name]
- Sessions where they might struggle: [list]
- Sessions where they'll feel confident: [list]
- Overall: ✅ Balanced / ⚠️ Too hard / ⚠️ Too easy

### Advanced Persona: [Name]
- Sessions where they might be bored: [list]
- Sessions where they'll be challenged: [list]
- Overall: ✅ Balanced / ⚠️ Under-challenged / ⚠️ Frustrated

Check 6: Assessment Coverage

Outcome	Assessment Type	Session	Format
Outcome 1	Project	S5	Individual
Outcome 2	Quiz	S4	Written
Outcome 3	Presentation	S6	Group
Outcome 4	❌ MISSING	—	—

Every outcome must be assessed. No exceptions.

Check 7: Coherence Test

Answer these questions:

1. Can you explain the course in one sentence?
2. Does every session advance that sentence?
3. If you removed any session, would students miss a critical step?
4. Does the final session/assessment prove the one-sentence promise?

If any answer is "no," the curriculum needs adjustment.

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Output: Alignment Report

# Alignment Report: [Course Name]

## Overall Score: [X/7 checks passed]

### ✅ Passed Checks
- [List]

### ⚠️ Issues Found
1. [Issue]: [Description] → [Recommended fix]
2. [Issue]: [Description] → [Recommended fix]

### Action Items
- [ ] [Specific fix with session/outcome reference]
- [ ] [Specific fix]

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When to Run This Check

• ✅ After completing all session designs (full review)
• ✅ After modifying any session (targeted review)
• ✅ Before teaching the course (final validation)
• ✅ After teaching, using student feedback (iterative improvement)

Cross-References

• Issues with course structure → Back to planning-courses
• Issues with specific sessions → Back to designing-classes