Worksheet for Analysis Phase of Engineering Course Design in Tier 2
Institutions
The Worksheet enables a teacher or a group of teachers to design an engineering course in
Engineering Undergraduate Programs offered in Tier 2 non-autonomous colleges affiliated to
Universities. Curriculum design, examination and evaluation processes are the responsibility of
affiliating Universities. Instructional System Design Model ADDIE provides the framework for the
process used here to design engineering courses.
The Worksheet presented here is confined to
the Analysis phase of ADDIE model. It is assumed that the engineering program is being designed
to meet the Program Outcomes (POs) as identified by National Board of Accreditation, India, and
Program Specific Outcomes (PSOs) as identified by the Department offering the program. While
the four-year program aims at meeting all the POs and PSOs, it is assumed that any one course
can only meet a subset of these POs and PSOs. While there are many dimensions of learning, the
course design process presented here mainly focuses on Cognitive dimension
Engineering Course
Design
The three key principles of course design are

Students should acquire a set of stated course outcomes at the end of a course

Assessment should be in alignment with the stated course outcomes

Instructional activities are to be designed and conducted to facilitate students to
acquire the stated course outcomes
It should be noted that instructional methods, according to which instructional activities/materials
are designed, are not unique and depend on the nature of the subject, and preferences and
experiences of the instructor.
Analysis phase consists of

Writing the course context and overview

Selecting the subset of Program Outcomes and Program Specific Outcomes

Selecting the relevant cognitive levels

Selecting the relevant categories of knowledge

Preparing the taxonomy table indicating the relevant cognitive levels and categories of
knowledge

Writing 4-8 Course Outcomes as required by National Board of Accreditation (NBA)
that can be measured for attainment according to the syllabus of the course given by
the Board of Studies (BOS) of the University to which the college is affiliated

Writing additional 1-2 Course Outcomes to address the curricular gaps as decided by
the BOS, informal or formal, of the Department offering the program

Preparing Course-PO matrix (row) of the course

Elaborating Course Outcomes into 15+5 Competencies of the course to facilitate
planning instruction

Having the output of analysis phase peer reviewed and make the changes needed
N J Rao/February 2016
1
While the activities of Analysis Phase are shown in a fixed sequence they are not necessarily done
in that order, the course designers may traverse these steps several times in both the directions.
At the end of Analysis Phase the course designer identifies Course Outcomes and Competencies
the student is expected to acquire at the end of the course.
Design phase activities include
determining the Assessment Pattern, Creation of sample Test Items in alignment with Course
Outcomes, Creation of the Item Bank and Creating structure of Assessment Instruments.
Note:

All materials presented in blue/red color are either instructions or assumptions. Background
materials and samples are presented as pdf files which need to be consulted if in need of
clarifications or this worksheet is used for the first time.

When the final document is to be presented all the materials in blue color and the pdf files can
be deleted.

All the materials created by the course designers should only be entered in the boxes provided.
If materials are prepared as word files separately and pasted into the boxes, make sure they
are formatted to be Verdana 9, 1.5 line space and additional 6 points above paragraphs.
Interested teachers can freely use this worksheet to design their course. I would **grateful for
the
comments
and
suggestions
on
any
aspect
of
this
Worksheet
communicated
[email protected].
Course:
Credits:
Course Designers:
SNo.
Name
Email ID
Course Context and Overview:
It should include

Category the course belongs to (Humanities and Social Sciences, Basic Sciences, Engineering
Sciences, Professional Core, Professional Electives, and Open Electives)

The semester it is offered, prerequisites, and the courses to which it is a prerequisite

Broad aim of the course and its relevance to the program

The importance of the course professionally

The approach taken and reasons there of
Sample CC&O ACS
N J Rao/February 2016
2
to
Program Outcomes:
Program Outcomes (POs), as stated by NBA, represent the knowledge, skills and attitudes the
students should have at the end of a four year engineering program in India. While all the POs
have to be attained by all the courses and activities of a program, a course will only attempt to
address a subset of these twelve POs.
POs-PSOs of ACS
Program Outcome
PO1.
Engineering knowledge: Apply the knowledge of mathematics, science, engineering
fundamentals, and an engineering specialization to the solution of complex engineering
problems.
PO2.
Problem
analysis: Identify, formulate, research literature, and analyze complex
engineering
problems
reaching
substantiated
conclusions
using
first
principles
of
mathematics, natural sciences, and engineering sciences.
PO3.
Design/development of solutions: Design solutions for complex engineering problems
and design system components or processes that meet the specified needs with
appropriate consideration for the public health and safety, and the cultural, societal, and
environmental considerations.
PO4.
Conduct investigations of complex problems: Use research-based knowledge and
research methods including design of experiments, analysis and interpretation of data,
and synthesis of the information to provide valid conclusions.
PO5.
Modern tool usage: Create, select, and apply appropriate techniques, resources, and
modern engineering and IT tools including prediction and modeling to complex
engineering activities with an understanding of the limitations.
PO6.
The engineer and society: Apply reasoning informed by the contextual knowledge to
assess societal, health, safety, legal and cultural issues and the consequent responsibilities
relevant to the professional engineering practice.
PO7.
Environment and sustainability: Understand the impact of the professional engineering
solutions in societal and environmental contexts, and demonstrate the knowledge of, and
need for sustainable development.
PO8.
Ethics: Apply ethical principles and commit to professional ethics and responsibilities and
norms of the engineering practice.
PO9.
Individual and team work: Function effectively as an individual, and as a member or
N J Rao/February 2016
3
leader in diverse teams, and in multidisciplinary settings.
PO10.
Communication: Communicate effectively on complex engineering activities with the
engineering community and with society at large, such as, being able to comprehend and
write effective reports and design documentation, make effective presentations, and give
and receive clear instructions.
PO11.
Project management and finance: Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the
engineering and management principles and apply these to one’s own work, as a member
and leader in a team, to manage projects and in multidisciplinary environments.
PO12.
Life-long learning: Recognize the need for, and have the preparation and ability to
engage in independent and life-long learning in the broadest context of technological
change.
Program Specific Outcomes (PSOs)
The Department which offers the program should add two - four additional Program Specific
Outcomes (PSOs) in addition to twelve POs. They are used to characterize and differentiate a
program. A course will address a subset of PSOs. Write the PSOs of the program of which the
course under consideration is an element of.
A PSO statement starts with one or more action
verbs related to cognitive activities.
Action Verbs
Sample PSOs
Program Specific Outcome
PSO1
PSO2
PSO3
PSO4
Course Outcomes: Course Outcomes (COs) are statements on what the students are expected to
attain at the end of the course and are required to be identified by NBA.
The number of COs
needs to be small, say 4 to 8. These statements start with action verbs like understand, compute,
determine, model, analyze, select, formulate, architect, specify, design, build, implement, operate
and test taken from the appropriate cognitive levels. These statements should be written in a
manner that permits the measurement of attainment of these outcomes.
Cognitive Processes
Categories of
Knowledge
N J Rao/February 2016
Course Outcomes
and Competencies
4
Writing Course Outcomes (COs) for a course is central to its design. Generally it takes several
iterations before they are finalized. Sometimes we may apriori determine the POs and PSOs a
Course should address, in which case the COs have to be written to meet the identified POs and
PSOs.
A 2-credit course will have approximately 28 classroom sessions, a 3-credit course about 40
classroom sessions and a 4-credit course about 54 classroom sessions in a semester. The scope of
Course Outcomes should be designed to match with these possible classroom sessions. Therefore,
it is desirable to associate an approximate number of classroom sessions with each Course
Outcome.
Each Course Outcome also addresses a sub-set of POs/PSOs and starts with an action verb
belonging to one of the cognitive levels. Please note that all the cognitive levels lower than the
one chosen for a Course Outcome are automatically considered to have been addressed.
Sample Course Outcomes
Course: Analog Circuits and Systems
Course Outcome
CO1.
Understand the characteristics of linear
one-port and two-port signal processing
Credits: 3:0:1
POs
Class
Sessions
(approx.)
CL
KC
Lab
Sessions
(Hrs)
PO1, PO10,
PSO1
3
U
C
PO2, PO10,
PSO1
9
U
C, P
4
PO1, PSO1
4
U
C, P,
FDC
4
PO3,PO4,
PO5, PSO1
10
Ap
P, C&S,
PC
4
networks
CO2.
Model one-port devices including R, L, C
and diodes, two-port networks, and active
devices including amplifiers, Op Amps,
comparators, multipliers, BJTs and FETs
CO3.
Understand how negative and positive
feedback influence the behavior of analog
circuits
CO4.
Design VCVS, CCVS, VCCS, CCCS, and DC
and SMPS voltage regulators
CO5.
Design analog filters
PO3,PO4,
PO5, PSO1
8
Ap
P, C&S,
PC
8
CO6.
Design waveform generators, phase
PO3, PO4,
PO5, PSO1
6
Ap
P, C&S,
PC
8
followers and frequency followers
Total Hours of instruction
40
28
Total Hours of Instruction: 68
N J Rao/February 2016
5
Course Outcome
POs/
PSOs
CL
KC
Class
Sessions
(Hrs)
Tutorial
(Hrs)
CO1
CO2
CO3
CO4
CO5
CO6
CO7
CO8
Total Hours of instruction
Note: Delete rows not needed
Course Outcomes in Taxonomy Table:
Taxonomy Table is a table of cognitive processes (columns) and categories of knowledge (rows).
It is an 8 x 6 matrix with 48 cells in the case of engineering courses and 4 x 6 matrix in case of
courses belonging to Basic Sciences, Humanities and Social Sciences.
Each cell represents a
specific combination of a cognitive process and a knowledge category.
The learning objectives
(referred here as course outcomes) can be located in these cells.
A good course design also
requires that the instructional activities and assessment associated with a course outcome should
also be planned to be in the same cell as that of the course outcome.
Put ‘crosses’ in cells of the matrix not applicable to your course. If a certain knowledge category is
not addressed by the course all the cells in the entire row can be crossed out and similarly if a
certain cognitive process is not selected all the cells in that column are crossed out. However, if a
certain cell representing a cognitive process and a knowledge category is selected, it is not
necessary to select all the cells associated lower cognitive levels.
Locate course outcomes in the Taxonomy Table. This process of location may lead to refinement
of course outcomes through several iterations. Note that a course outcome can be located in more
than one cell of taxonomy table.
If a course outcome is located at a cognitive level, it is
considered that all the lower level cognitive processes are considered to be automatically
addressed, and hence should not be located in any lower cognitive process. However, it can be
located in cells associated with different categories of knowledge if the course outcome statement
justifies it.
Locate Course Outcomes in the Taxonomy Table. A sample taxonomy table is shown in the
following.
N J Rao/February 2016
6
Lab
Sessions
(Hrs)
Cognitive Levels
Knowledge
Categories
Remember
Understand
Apply
Factual
Conceptual
CO1, CO2,
CO3
Procedural
CO1, CO2,
CO3
Metacognitive
X
Fundamental
Design Concepts
X
CO4, CO5,
CO6
X
CO3
Analyze
Evaluate
Create
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Criteria and
Specifications
CO4, CO5,
CO6
X
X
X
Practical
Constraints
CO4, CO5,
CO6
X
X
X
Design
Instrumentalities
X
X
X
X
X
X
Understand
Apply
Analyze
Evaluate
Create
Cognitive Levels
Knowledge
Categories
Remember
Factual
Conceptual
Procedural
Metacognitive
Fundamental
Design Concepts
Criteria and
Specifications
Practical
Constraints
Design
Instrumentalities
N J Rao/February 2016
7
Additional Course Outcomes
NBA expects all the affiliated colleges to identify curricular gaps, and plan teaching-learning
activities to address these gaps. These gaps are perceived by the Departments as they may find
some important topics in some courses are not adequately addressed by the University syllabus
and/or some POs are not adequately addressed by the syllabus. These gaps are identified by an
academic body of the Department, may be named as BOS of the Department, and decide on the
ways and means of addressing these gaps. These proposed activities may involve

including additional module in some courses identified by the BOS of the Department

having co-curricular activities with well defined rubrics for evaluation of students’
participation

having extra-curricular activities with well defined rubrics for evaluation of students’
participation

arranging short-term courses

arranging for summer internships
Activities proposed to bridge the curricular gaps should be adequately documented for
consideration and evaluation by NBA accreditation team.
If BOS of the Department decides to add modules to a course, the outcomes of these modules
should be treated as Additional Course Outcomes (ACOs). These can be 1 or 2 in number. They
may be written following the same process of writing Course Outcomes. It should noted that the
students are not assessed on these ACOs in any summative assessment including Continuous
Internal Evaluation (CIE) or Semester End Examination (SEE). They are only evaluated through
rubrics associated.
Course Outcome
POs
CL
Class
Sessions
(approxi
mate)
Tutorial
Lab
Sessions
(Hrs)
(Hrs)
ACO1.
ACO2.
Total Hours of instruction
Course Outcomes and Additional Course Outcomes in Taxonomy Table:
Locate Course Outcomes and Additional Course Outcomes (if any) in the truncated (with crossed
rows and columns removed) Taxonomy Table. This process of location may lead to refinement of
COs and ACOs through several iterations. Note that a CO/ can be located in more than one cell of
taxonomy table. If a CO/ACO is located at a cognitive level, it is considered that all the lower level
cognitive processes are considered to be automatically addressed, and hence should not be located
in any lower cognitive process.
However, it can be located in cells associated with different
categories of knowledge if the course outcome statement justifies it.
N J Rao/February 2016
8
Cognitive Levels
Knowledge
Categories
Remember
Understand
Apply
Analyze
Evaluate
Create
Factual
Conceptual
Procedural
Metacognitive
Fundamental
Design Concepts
Criteria and
Specifications
Practical
Constraints
Design
Instrumentalities
Strength to which POs and PSO are addressed by COs
It is necessary to determine the level (mapping strength) at which a particular PO/PSO is
addressed by the course. A simple method is to relate the strength of PO/PSO with the number of
hours devoted to the COs which address the given PO/PSO. The threshold percentages are the
choice of the Institution/Department.
It is preferable for a Department to have the same
threshold percentages for all its courses.

If >40% (out of 28 for a 2 credit courses, 40 for a 3 credit course and 54 for a 4 credit course)
of classroom activity measured in terms of designed classroom sessions addressing a
particular PO/PSO, it is considered that PO/PSO is addressed at Level 3

If 25 to 40% (out of 28 for a 2 credit courses, 40 for a 3 credit course and 54 for a 4 credit
course) of classroom activity measured in terms of designed classroom sessions addressing a
particular PO/PSO that PO/PSO is addressed at Level 2

If 5 to 25% (out of 28 for a 2 credit courses, 40 for a 3 credit course and 54 for a 4 credit
course) of classroom activity measured in terms of designed classroom sessions addressing a
particular PO/PSO that PO/PSO is addressed at Level 1

If < 5% (out of 28 for a 2 credit courses, 40 for a 3 credit course and 54 for 4 credit course) of
classroom activity measured in terms of designed classroom sessions addressing a particular
PO/PSO that PO/PSO is considered not-addressed
_ of _ (_%) classroom sessions are devoted to PO1
Course Level PO1 strength is _
_ of _ (_%) classroom sessions are devoted to PO2
Course Level PO2 strength is _
_ of _ (_%) classroom sessions are devoted to PO3
Course Level PO3 strength is _
N J Rao/February 2016
9
.
_ of _ (_%) classroom sessions are devoted to PSO1
Course Level PSO1 strength is _
.
Add and modify the numbers and POs and PSOs as needed
Course – PO&PSO Mapping
The POs and their levels a course addresses are captured in a C-PO matrix for the course as in
Course: C302 Analog Circuits and Systems
Course
C302
Course
PO1
PO1
PO2
PO3
PO4
PO5
PO6
PO7
PO8
PO9
PO10
PO11
PO12
1
1
3
3
3
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
PSO1
PSO2
PSO3
PSO4
3
0
0
0
PO4
PO5
PO9
PO
10
PO
11
PO2
PO3
PO6
PO7
PO8
PO
12
PSO
1
PSO
2
PSO
3
C-PO Matrix of ACS
Competencies:
The number Course Outcomes may be too small to identify all relevant detailed instruction to be
planned
and
implemented.
The
course
Outcomes
are
expanded/elaborated
into
15+5
competencies. A competency also can be translated into an Instructional Unit of 1 to 5 hours of
classroom activity.
Competency statement should carefully be written as per the format indicated in the resource
document on course outcomes/competencies. Associate with each competency the Course
Outcome (CO) of which it is a part, cognitive level associated (CL), categories of knowledge
involved (KC), and the number classroom sessions associated (Sessions). A competency statement
should be reviewed using the following check list.
1. Does the competency begin with an action verb (e.g., state, define, explain, calculate,
determine, identify, select, plan, design etc.)?
2. Is the competency stated in terms of student performance (rather than teacher performance)?
3. Is the competency stated at the proper level of generality and relatively independent of other
competencies (i.e., is it clear, concise, and readily definable)?
4. Do the competencies represent higher orders of learning (cognitive levels) adequately?
5. Are the competencies attainable (do they take into account students’ background, prerequisite
competences, facilities, time available and so on)?
N J Rao/February 2016
10
PSO
4
ACS Competencies
At the end of the course the student should be able to
Competency
CO
CL
KC
Sessions
(approx)
C1
C2
C3
C4
C5
C6
C7
C8
C9
C10
C11
C12
C13
C14
C15
Add and delete rows as needed
Additional Competencies to address the curricular gaps (if required)
The additional course outcomes are elaborated into a maximum of four competencies
Competency
CO
CL
KC
Sessions
(approx)
AC1
AC2
AC3
AC4
Add and delete rows as needed
N J Rao/February 2016
11