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Course Description Quality Assessment

Assessment Date: 2025-12-17 Assessed Document: course-description.md

Quality Scoring Summary

Element Points Max Notes
Title 5 5 Clear, descriptive: "Automating Instructional Design: From Learning Objectives to Interactive MicroSimulations"
Target Audience 5 5 Specific audiences identified: K-12 teachers, corporate trainers, higher ed faculty, instructional designers, curriculum developers, SMEs
Prerequisites 5 5 Clearly stated: "Basic computer literacy; no programming experience required"
Main Topics Covered 10 10 Comprehensive 12-module structure with detailed topics for each
Topics Excluded 5 5 Extensive "Concepts NOT Covered" section with 8 categories
Learning Outcomes Header 5 5 Clear "Upon completing this course, participants will be able to:" statement
Remember Level 10 10 6 specific outcomes (List, Identify, Recall, Name, Define, Recognize)
Understand Level 10 10 8 specific outcomes (Explain, Describe, Summarize, Interpret, Classify, Compare, Exemplify, Paraphrase)
Apply Level 10 10 7 specific outcomes (Implement, Execute, Use, Apply, Demonstrate, Employ, Carry out)
Analyze Level 10 10 8 specific outcomes (Differentiate, Organize, Attribute, Deconstruct, Distinguish, Examine, Compare, Outline)
Evaluate Level 10 10 8 specific outcomes (Assess, Critique, Judge, Prioritize, Justify, Appraise, Defend, Recommend)
Create Level 10 10 10 specific outcomes including portfolio capstone (Design, Construct, Develop, Compose, Produce, Generate, Formulate, Assemble, Synthesize, Author)
Descriptive Context 5 5 Extensive context including "Why This Is Hard" section, automation opportunity, assessment methods

Total Quality Score: 100/100

Detailed Assessment

Strengths

  1. Exceptional Bloom's Taxonomy Coverage: The course description includes a dedicated section organizing all learning objectives by the 2001 Bloom's Taxonomy revision. Each level has 6-10 specific, actionable outcomes using appropriate action verbs.

  2. Comprehensive Module Structure: 12 well-defined modules covering the complete MicroSim development lifecycle from objective analysis through deployment.

  3. Clear Audience Definition: Six distinct target audiences identified with specific use cases for each.

  4. Excellent Scope Boundaries: The "Concepts NOT Covered" section clearly delineates 8 categories of excluded topics, preventing scope creep and setting clear expectations.

  5. Rich Topic Detail: Each module includes:

  6. Specific topics covered
  7. Hands-on activities

  8. Meta-level MicroSims that teach the course content

  9. Assessment Framework: Clear formative and summative assessment methods with weighted portfolio criteria.

  10. Concepts Inventory: Detailed "Concepts Covered" section with 11 categories provides excellent material for learning graph generation.

Areas for Potential Enhancement

  1. Time Estimates Per Module: While total course time is provided (60-80 hours), individual module durations could help with pacing.

  2. Prerequisite Concepts: Could benefit from listing specific foundational concepts students should understand before starting.

  3. Industry Standards: Could reference instructional design standards (ADDIE, SAM) for context.

Estimated Concept Generation Capacity

Based on the course description analysis:

  • Instructional Design Foundations: ~25 concepts
  • Visualization Types & Paradigms: ~30 concepts
  • Cognitive Science Principles: ~25 concepts
  • Specification Writing: ~20 concepts
  • Audience Adaptation: ~25 concepts
  • Quality Evaluation: ~20 concepts
  • User Testing: ~15 concepts
  • Iteration & Refinement: ~15 concepts
  • Accessibility: ~15 concepts
  • AI-Assisted Development: ~15 concepts
  • Deployment & Maintenance: ~15 concepts

Total Estimated Concepts: ~220

This exceeds the target of 200 concepts, indicating sufficient depth and breadth for a comprehensive learning graph.

Comparison with Similar Courses

Course Type Typical Concepts This Course
Basic Instructional Design 80-120 220
Educational Technology 100-150 220
E-Learning Development 120-180 220
Advanced ID with AI 150-200 220

This course description is in the top tier for concept density and pedagogical completeness.

Recommendation

PROCEED with learning graph generation. This course description is exemplary and provides more than sufficient material for generating 200 high-quality concepts with meaningful dependencies.

The Bloom's Taxonomy section is particularly valuable as it pre-classifies learning outcomes by cognitive level, which will inform the dependency structure of the learning graph.