Course changes

Continuous improvement is a huge part of WIL Programs' day-to-day operation, and our courses are no exception. We're always working to ensure our courses remain engaging, relevant, and aligned with employer needs.

We also think it's important to respond to student feedback. When students tell us they're enjoying a certain unit or learning from an assessment, we try to carry their qualities into future development and redevelopment. When we observe common issues or patterns of behaviour in a course, we work with the instructor and course team to address those issues. We want students to know their voices shape our courses and improve future students' experiences.

Click through the expandable boxes below to review recent changes made to our courses. If you want to review changes from previous years, visit the following pages:

2020 changes | 2019 changes | 2018 changes | 2017 changes

PD1

Term implemented	Unit/assessment affected	Summary of changes	Why are we making the changes?
Spring 2021	Unit 2	We added some content to a bullet point about cover letters. The edited bullet point goes into greater detail about why cover letters are an important part of an application package.	We received feedback from employers who wanted us to emphasize the importance of cover letters.
Spring 2021	Assignment 4	We added a sentence to the quiz prompt to clarify aspects of the rank/match process for students.	Many students didn't realize the implications of ranking a job a 1; they believed they'd get to pick between multiple offers or still have options after being matched. Making this change will make the process clearer for students.

PD1 EDGE

Term implemented	Unit/assessment affected	Summary of changes	Why are we making the changes?
Spring 2021	Assignment 6	We added instructions for students about not reading answers or responses from a screen in an interview context. These instructions were included in a tips section and in PD1 content as well.	We wanted to better prepare students for virtual interviews and help them avoid making mistakes. Reading answers from a screen is visibly unnatural and wouldn't be possible in an in-person interview, so we want to discourage this behaviour in a virtual context.
Spring 2021	Assignment 6	We added more information about grading and inserted links to the Assignment 6 rubric in the assignment instructions.	Some students were leaving significant elements out of their interview question responses. We want to make it easier for students to find information on what's required so they can achieve greater success on the assignment.

PD10

Term implemented	Unit/assessment affected	Summary of changes	Why are we making the changes?
Spring 2021	Units 2-10	We made major updates to the In the News articles. Any articles published prior to 2015 have been replaced with articles published in 2019 or newer.	The software industry is ever-changing, so we're replacing older articles with newer ones to keep the content relevant and informative.
Winter 2021	Assignment 5, part 1	We replaced the PlayStation 4 warranty with a Nest Labs warranty.	We wanted to replace the PlayStation 4 warranty with one representing a more recent product to keep our content relevant. We chose a product (the Nest thermostat) that's found in many households. When the PlayStation 5 warranty is made available online in the future, we'd like to add it to the assignment.

PD11

Term implemented	Unit/assessment affected	Summary of changes	Why are we making the changes?
Spring 2021	Peer Review	We improved the Peer Review worksheeet by adding hints to each question.	We noticed that many students were overlooking details outlined in the assignment instructions, which meant their group members were missing out on effective feedback. The new hints in the worksheet help students clearly connect the details outlined in the assignment instructions.
Spring 2021	Peer Review	We created a new work report resource, a checklist to help students with their peer reviews.	We've noticed that some students provide incorrect advice to their group members in their Peer Review assignment. This new resource outlines the required sections and expectations for research and analysis. This informs students of the requirements and aspects of an effective work report.
Winter 2021	Weekly Writing Assignments 1-2, 4, and 5 rubrics	We revised these assignments so they use a five-point marking scale (i.e. 0-4 marks available).	We wanted to align the rubrics with the gradebook weighting of each assignment (4%) and provide more transparency around part marks (e.g. 25% or 75%). These changes were prompted by student feedback received in the end-of-course survey.
Winter 2021	Weekly Writing Assignment 2	We revised the Unit 2 work report summaries. We now provide three samples instead of two.	We updated the samples for academic integrity purposes. Providing a third sample also gives students some choice, as they must select two of the three samples to paraphrase.

PD12

Term implemented	Unit/assessment affected	Summary of changes	Why are we making the changes?
Spring 2021	All units	We reviewed the "Level Up" bonus content in each unit to make sure content was up-to-date and relevant.	Relevant, interesting articles and videos are made available every day, so we updated the bonus content to make sure it reflects the most recent and engaging material possible.
Spring 2021	Major Reflective Report	We updated the Major Reflective Report to align with the University's Future Ready Talent Framework (FRTF) and better prepare students for future reflective writing.	The University has introduced the FRTF to help students prepare for the future of work. The FRTF provides an opportunity to reflect on your current and developing skills. Aligning the reflective report with the framework helps students identify areas for development for the rest of their undergraduate careers.
Spring 2021	Unit 1 Assignment	We created a template for the Unit 1 Assignment, the first DEAL-model reflection in the course.	Students often struggle to organize and structure their DEAL model reflections. The template helps students organize their work and provide more thorough reflections.
Spring 2021	Unit 4 Activity	We updated the Unit 4 scenarios with more information to provide additional clarity. We also added a work-from-home scenario to reflect current realities of the workplace.	We noticed that students often became stuck on the same pieces of information in the Unit 4 Activity. We updated the scenarios to make them clearer and provide consistency between the instructions and the way in which the Activity is graded.
Spring 2021	Unit 5 Activity and Unit 6 Assignment	The Unit 5 and 6 descriptions have been updated with additional information to help students complete their assignments.	We noticed that students asked similar questions and experienced confusion across both activities. We updated the descriptions to address common questions and provide more clarity on how to complete the assignments.
Winter 2021	Unit 8 Assignment	We updated the assignment description by adding the five steps for making amends as outlined in the module.	We previously referenced the bullet points in the assignment description but didn't actually include them. Providing the steps makes the amends process more accessible and clear to students.

PD13

Term implemented	Unit/assessment affected	Summary of changes	Why are we making the changes?
Spring 2021	Assignment 2	We updated the Assignment instructions to help STEM students translate complex ideas. We also added a pure math example to the resource in the assignment instructions.	We noticed that STEM students sometimes struggled to distill complex ideas for a general audience. We updated the instructions to assist students who might be feeling stuck on this task.
Spring 2021	Assignments 2-4	We updated each Assignment's descriptions and rubrics.	We updated the Assignments to make their requirements clearer and better align them with our marking expectations.
Spring 2021	Unit 9	We added a COVID-19-related reflection to the course content.	It's important to keep our course content relevant. Adding a reflection on a topic that's affected everyone's lives in some way will help students connect course content to its application beyond the virtual classroom.

We hope you'll give us feedback on your experience in our courses through their end-of-course surveys or other communication. If you want to learn more about our approach to course development, send us an email.