Perhaps one of the most important aspects of course design is identifying the desired results (better known as learning outcomes or objectives). In the backward's design model (Wiggins & Mctighe) this is the starting poiint (and not learning activities). A well-written learning outcome will help you a) determine appropriate assessment tasks and b) plan appropriate learning experiences.
This document is designed to help you think about higher and lower level thinking tasks. We all want students to think critically, but often our assessments focus on the lower levels of remembering and understanding. What is important to remember is the higher levels are dependent on the lower levels being in place. For example, if I present my students with a laboratory scenario that requires them to select the appropriate type of microscope (i.e., apply and evaluate levels), they must know (i.e., remember and understand) the various types of microscopes and their particular features/benefits. So, quiz students on lower level knowledge and understanding and provide meaningful and challenging tasks for assessing higher levels of thinking.
