Co-Taught/Cross-listed Courses
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Jointly Taught/Parent Child Courses
Staff frequently request the merging of modules on the Canvas when the content delivered is identical. In such cases, we create a “jointly-taught” or “parent-child” module. The existing modules become sub-modules of a newly created main module. This approach ensures that content only needs to be added to the main module, while students continue to access the content through the sub-module they are enrolled in.
In Canvas this is known as Cross-listing your course.
Example Scenario
If a lecturer wants to combine two modules, such as ABC2000 Introduction to Newcastle and ABC2004 Introduction to Newcastle (Erasmus Study Abroad), because they have the same content and sessions, a new main module named ABC2000-ABC2004 Introduction to Newcastle is created.
The content from K1920-ABC2000 is used for this new main module. Staff will see this new main module in their course list and will add or edit content there.
From a student’s perspective, they will only see the new module and not the original, non-merged modules. This allows staff to manage content in one place, while students experience no change in their module enrollment nor experience.
Benefits of Cross-listed Courses
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Centralised Management of Learning Content for Multiple Modules: When modules share the same learning content, instructors can manage course content, assignments, and grades in one central location. Without using cross-listed courses, content would need to be duplicated across multiple modules.
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Consistent Learning Experience: Cross-listing ensures all students receive the same content and instructions, promoting a uniform learning experience across different cross-listed modules.
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Efficient Communication: Instructors can send announcements and messages to all students in the cross-listed course at once, rather than repeating the process for each module.
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Streamlined Marking: The gradebook can be filtered by section, making it easier for instructors to manage and review student performance for each co-taught module. For the above example, student can be filtered by module ABC2000 and ABC2004. Allowing each cohort to be marked individually.
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Flexible Assignments: Instructors can set different tasks or due dates for each cross-listed module, allowing for tailored instruction while still benefiting from centralised management.
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Enhanced Collaboration: Cross-listing facilitates the creation of groups or peer reviews by section, enabling collaborative learning activities within the same course environment.
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Section-Specific Content: Instructors can tailor content, assignments, and discussions to specific sections within the cross-listed course, providing a more customised learning experience.
Considerations when using Cross-listed Courses
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Content Visibility: All content added to the main module will be seen by students on all joint modules (e.g., announcements, documents, assignments) unless you create student groups and use adaptive release then all students across all co-taught modules will see this content.
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Content Amendments: Once the main module is created, no amendments can be made to the content in the joint modules as these module will no longer be active.
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Syllabus Page: The Canvas Syllabus page will no longer be populated from the MOF database. Any content normally provided on this page will need to be provided elsewhere in the course to meet the Canvas Baseline.
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Student Interaction: Any student interaction with the sub-modules before the modules are joined (e.g., contributions to a discussion forum) will no longer be available as the course will have moved to the new cross-listed course.
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Assessment Submissions: If any assessment submissions have already taken place before the modules are joined, these will no longer be available. Also, if you have created any Turnitin assignments, these will no longer work, even if there have been no submissions, so these will need to be set up again in the new main module.
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ReCap Recordings: The ReCap recordings folder will be configured to show all jointly taught sessions. If you require students to have access to any other recordings, please contact it.servicedesk@newcastle.ac.uk.
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Module Leader Agreement: All module leaders must agree to the combining of the modules as the change will impact everyone teaching on the module.
How to Request a Cross-listed Course
Requests for jointly-taught/parent-child modules should be submitted using the appropriate form via our IT Request System.
Queries about cross listed/jointly-taught modules should be sent to the IT Service Desk.