What are the three components of backward design for a PT course module?

• A. Identify desired outcomes; determine acceptable evidence; plan learning experiences and instruction aligned to outcomes.
• B. Randomly select topics.
• C. Focus only on assessments.
• D. Use teacher-centered lectures.

Answer: (A)

Backward design begins by identifying the outcomes you want students to achieve, then deciding what evidence will show they’ve achieved those outcomes, and finally planning learning experiences and instruction that align with those outcomes. In a PT course module, you’d start with clear clinical competencies or skills you want the learner to demonstrate (for example, a safe and effective gait assessment, patient communication, or a specific manual therapy technique). Next, you determine acceptable evidence—rubrics, OSCEs, performance tasks, or case presentations—that genuinely prove those competencies have been met. Finally, you design the learning activities, labs, simulations, and readings that directly develop those skills and prepare students to meet the assessment criteria.

That’s why this option is best: it explicitly lists the three components in the correct order and uses the language of outcome-driven design. The other approaches—randomly selecting topics, focusing only on assessments, or relying on teacher-centered lectures—miss essential parts of the process and don’t ensure that learning experiences and assessments are aligned with what students are expected to be able to do.