Course Design

As discussed earlier, students don’t remember or transfer much of what they’ve learned after their courses are over. Father Guido Sarducci joked about this in his Five Minute University comedy routine.

One way to ameliorate this is to focus your course design on the main “big ideas” or “big questions” that you want them to remember and understand after your course is over. Start with the end goals you have for student learning and work backward from there to the assessments of their learning and understanding and finally to the activities and materials that you’ll incorporate into your course. This is known as backward design.

Initial Design Phase: Building Strong Primary Components

When embarking on course design, the first step involves understanding various situational factors. Consider the specific context of your course, such as the class size, course level (whether lower division, upper division, or graduate), delivery method (in-person, online, or hybrid), and the physical learning environment. Recognize the expectations placed on your course by students, your department, and the broader profession.

Defining clear and meaningful learning goals is crucial. Move beyond a content-centered approach and adopt a learning-centered mindset. Reflect on what you want students to retain years after completing your course. Dee Fink’s Taxonomy of Significant Learning can guide this process, emphasizing foundational knowledge, application, integration, human dimension, caring, and learning how to learn.

Design your assessments to provide educative feedback, which enhances the quality of learning rather than simply assigning grades. Implement forward-looking assessments that place students in real-life contexts, ensuring that the criteria and standards for high-quality work are clear. Incorporate opportunities for self-assessment and provide feedback that is frequent, immediate, discriminating, and empathetic (FIDeLity feedback).

Incorporating active learning is essential for student engagement. Move beyond traditional lectures and discussions to involve students in activities that require them to do and think about their actions, such as debates, simulations, problem-solving, and case studies. Adopt a holistic view of active learning that combines information and ideas with experiential learning and reflective dialogue.

Intermediate Design Phase: Assembling Components into a Coherent Whole

Creating a cohesive course structure is vital. Develop a thematic structure that aligns all course components, ensuring that learning goals, assessments, and teaching activities support each other. Your instructional strategy should build a sequence of learning activities that reinforce these goals, using a mix of direct and indirect learning activities to maintain engagement and deepen understanding.

Final Design Phase: Completing Important Remaining Tasks

Establish a clear and fair grading system that accurately reflects your learning goals and assessment criteria. Anticipate potential issues and plan strategies to address them, ensuring smooth course delivery. Communicate your course plan, expectations, and goals clearly to students through a well-constructed syllabus, which should serve as a comprehensive guide outlining the course structure, schedule, policies, and available resources.

Plan for ongoing evaluation of your course and teaching methods. Seek feedback from students and colleagues to identify areas for improvement, continuously refining your approach to enhance learning outcomes.

By following these strategies, college instructors can design and deliver courses that engage students and foster significant learning experiences that extend well beyond the classroom.

More resources on course design

• Teaching and Learning Frameworks
• A Self-Directed Guide to Designing Courses for Significant Learning
• Backward Design: Understanding by Design
• Design and Teach your Course
• High Structure Course Design
• Course Design for HE Instructors