Quality Course Design

Have you completed each of the following components?  If not, enter Phase 1 - Design.  If so, continue to Phase 2.

• Clearly defined and documented course objectives that are action-oriented and measurable
• A completed alignment grid outlining teaching/learning activities and assessments
• Documented individual lesson objectives
• Course structure with manageable and sequenced components
• A draft of the course syllabus

The DESIGN phase of developing a course involves:

• Identifying situational factors
• Documenting course objectives;
• Brainstorming ideas for teaching/learning activities and assessments that align with those objectives; and
• Developing and articulating a course sequence and structure.

DESIGN Phase Objectives:

In the DESIGN phase you will:

• Understand the need tof an integrated approach to course design.
• Identify some important situational factors that might influence the course you intend to design
• Articulate learning outcomes in the form of measurable course objective statements
• Design a course organization and structure based on the course objectives that facilitate student learning

Rationale:

The process for this first course development phase is called backwards design. This means instructors first think about what their students should know or be able to do at the end of the course and then work "backwards" to design the activities and assessments that will help their students successfully achieve the end-of-course objectives. This process assures that the objectives, the assessments, and the teaching/learning activities are aligned. Instructors will want to assure that they are really assessing what they say the students should be able to know or do and that their teaching/learning activities will support their assessments. This process also helps instructors focus their course objectives on what is really important and how to address different levels of learning. Making the course objectives visible to students helps them see the relevance of their course activities and assignments.