How do I plan and design a course?

Traditionally, educators tend to start by determining course content with a focus on teaching as a performance. But this has not served higher education well. Centering course planning around clear learning goals provides a better sense of how students should demonstrate their learning. A “backward” approach to course design is a useful method to employ. It takes a logical, common-sense approach to creating meaningful learning experiences (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005). In this approach, the focus is on developing an enduring understanding in our students. There is so much content that could be taught, but what is it that is really worth understanding and what implications can this understanding have for students? Put another way, it is not only important for educators to cover content, but to ask what is worth knowing. The key stages of course design are as follows:

Stage 1. Establish Learning Outcomes

What should your students know, understand, and be able to do once they complete the course? This knowledge is useful in establishing your learning outcomes. It helps to narrow and prioritise topics, concepts, or skills that students should know or be able to do by the end of your course.

[How to write good learning outcomes?]

Stage 2. Determine Acceptable Evidence

How do you know if the desired learning has been achieved? What evidence (e.g., assignments, assessments) helps students demonstrate their learning and measure progress? In this stage, you should also begin thinking through how you will scaffold your assessments so that students can achieve the intended learning outcomes.

[How to design effective assessments?]

Stage 3. Design Experiences that Support Student Learning

With clearly defined objectives and means to assess learning, design activities that lead to outcomes and support students in preparing for assessments. What activities, assessments, or discussions will help prepare students to demonstrate their learning? Explore the use of active learning strategies that meaningfully engage students in their learning, build on prior knowledge, and foster collaboration.

Stage 4. Sequence and outline student workflow

For each outcome, plan a series of activities to enable students to achieve the outcome. It is good to have both online and offline activities and ensure that knowledge and skills are coherently and incrementally developed.

In summary, this approach to course design process focuses on the end goals that require deliberate orchestration of learning experiences that enables enduring conceptual understanding in students.