Whether you are teaching face-to-face or online, Effective Course Design, will guide you through the process of designing your course with all the critical elements necessary for your students succeed. With a solid foundation in learning theory and instructional design, regardless if this is your very first course or your fiftieth, you learn theories and concepts you can apply directly to your course to improve its design and functionality.
Outcome: At the conclusion of the course, you will have a fully developed design document for your course which outlines the overall purpose and learning objectives of the course, the structure and key assignments, and module level objectives, assignments, and content.
Criteria: The design document will be assessed using a rubric that contains criteria that fall into three main categories:
- Alignment – The design document shows strong alignment between the stated learning objectives, proposed assignments, and identified content.
- Engagement – The design document includes activities and assignments which actively engages the student with the content, their classmates, and you, the instructor.
- Rigor – The design document demonstrates that the proposed activities and assignments provide the students an adequate introduction to the content, appropriate depth and practice in working with the content, and effective assessment(s) of their knowledge and skills in order to determine mastery of the stated learning objectives.
Learning Objectives: The following learning objectives provide the framework for the course. At the end of the course, you should be able to:
- Describe the five core elements, identified in the CLEAR model, which comprise a quality course
- Create measurable learning objectives which accurately defines the skills, knowledge, and/or behavior expected of the student after they complete your course.
- Explain the concept of alignment with a course in terms of objectives, assignments, and content at the course and module level.
- Explain the reasons why engagement is critical for any course.
- Identify ways to engage students in various contexts and disciplines.
- Explain the concept of academic rigor from an accreditation and pedagogical viewpoint.
- Estimate the amount of student effort required to complete a course using an established rigor calculator.
- Create a course structure that includes an appropriate level of engagement and rigor.
Agenda:
- Overview of Course
- The CLEAR Method
- The Environment
- Core of Course Design – Learning Objectives
- Alignment
- Creating a Course Structure
- Incorporating Engagement and Rigor
- Creating the Design Document
- Estimating Student Effort
You already have a design for your course hammered out, including an outline and objectives. Now it’s time to started development of your course. Whether you are teaching face-to-face or online, Developing Courses for Learning, will guide you through the course development process with all the critical elements necessary for your students to succeed. Learn the best practices in developing online content for your course so you can have a positive impact on student learning.
Outcome: At the conclusion of the course, you will have 3 fully developed modules in your course.
Criteria: The course modules will be assessed using a rubric that contains criteria that fall into three main categories:
- Context – Courses provide students a context for which to understand the content and assignments so students are able to master the learning objectives.
- Engagement – Course includes activities and assignments which actively engages the student with the content, their classmates, and you, the instructor.
- Layout – The course layout is learner-centered and intuitive by being organized, consistent, and having well-designed navigation.
Learning Objectives: The following learning objectives provide the framework for the course. At the end of the course, you should be able to:
- Describe the five core elements, identified in the CLEAR model, which comprise a quality course
- Develop modules, pages, and assignments to contain adequate context so students are able to successfully achieve module-level objectives.
- Develop online content with appropriate support and instruction to promote learning.
- Develop pages and assignments with important visual design elements to promote learning.
- Explain the legal and pedagogical reasons why engagement is critical for any course.
- Develop assignments and activities that engage students in various contexts and disciplines.
- Explain the concept of academic rigor from a legal and pedagogical viewpoint.
- Estimate the amount of student effort required to complete a module using an established rigor calculator.
- Create three modules that include appropriate levels of context, engagement and rigor with an effective layout.
Agenda:
- Overview of Course
- Review of the CLEAR Method
- Learning Objectives Revisited
- Templates
- Lay out First Module
- Pages
- Assignments and Grading Criteria
- Discussions
- Quizzes
- Next Steps
Aside from having a well-designed course, as an instructor you need the knowledge and confidence to effectively engage your students in the learning process. Through the activities in this class, you will learn what is expected of instructors in terms of presence, engagement and management, learn to leverage the tools available in Canvas to provide an engaging learning environment for your students, and develop your own personal facilitation plan for your course.
Outcome: At the conclusion of the course, you will have a facilitation plan, including specific methods for developing a presence, engaging students, and managing your course.
Criteria: The facilitation plan will be assessed using a rubric that contains criteria that fall into three main categories:
- Presence – The plan includes active instructor participation methods such as responsiveness, feedback, or strategic communication.
- Engagement – The plan includes instructor interaction and collaboration methods such as sharing experiences, insight, and expertise.
- Management – The plan includes course management methods such as managing class flow, student progress, grades, and office hours.
Learning Objectives: The following learning objectives provide the framework for the course. At the end of the course, you should be able to:
- Describe presence, engagement, and management and their importance to student learning.
- Explain different methods for promoting presence and choose methods appropriate for your course.
- Explain different methods for promoting engagement and choose methods appropriate for your course.
- Explain different course management methods and choose methods appropriate for your course.
- Implement selected tools in Canvas to promote engagement, presence, and course management.
- Develop a facilitation plan outlining tools and methods you will use in your course to promote engagement, presence, and course management.
Agenda:
- Overview of Course
- The Importance of Presence
- Tools and Methods to Increase Presence
- The Importance of Engagement
- Tools and Methods to Increase Engagement
- The Importance of Course Management
- Tools and Methods for Effective Course Management
- Next Steps
