Phase 1 - Design

Phase 1 - DESIGN

Pre-Phase Checklist:

Be able to articulate basic information about the course to begin the design process.

The design phase of developing a course involves:

• 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:

• Articulate learning outcomes in the form of measurable course objective statements (Quality Course Element #1); and
• Design a course organization and structure based on the course objectives that facilitate student learning (Quality Course Element #2).

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.

Process:

Step 1 - Write Course Objectives:

First, conduct a Situational Factors Reflection Download Situational Factors Reflection

Writing Course Objectives

• From the overarching goal(s) instructors break out the course goals
• Normally, 3-8 objectives is a good number of objectives for a course
• Write objectives, using action verbs and considering the level of learning associated with each objective

CTLE Links to an external site. consultants can provide assistance and feedback for writing objectives.

Objectives should:

• Be stated clearly in the syllabus and made visible to students;
• Be present at both the course level and at the modules or unit level (those lower-level objectives will be discussed below);
• Align to the teaching/learning activities and assessments;
• Drive how the course is designed and taught;
• Be measurable indicators of student learning across the course and learning activities; and
• Address multiple levels of learning (in reference to Bloom's and/or Fink's taxonomies).

Step 2 - Brainstorming ideas for teaching/learning activities and assessments that align to objectives via an alignment grid. Download alignment grid.

• Fill the identified course objectives in the first column
• List the aligned assessment for each objective in the second column
• List the activities in third column and technologies resources needed in the fourth column

Here are some examples of finished alignment grid. (Note: these examples are from a previous version of four-coulmn alignment grid Download alignment grid

Step 3 - Define course structure and sequence

A. Design the overall structure (how the course is organized)

• Course materials need to be grouped/chunked so that related concepts and learning activities are presented together with clear connections
• Define the overall course organizational structure and navigation
• Decide how grouped materials will be presented (modules, units, weekly, by topic, by assignments or by activities, etc.)

B. Present the sequence to students (how the materials are ordered)

• Questions to consider include: What will be the order of activities? What comes first, last, when will students learning be assessed?
• Looking at the objective alignment grid, see how the activities and objectives might best work in sequence.
• Provide the students with a clear direction throughout the course by developing a simple and clean navigation, part of which includes organizing and sequencing course materials into modules/units/topics. The course structure will be filled with actual curriculum in the Build phase.

Step 4. Create measurable learning outcomes or knowledge/skills that are to be acquired/developed by students after each lesson

• Create 1-3 objectives per lesson by breaking down the course objectives. (Here are some methods for breaking down the objectives.) 
  
• Sequence lesson objectives so they build upon each other, from easy to difficult, simple to complex

Step 5. Draft your syllabus

• You can begin to assemble your course syllabus. 

CTLE provides resources for syllabus construction. The syllabus should include (especially for a fully online class) clear information about technology requirements, preferred communication methods, participation and interaction guidelines and links to resources for technical support.

Assessment Resources

After the course is designed, the course could undergo a preliminary checklist review by CTLE Links to an external site./TLT Links to an external site./Distance Ed Links to an external site. to determine if all the course pieces and elements are in place and functioning. CTLE Links to an external site. can review the course design for alignment of teaching/learning activities and assessments with the objectives.

By the end of this phase you should have: