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Course Planning and
Design
A Shift in
Teaching Focus
The most successful distance
learning
courses are those that shift away from straight lecturing towards a
learner-centered approach - away from 'the sage on the stage' to 'the
guide on the side.' Learning performance objectives are identified and
instruction is built around them for support.
Beginning the Course Planning
Process
When the course planning
process
begins, one of the first questions to arise is, "What is it that
students should take away from this experience?" In other words, "What
are the desired learning outcomes or goals?" In determining these
outcomes, one usually considers the following questions:
- What should the student
KNOW
upon completion of the course?
- What should the student
BE ABLE
TO DO upon completion of the course?
- What should the student
HAVE
EXPERIENCED upon completion of the course?
The answers to these simple
questions
can form the basis of the entire course planning process. They become
the goals that guide course design and development. (PSU, 2004)
The Need for Course Planning and Design
You will need to ensure you
have
adequate time to plan and design your course and prepare you course
materials before the course begins. This is particularly important in
online learning, where the entire course and all its materials need to
be planned and ready for electronic delivery well in advance.
Things to Consider during Course
Development
- Communicate goals and/or
learning objectives to students clearly and frequently. Research
shows clearly defined goals and objectives increase student
satisfaction and success in distance learning courses. Short-term
goals should be defined and communicated for smaller segments of your
course so that students can see for themselves that they are making
satisfactory progress.
- Clearly communicate the
rules
and procedures your students are to adhere to in the beginning of your
course. How and when can students contact you? How are
assignments or homework to be submitted? What is the policy for
missing deadlines?
- Consider including an
introductory lesson, assignment, or module in the beginning of your
course that will allow you to introduce yourself to your students and
ensure your students can utilize your course technology
successfully. Example:
- If your course is
delivered
through Blackboard, students could use email, the discussion board, or
digitally submit an assignment in which they include a short biography,
what they hope to learn in the course, and a comment on your syllabus
and something else you have posted on your Blackboard course in order
to demonstrate they were able to successfully access and navigate the
Blackboard course.
- Try to find ways to
include
active learning and critical thinking activities into your course.
- Look for ways to
modularize
your course and break it up into logical, meaningful segments.
Courses can be divided into segments based on weeks or other units of
time, goals or learning outcomes, similar subject material, or modules
leading up to two or three exams. Smaller units allow for closer
alignment with goals and learning objectives and enable students to
better gauge their own progress.
Penn State University World
Campus. (2004). Fac Dev 101. Retrieved April 1, 2008 from
https://courses.worldcampus.psu.edu/facdev101/student/index.shtml
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