Developing a course from scratch can
be a very daunting task without the proper plan and guidance. Often the
excitement of developing each aspect of the course is overshadowed by the
amount of work it will entail. But fear not, I've compiled a very comprehensive
list of some areas to consider, some decisions you probably should make and a
few specific tasks that might impact your approach for the better. This list is in no particular order.
Consider the baseline level of knowledge a person should have when
taking your course. Sometimes instructors are so caught up with the subject
matter and the excitement of creating a new course that they fail to
acknowledge that not everyone will be their target audience. Some are beginners
in the subject matter, some intermediate and some advanced. It is nearly
impossible to design a course that encompasses level appropriate rigor that is
all inclusive. Know your intended audience.
Consider your teaching style and how that might impact your
delivery. Often, we are so focused on the students and how they will
receive our course, that we pay little attention to our own teaching style and
how that might impact the delivery of the course material. Our teaching style
can range anywhere from being a full lecturer, to hands-on, visual, employing
many active learning activities, to a full-on flipped classroom. It is so
important to remember that if we are delivering a course in our most
comfortable teaching style, this will benefit the ease in which the
information is conveyed and our level of clarity.
How diverse are the learning styles of your students? Student
learning styles can vary so much that it pays to consider a multi-layered
approach to delivery, such as audio recordings, videos, books, articles, etc.
There should always be available, more than one way to retrieve and consume
data for your courses. In this contemporary digital world, creating several
options has never been easier to do.
What specifically do you intend for students to learn? When
creating a new course, it goes without saying that comprehensive learning objectives
must be one of your primary tasks. Knowing exactly what you would like students
to learn not only creates clarity, but it also helps to keep you on task when
preparing lectures, implementing classroom activities, developing assessments
and even through the process of selecting your course material.
Decide whether the course will be online, F2F or hybrid. The
manner of course delivery greatly impacts all other aspects of the course. For
example, if it’s a f2f course you may spend more time on developing active
learning activities as opposed to creating videos for Canvas. Both can work in
either platform, but the goal is to place valuable resources in the areas where
they might be most impactful. The platform can also influence whether or not
students can or cannot take the course, some courses historically do better
when delivered in a specific platform, it’s important to know what is already
working in your department.
Create an outline specific to the course schedule. Developing
a course for an 8-week time slot as opposed to a 16-week time slot, is much
more than a matter of getting rid of half the material, or even worst, trying
to squeeze 16 weeks of instruction into 8 weeks. Striking a balance between
what is necessary and what will keep your course in alignment with the learning
objectives is a much easier task when considered before the course is
created.
Research other courses similar to yours. Whenever
you're in doubt, it never hurts to carve out a few hours for researching
various colleges and whether or not your new course is already being offered in
some form or fashion. While we like to think that our new course is a novel
idea only thought of by us, this is usually not the case. You may find some
cool ideas and also avoid some pitfalls you might have not otherwise seen.
Do a beta test, (or get feedback from other instructors). It may
not always be possible to beta test a course, but another good practice is to
share the course design with a colleague. Remember to remain open to
suggestions. Keep in mind that suggestions are just that, suggestions. If you
can use their feedback do so, if it’s not in alignment with the
core values of the course, feel free to leave it behind. Treat the first
semester you teach the course as a trial run, take lots of notes, give the
students surveys for honest feedback and stay open to consistently adjusting
your new course for the better.
While this list seems full, items like deciding how students will be assessed, leaving room for change over time or making considerations for equity and inclusion, are also very integral aspects of developing any course from scratch. If there are practices you already have in place in other courses you teach that are working, don't reinvent the wheel just for the sake of it. Building a course on a great foundation should always be the primary goal. Once a solid foundation is established, updating information over time should be a breeze.
Please feel free to share any useful practices you implement when creating a course from scratch in the comment section below.
