Designing Courses with Learners in Mind

For both new and veteran faculty, inheriting a syllabus and expected to design a course can be a difficult, time consuming journey. Following someone else's road map can be uncomfortable and sometimes feel like you are in uncharted waters. Learning Technologies introduced a Course Map last year during our Design and Delivery workshops to help faculty design their course through a critical thinking process, first, prior to diving into Canvas and copying/pasting resources over with now idea of organization or proper alignment.

One of the first items asked on the Course Map template is to identify what your course learning objectives are and to document those. Then, to document what your module-level outcomes are and ensure proper alignment. Some departments mandate the course-level objectives however, most departments allow faculty to manage their own module-level outcomes.

Link to Course Map

Course mapping, as a step in the curriculum mapping process (Jacobs, 2004), offers faculty new pathways to meet shared outcomes. The five principles of curriculum design (Fink, 2003) inform the development of learning experiences that are structured in such a way that they scaffold student thinking and progressively move them toward the desired course outcomes. A course should: (1) challenge students to higher level learning; (2) use active forms of learning; (3) give frequent and immediate feedback to students on the quality of their learning; (4) use a structured sequence of different learning activities; and (5) have a fair system for assessing and grading students. In addition, employing the principles of backward design, we can (1) provide more relevant and meaningful learning experiences; (2) ensure that the required course outcomes are met; and (3) prepare students to perform successfully on their final assessment. One starts with the end—the desired results (goals or standards)—and then “derives the curriculum from the evidence of learning (performances) called for by the standard and the teaching needed to equip students to perform” (Wiggins & McTighe, 2000).

We have provided a template for faculty to use to begin the design process of any course, new or existing. While some faculty have told us that the amount of time to complete it is redundant, we firmly believe that by completing this first, the development process is much more smooth and easier to process. We strongly encourage and recommend you to use the Course Map template the next time you begin to think about designing a course. As always, contact an instructional designer for help in integrating this into your instructional design efforts!

~Anna

Anna is the Educational Technology Coordinator for Emporia State University. She can be reached at acatters@emporia.edu or by phone 620.341.5107.


References:
Fink, L.D. (2003). Creating significant learning experiences. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Jacobs, H.H. (2004). Getting results with curriculum mapping. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Kenny, N., & Watson, G. (2014). Course alignment table. Open Learning and Educational Support, University of Guelph. Retrieved from http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/

Meyers, N. M., & Nulty, D. D. (2009). How to use (five) curriculum design principles to align authentic learning environments, assessment, students’ approaches to thinking and learning outcomes. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 34(5), 565-577.

Wiggins, G., & McTighe, J. (1998). Understanding by design. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

New to Learning Technologies

Makers Lab - 3D Printer

Good Morning, my name is Selayoa Lovett and I started my first day in Learning Technologies on August 27^th, 2018 as an Instructional Designer. My first month in Learning Technologies has been everything but slow and boring.  Within the first week, I assisted with training material for Jumpstart Design and Delivery, met with numerous faculty, and started my training on making documents accessible per Section 508 refresh.  By the next week, I had embarked on my journey in becoming Quality Matters Certified; within two weeks, I had completed the Applying the QM Rubric class and was enrolled in the next part starting October 9^th, Becoming a Peer Reviewer. On top of completing the first part of Quality Matters, I also met with 6 new faculty, assisted with 3 class tours, started my Makerbot Certification, made my first 3D printed Corky, assisted a faculty with Kahoots (free online game quiz), discussed possibilities with a graduate student on a research project, attended a few embedded session with co-worker Anna Catterson, recorded Dr. Joyce Thierer performing at Constitution Day with 3D cameras, took on my first huge project with one of our new faculty, Melissa Gerleman, to make her classes interactive and engaging, helped another faculty with a video for a nonprofit organization they volunteer with, held a breakout box activities for the McNair Grant, attended my first conference, met with numerous other faculty on topics like Canvas, Panapto, Kaltura, and Zoom, and advised our Information Technology administrative team with their budgeting tool (which is the fields I came from before I moved to Learning Technologies) just to name a few things I did this month.  So on a whole, I think this first month could not have gone any better. But I would say, it is a good thing I love being busy! I look forward to the next month and what it has in store!

We do what...again?

What is an Instructional Designer? 

Over the past three years of working at Emporia State University, and really my entire career, I have been asked..."You do what, again?". The job title "Instructional Designer" leaves some to question what it is we exactly do. In general, an instructional designer is someone who has been trained, often certified, to design curriculum based training. This includes corporate training, educational training and non-profit training - ALL training. There are instructional methodologies that we use to help us identify how to design a course to fit the learners needs. We consider everything including retention, alignment of assessments to outcomes, course sequencing, accessibility, universal design and much, much more. We specialize in working with Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) to develop a course framework. A few of us on the Learning Technology team are Quality Matters certified. Quality Matters is a company that created a standard rubric for course; you can think of it as a quality assurance rubric, an evaluation of your course to ensure it was designed to meet specific design standards.

Is that all you do?

Short answer? Nope. We have a wide range of other skills as well! We offer a wide range of initiatives ranging from Virtual Reality to Digital Badging. We specialize in finding new and emerging technologies that will improve or enhance the learning experience for your students. Do you have a concept in your course that students struggle with learning? We can help. We spend a good majority of our time researching new and emerging technologies and researching their effectiveness with all disciplines on campus. We can create unique solutions to help you with your instructional concerns to elevate retention.

We are also very active with grant writing and contract work. We have been selected by other universities and colleges for our design services. We recently ended a 50k contract with the community college system in the state of Maine and most recently, were selected as the winning bid from Grantham University. The funds received from these contracts and others allows us to provide additional technologies to you for your instructional needs.

So now what? 

Reach out to us. We're here to help on all levels of instruction. The Instructional Designers are out and about at every department once a week. You can reach us during Embedded Instructional Designers hours (where we come to your department) or, contact us on our website: http://www.emporia.edu/learningtechnologies. We also would love to host your class and give them a tour of the Virtual Reality studio, MakerLab and our One Button Studio. All of these are resources for you and your students to use. Let us know how we can help you!

~Anna

acatters@emporia.edu
620.341.5107

Hosted Webinar: April 19th at 2:00

Webinar: New Directions in Instructional Design: Keeping Pace in a Time of Rapid Change

Join us for a free 2-day webinar event sponsored by the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative on April 19^th and 20^th in Visser Hall room 110. There are several sessions that you can drop in to watch at your leisure. This event is intended for the following audiences: Learning technologists and instructional designers; Campus teaching and learning center directors and staff; Faculty members and instructors; Senior teaching and learning administrators (e.g., deans, provost office staff); and Librarians. Sessions run from 11-2:30 CST both days. For more information on the event and presentations, refer to: https://goo.gl/TyryyI

Content Mapping

Content Mapping

A content map is a tool designed to help instructors plan, document and map the content that will be presented in a course with instructional strategies and modes of delivery. Instructors can refer to this exercise when determining which features and functions should be used to present content to students as well as to assess students. Copy and paste the tables for as many Modules you have in your course.

Complete the following tables for two units/units of study in your course. 

Name of Course:	Instructor:
Module 1 Goal:
Outcomes:
Competencies: At the end of this unit, the learner should be able to:	Instructional Strategy (case study & analysis, group work, demonstration, role playing, etc.) including time on task	Medium/media used to deliver content and instruction (web readings, forums, email, chat, etc.)	Medium/media used for assessment (online test, written essay, discussion board posts, etc.)

Name of Course:	Instructor:
Unit 2 Goal:
Outcomes:
Competencies: At the end of this unit, the learner should be able to:	Instructional Strategy (case study & analysis, group work, demonstration, role playing, etc.) including time on task	Medium/media used to deliver content and instruction (web readings, forums, email, chat, etc.)	Medium/media used for assessment (online test, written essay, discussion board posts, etc.)