Module 3: Course Design and Implementation

A marsh on a sunny day.
This marsh can be a metaphor for course design. At the program level are the big sky and the major waterways. At the course level, there are reeds and vegetation. While we tend to the reeds (the courses and their specifics), we can always look up to see the river and sky around us (the program vision).

Courses make a program. It’s where learning and assessment typically occur. It’s where students gain the knowledge, skills, and values that shape their learning. Course design is the process of planning the course-based curriculum that makes the primary academic element of your program. If you’ve got your vision and case for developing the new program (Module 2) and understand how the program is situated within the wider online program ecosystem (Module 1), you’re ready to shift your attention to turning the program into reality through the courses and learning experiences that students will engage in.

In some instances, you may be looking to create brand new courses. In other instances, existing courses are integrated into the new program – requiring careful review of curricular changes that may be necessary for aligning to program outcomes. While this stage may bring the focus of program development down into the specifics of curriculum design (i.e., specific details of what is happening within specific courses, how, and when), it also presents an opportunity to design with the broader picture in mind by answering the question:

How does each course fit with the overall vision and outcomes of the program?

This module takes a high-level overview approach to curriculum design, intending to support program developers in devising a plan and aligning suitable resources to successfully engage in a course design process that will see your program through to development and implementation.

This module is grounded on the value that a team-based approach is ultimately required for coordinated course planning, design, and implementation, which is particularly true of online programs. Not only will this process involve multiple instructors, but it also requires a complement of various skillsets and resources to turn design into reality. As a result, this module helps program developers work through a process of course design that:

    • Aligns with the overarching program vision and intended outcomes for guiding course development and planning
    • Centres the design process on essential design considerations, including accessibility; intellectual property; equity, diversity, and inclusion

 

Learning Outcomes

By the end of Unit 1, Start with Collaboration, you will be able to:

  • Recognize the complex nature of online course design and the role that collaboration plays in creating quality online courses
  • Identify your own institutional resources for supporting the program’s course design process, including educational developers, instructional designers, librarians, and subject matter experts

You will take away:

  • An ability to recognize what expertise and skills are currently part of the team compliment, what expertise and skillsets are needed, and who can be sought out in supporting course design efforts

By the end of Unit 2, Turning Program Vision Into Curriculum you will be able to:

  • Translate overall program vision, outcomes, and students’ needs into a curriculum plan shaping course development
  • Select models of curriculum design for framing a cohesive and habitual approach to course development

You will take away:

  • Strategies and ideas for creating a curriculum design plan with your team

By the end of Unit 3, Program Design into Course Development, you will be able to:

  • Articulate the value of curriculum mapping as an approach to visualizing connections between the program/curriculum visions, program outcomes, and course plans
  • Plan and initiate a team-based conversation to initiate curriculum mapping for program development

You will take away:

  • A plan for leading a program design team on curriculum mapping strategies for guiding course development

By the end of Unit 4, Curriculum Mapping, you will be able to:

  • Identify key features of your own curriculum mapping approach, as inspired by example curriculum maps
  • Plan for a curriculum mapping approach that will enable decision-making such as:
    • What courses happen when and how in the program;
    • What teaching and learning activities and major forms of assessment fit with each course in the program and why; and
    • What materials you will need to develop or source for each course you’re planning, such as instructional content, teaching and learning activities, multimedia, assessment materials, rubrics, syllabi, and more.
  • Reflect on the current state of course-level planning, design, and development

You will take away:

  • A draft curriculum map that aligns program outcomes with what is currently known of course design within the program

By the end of Unit 5, Essential Considerations for Online Course Design, you will be able to:

  • Reflect on seven interconnected and essential design considerations to their own plans for online course design
  • Identify next steps for tapping into the wealth of resources and expertise that allow for essential considerations to be enacted within course design

 You will take away:

  • An understanding of the interconnected ecosystem of essential design considerations for online course design
  • An appreciation for the resources (within the design team and beyond) that can help prioritize selected essentials into online course design
Throughout this module, you will be prompted to reflect on key ideas and complete activities that will enable you to lead conversations and plan future action. You can keep track of your work by downloading and recording it in the Program Design and Implementation Workbook.

License

Creating and Implementing High-Quality, Sustainable Online Programs Copyright © 2022 by Western University is licensed under a Ontario Commons License, except where otherwise noted.

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