Module 2
Course Development
Kathleen Burnett, FSU
Linda Smith, UIUC
Harry Bruce, UW
Outline
• Administrivia
- Volunteers Needed for Week 3
• Instructional System Design Process
- Designing Effective Courses
- Rethinking the Role of the Course
Outline
• Steps in Planning a Course
Outline
• The Fundamentals of Course Construction
- Goals, Objectives, and Learning
Outcomes
- Learning Styles
• Course Design Guidelines
• Syllabus
- Checklist
Outline
- Tips on Writing a Syllabus
• Class Discussion
Volunteers Needed
• We need volunteers to do short CAT
presentation (5 min max) for the Assessment and Evaluation class next week
• The FLAG website (see Required
Readings for Week 3) has a list of the
CATs that can be used for evaluation
• A sign up sheet will be passed around
Course
Planning
Course
Evaluation
and Revision
Instructional
System Design
Process
Student
Assessment
Lesson
Delivery
Designing Effective Courses
Steps:
1. Gather information on the university
culture, faculty, students needs, and
course content expectations
2. Decide upon (i) the goals for the course
and (ii) specific learning objectives for
students
Designing Effective Courses
3. Select content, learning activities,
teaching methods, materials, and media
that are appropriate and relevant to
those goals and objectives
4. Develop student assessment methods
that directly reflect the learning
objective(s)
Designing Effective Courses
5. Implement the course plan, creating a
learning environment and a community
of learners
6. Revise the plan after assessments and
evaluations
Course Considerations
•
•
•
•
•
•
Audience for the course
Required vs. elective
Hazing mentality
The ‘tyranny of coverage’
Graduate vs. undergraduate
Team Teaching
Rethinking the Role of the
Course Outline
1) Students, instructors and administrators
alike tend to associate good teaching
with ‘dynamism’
2) Most instructors attribute both the
success and failure of their teaching to
individual behaviors alone – rather than
planning issues
Rethinking the Role of the
Course Outline
3) Fail to recognized the links between
student learning and the department’s /
university's mission statements
4) Role of course outlines in facilitating
student learning is vastly
underappreciated
Assumptions
• The form and content of course outlines
matters in the teaching of all disciplines
• Effective teaching and learning should be
defined in terms of the attainment of
course objectives
• Evaluating effective teaching is
necessarily linked to course assessment
Planning a Course
1) Define your view of the purposes of
education
2) Set course goals
3) Select course content
4) Arrange course content
5) Consider student goals & characteristics
Planning a Course
6) Choose instructional modes
7) Select readings and activities
8) Write a syllabus
9) Plan to get student feedback
10)Seek advice from colleagues & experts
5 Easy Pieces
• In Ruth Colvin Clark's model, instructional
content is structured using facts, concepts,
procedures, processes, and principles:
1) Facts (Arbitrary, difficult to remember
items of information)
2) Concepts (Classes of things or ideas
learners need to be able to apply)
5 Easy Pieces
3) Processes (How things work)
4) Procedures (How to perform a specific
task)
5) Principles (General guidelines)
The Fundamentals of
Course Construction
•
•
•
•
Aims and objectives
Content and sequencing
Assessment and evaluation
Administration and presentation
Goals
• Charles Williams lists three kinds of goals:
1) Factual and theoretical knowledge
2) Discrete, practical skills, &
3) Growth in abilities that generalize
• He also suggests expressing objectives in
terms of specific behaviors
What is a Learning Objective?
• It makes clear the intended learning
outcome or product of instruction, rather
than what form the instruction will take
• Learning objectives focus on student
performance
What is a Learning Objective?
• Communicate what the instructor is trying
to teach; what the students are to be
expected to be able to do; how their
achievement will be measured; and what
will be accepted as evidence that they
have achieved the goals
Reasons for Developing
Objectives
• Objectives help reduce complaints
because:
- Students can see how the material is
related to their educational goals or to
any other goals they can recognize as
being important
Reasons for Developing
Objectives
-
Your tests will correspond to the stated
learning objectives
Students know what to study and what
they are expected to be able to do after
the instruction
Examples of Objectives
• To acquire knowledge, students might:
- do integrals or
- describe how something works
- develop the skill to solve particular
kinds of problems, &
- be able to generalize about parallel or
analogous concepts
Types of Learning Outcomes
Based on Bloom’s Taxonomy:
- Knowledge. Primarily concerned with
students’ ability to memorize or recall
certain specific facts
- Comprehension. Usually involves the
ability to interpret, paraphrase, and
extrapolate, thus demonstrating
students’ basic understanding of ideas
that they did not originate
Types of Learning Outcomes
-
-
Application. Includes activities in which
the student applies concepts and
principles to new and/or practical
situations
Analysis. Concerned with breaking
down a piece of information into its
constituent parts, differentiating and
denoting
Types of Learning Outcomes
-
Synthesis. Involves the blending of
elements and parts to form a whole i.e.,
students should be able to create a
structural pattern that was not
previously present
Types of Learning Outcomes
-
Evaluation. At this highest level,
students might judge the value of a
work, the logical consistency of written
data, or the adequacy of someone
else’s conclusions
Writing Goals
• Goals must be written in clear, concise
terms “not open to misinterpretation” &
must contain:
1) a verb that describes an observable
action
2) the conditions under which this action
takes place, &
3) the level of acceptable performance
Verbs for Creating Concrete
Learning Objectives*
analyze
compare
demonstrate
discuss
identify
Justify
outline
state
appreciate
compute
direct
display
infer
list
report
synthesize
classify
contrast
derive
evaluate
integrate
name
respond
collaborate
define
designate
explain
interpret
organize
solicit
*N.B. not an exhaustive list
Setting Course Objectives
• What should students learn from the
course
• What content will they encounter and what
learning experiences will they have
• Need to consider how essential the topics
or skills are to the course as a whole &
how interesting they might be to students
The Relationship Between
Aims, Objectives, & Concepts
AIM
:
Objective
1
Objective
2
,
Concept
A – Concept B – Concept C – Concept. D
Course Objectives &
Learning Styles
• The AVK (audio/visual/kinesthetic) model
• Should strive for a mix of qualitative and
quantitative objectives
• Need a range of learning environments
Creating Learning Objectives
1) Establish a Course Goal -- a course goal
is a global statement about the projected
outcomes of the course
Generally, a course goal is a broad
statement that will include many
subordinate skills.
Creating Learning Objectives
2) Arrange Content in Topical Units – before
breaking down the goals and learning
objectives, it is often helpful to break the
course content down into smaller
“topical” units
This step will reveal which units will
require the most instructional emphasis,
and which will require the most testing
Creating Learning Objectives
3) Write Learning Objectives – the next step
is to write learning objectives for each of
these subordinate topics
Learning Objectives: Caveats
• Don’t make them too narrow or too wide;
too restrictive or too vague
• Learning objectives shouldn’t discourage
creativity or take away the need for the
instructor to communicate the “challenge”
of studying and learning to students
Course Design Guidelines
• Select learning objectives according to
clearly determined student needs
• Analyze learning objectives to determine
course content
• Use course objectives to develop learning
activities and methods of assessing
student performance
Course Design Guidelines
• Analyze student characteristics to identify
those factors that should influence the way
these learners are taught
• Select learning activities that will maximize
student achievement of course objectives
Course Design Guidelines
• Use media to support learning activities
and their intended outcomes
• Evaluate the effectiveness of your learning
activities, media, and teaching
performance to identify areas for
improvement
Course Design Guidelines
• To meet the minimum requirements for
effective instruction, instructors should:
- Specify the goals to be obtained
- Formulate learning plans by first
specifying the desired objectives of the
instruction
Course Design Guidelines
-
Assess the effectiveness of the
instruction
Make successive revisions of the
learning activities for cumulative
improvement as indicated by
assessment results
Course Content & Sequencing
• Need to decide: (i) which material, (ii) in
what order, and (iii) what mode of
instruction will help students to accomplish
course objectives
• Next need to decide what specific content
will best facilitate this process
Course Content & Sequencing
• Book Analogy  chapters = weeks 
introduction / body / conclusion
• Within the body, start by giving names to
each of these major parts
Syllabus Considerations
• A syllabus assures students that certain
activities, a grading system, etc., will occur
during the semester
• Syllabi should be written to cover the
worst-case situation
• Requirements can be relaxed but not
made more restrictive
Syllabus Considerations
• Any changes to a syllabus, even at the
request of students, should be in writing &
should have the consent of all the students
• End each syllabus with a caveat to protect
you, your department, and your institution
if changes in the syllabus must be made
once your course is underway
Syllabus Considerations
• Example -- “The above schedule and
procedures in this course are subject to
change in the event of extenuating
circumstances.”
Uses for a Syllabus
• Aids the instructor in course design and
development
• Lists general administrative and logistical
information
• Delineates policies and expectations
• Presents an overview of course content
Uses for a Syllabus
• Provides information on schedules,
assignments, and exams
• Influences student attitudes and increases
motivation
• Serves as a starting point for mutual
discussion
Uses for a Syllabus
• Serves as a study guide/source of
assistance for students
• Meets departmental or administrative
needs and requirements
Syllabus Checklist
Course Information
Course Name, Number, and Section
Class Meeting Time
Class Meeting Place
Contact Information
Name and Title
Syllabus Checklist
Office Number/Building
Office Hours (both asynchronous &
synchronous)
Office Phone and Fax Number
E-mail Address
Class E-mail Address (Listserv)
Syllabus Checklist
Required Readings/Texts
Suggested Readings
Prerequisites
Individual/Class E-mail Address (Listserv)
& and Other Instructional Technologies
Course Packs
Syllabus Checklist
Course Description
Goal/Rationale of the Course (i.e., how the
course will benefit the student; how the
course relates to the content, primary
concepts and principles of the discipline)
Learning Objectives
Participation
Syllabus Checklist
Projects (w/ information on group
processes, type of knowledge and abilities
that will be emphasized)
Other Materials (do students need to buy
S/W, calculators, art supplies, etc.)
Student Responsibilities
Homework/Tests/Exams
Syllabus Checklist
Course Content and Outline: (may be in
the form of a course calendar)
Class Meeting: (date, time, location)
Holidays: (plus other non-meeting dates)
Major Topics: (weekly breakdown)
Due Dates: (Readings, Assignments,
Tests, Projects, etc.)
Syllabus Checklist
Grading Method and Scale: A clear
explanation of evaluation, assessment and
measurements (e.g., format, number,
weight for quizzes and exams,
descriptions of papers/projects, and the
overall grading scale and standards)
Resources: (web-based, labs, etc.)
Syllabus Checklist
Essential Policy Information:
(accompanying each item should be a
statement on how each will impact grades)
Sample policies: Attendance/Lateness
Policy, Policy for Late Work, Policy for
Missed Tests, Policy for Extra Credit,
Honor Code, ADA Policy, etc.
Syllabus Checklist
Other things you might consider:
- Give your students tips/advice on how
to approach studying for the course
- Recommend that students take a look
at old exams/papers if these accurately
reflect your testing style for this course
Syllabus Checklist
-
Talk about how you feel about giving
extra credit
Make suggestions on how students can
make the most of an office visit
Tips on Writing A Syllabus
1) Be as brief as possible
Use short sentences or lists or outlines
2) Don’t overwhelm students with lengthy
prose
3) Organize the information (w/ outlines,
tree diagrams, concept maps, etc.)
Tips on Writing A Syllabus
4) Be friendly
Use everyday words and address the
syllabus to the student (e.g., use “you,”
“we,” and “I,” rather than “the student,”
“your professor,” or “the instructor”
5) Consider the visual organization of the
information
Tips on Writing A Syllabus
6) Highlight important information
(sparingly) i.e., too much emphasis will
be counterproductive
7) Use headings so students can easily
scan it to find pertinent information
Tips on Writing Your Syllabus
8) Use plenty of white space
Don’t put too much text on one page
9) Be neat
Avoid messiness, typos, etc.
Class Discussion