Course Planning
The second phase of course design and development process
Attention
Advice
Reference
Document Summary
Introduction
To guide your course design, start with a plan in the form of a course
map. A course map consists of the major interrelated blocks of the
course, including course goals, unit objectives, major learning activities,
and corresponding assessments.
Set Course Goals
Build the foundation for an
online course design with
aligned course goals, unit
objectives, learning
activities, and assessments.
A course goal is a high-level objective to be realized by students over time in a course. Such goals are
usually broadly defined, using words like “understand,” “know,” “obtain,” “apply.”
If you are transforming an existing face-to-face course to an online version, take some time to
reexamine the course goals and make sure they are still valid in the online environment. Below
(Figure 1) is an example of course goal from a Marketing course.
Figure 1
Course
Goal
Students will apply theories of consumer behavior to determine marketing strategies.
Create Unit Objectives
We can use the term “unit” to describe self-contained group of learning elements, meaningfully broken
down by an instructor from the course goals. Units are usually grouped by topics (which may take one or
several weeks depending on the amount of content being delivered). A unit objective should be
S.M.A.R.T. — Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Targeted to the audience and desired level
of learning. It’s common to have three to five objectives for each unit (see Figure 2 for an example).
Learn more about SMART objectives here:
http://ccoe.rbhs.rutgers.edu/forms/EffectiveUseofLearningObjectives.pdf
Figure 2
Student will identify the
processes consumers use when
making purchase decisions.
Course
Goal
Students will apply
theories of consumer
behavior to determine
marketing strategies.
Unit
Objectives
Student will analyze personal
and interpersonal influences on
consumer behavior.
Office of Academic Innovation publication: #011 • August 7, 2014 • oai@towson.edu
© 2014 Towson University • This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License.
Details available at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/
Course Planning
The second phase of course design and development process
Attention
Advice
Reference
Determine Learning Activities
Learning activities give students opportunities to recall knowledge, practice skills, and apply concepts
prior to formal assessment. Learning activities might not contribute directly to student grades; however,
they are suggested to provide opportunities for instructor feedback, so that students can recognize and
bridge any gaps in learning before they proceed to assessments.
Online instructors should consider incorporating varied activities into a course to enhance student
learning (see Figure 3 for examples). Participating in varied activities can stimulate students’ interest,
cater to distinct learning styles, and help students retain diverse types of knowledge and skills.
Learn more about online activities here: http://www.ion.uillinois.edu/resources/otai/
Figure 3
Unit
Objectives
Student will identify
the processes
consumers use when
making purchase
decisions.
Students will analyze
personal and
interpersonal
influences on
consumer behavior.
Read textbook chapters and watch
a video illustrating various
consumer behavior principles.
Learning
Activities
Journal about your own
observations as a customer in a
local store.
In groups, discuss a case study.
Determine Assessments
Assessments are tools used to evaluate student learning outcomes and their attainment of unit
objectives. The choice of assessment depends primarily on the nature of the knowledge to be evaluated.
For instance, if factual knowledge is to be assessed, then a timed quiz may be appropriate; to assess the
application of theory, a case study or a project may be a better choice.
Learn more about creating effective assignments:
•
•
•
Best Practices
http://www.rit.edu/academicaffairs/outcomes/online-student-learning-outcomes-assessment
Online Assessment Strategies
http://jolt.merlot.org/vol6no1/sewell_0310.pdf
Course Assessment Practices and Student Learning Strategies in Online Courses
http://www.bucks.edu/media/bcccmedialibrary/documents/academics/facultywebresources/As
sessment_design_sloan.pdf
Office of Academic Innovation publication: #011 • August 7, 2014 • oai@towson.edu
© 2014 Towson University • This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License.
Details available at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/
Course Planning
The second phase of course design and development process
Attention
•
•
Advice
Reference
Classroom Assessment Techniques
http://tlc.provost.gwu.edu/classroom-assessment-techniques
50 Classroom Assessment Techniques by Angelo and Cross
http://tep.uoregon.edu/resources/newteach/fifty_cats.pdf
Figure 4 illustrates how assessments are derived from and align with course goals,
unit objectives, and learning activities.
Course Goals
Figure 4
Unit Objectives
Learning Activities
Assessments
Goals are broadly
defined.
Unit objectives
are SMART.
Activities will help
students achieve
unit objectives and
course goals.
Assessments must
be aligned with the
nature of the
learning outcome.
Students will
apply theories of
consumer
behavior to
determine
marketing
strategies.
Student will
identify the
processes
consumers use
when making
purchase
decisions.
Read textbook
chapters and watch
a video illustrating
various consumer
behavior principles.
Apply principles of
consumer behavior
in the development
a strategic
marketing plan for a
local business.
A Students will
analyze
personal and
interpersonal
influences on
consumer
behavior.
Journal about your
own observations
as a customer in a
local store.
In groups, discuss a
case study.
Consider creating hierarchical folders to organize resources as you develop them. In the last phase of
the course development process, you will upload content to your Blackboard course. Storing the content
in a systematic way can help you locate these resources quickly and easily.
To help stay organized, consider including each of these elements in folder and file names: year and
semester; course; content topic or unit; and last date updated (Figure 5).
Figure 5
SP15_ MKTG_201_Profiles_9-15-2014
Office of Academic Innovation publication: #011 • August 7, 2014 • oai@towson.edu
© 2014 Towson University • This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License.
Details available at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/