Designing online courses: What story should we tell?
I like to think about designing a course as telling a story. We need to consider who our audience is, what they already know about the subject, how do we engage them in the story, and what do we want them to learn? Another question is who is the storyteller? An inspirational instructor is passionate about their subject and is able to captivate students' attention. A lesson, whether online or in class, should be engaging and should give our learners a experience that impacts them - on an academic and personal level. So how do we get there? Well, that's where design comes in...
How Do We Design A Course?
There are many ways to design a course, so I'm going to share just a couple of best practices and key theories that have helped me and my writers in the process.
Backwards Design
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What is the Process for Designing Learning?
Learning design (or instructional design) involves creating an educational experience that will help learners achieve their learning goals. The image below demonstrates a couple of key points:
- The learner is the target! It's all about student-centred learning.
- There is a fair amount of analysis that is involved - knowing what is needed, the context, and who the learner is.
- The instructional designer (ID) works with Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) to create a course.
- IDs base their decisions on theories about the design process, best practices for teaching and theories of learning.
- IDs work with technology and ensure that any tools used in a course are appropriate and accessible for students.
Course Design Resources
Here are a couple of useful resources on course design:
Here are a couple of useful resources on course design:
- Periodic Table for Instructional Design: interactive site about all things ID
- CMU Instructional Strategies: Another great resource for teaching/design tips.
- CFT Teaching Guides: This site has fantastic resources on learning styles, motivating students, using technology, cooperative learning, and so much more!
- Enhancing Student Learning: Seven Principles for Good Practice: Great resource from Winona State University
- Pockets of Innovations: Articles on successful online learning innovations.
- CFT Teaching Guides: This site has fantastic resources on learning styles, motivating students, using technology, cooperative learning, and so much more!
- Enhancing Student Learning: Seven Principles for Good Practice: Great resource from Winona State University
How Do We Learn?
The field of education is fascinating! Whether you're interested in teaching online or in the classroom, there are so many resources and key theories to guide you towards effective teaching.
Here are just some of the key ideas I focus on when designing a course:
Here are just some of the key ideas I focus on when designing a course:
- Learning is an active & constructive process
- In our courses, we need to encourage students to ask questions, develop hypotheses, draw conclusions, listen to others, express their own views, reflect on experiences, and utilize the teacher as a resource.
- Lessons should have a “cycle or spiral of inquiry”
- As we plan learning activities and assessments, we need to incorporate students’ interests and allow them to work through meaningful problems in real situations.
- Collaborative and cooperative learning can lead to transformational learning.
- Online discussions should facilitate an inclusive environment, by providing opportunities for equal participation and collaborative learning.
- Instructors need to scaffold students’ learning
- In writing a course, we must recognize that students build new knowledge on a foundation of previous learning. The writing should reflect this in that students should be reminded of previous content and encouraged to reflect on their experiences.
- Instructors and course writers should consider the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD), as they give students appropriate help and feedback.