Embedded Files
Our approach to course design is grounded in 2U's Learning Experience Framework and driven by an instructional design process known as backward design. We also find it helpful to use a set of broad categories to organize our planning and thinking about learning sequences, drawn from academic research as well as from our own experience supporting the design and delivery of online learning over the years.
Staging
Staging
State the alignment between a course's learning objectives, assessments, and delivery strategies to reduce students’ cognitive load. Allowing students to understand how—and why—the activities they are doing help them learn is a powerful way to promote self-regulated learning.
Priming
Priming
Activate students’ prior knowledge by drawing connections to past material, excite them to learn by inspiring curiosity or challenge that the content will help them to solve, or build interest and motivation by highlighting professional relevance.
Building Knowledge
Building Knowledge
Convey foundational concepts or skills that can be presented the same way to all students and don’t require real-time delivery—like a lecture or simple demonstration. Use stories and examples to reflect your style or highlight perspectives students might not otherwise be able to access.
Practicing
Practicing
Help students apply knowledge to new scenarios, cases, or problems, and practice new skills. Practice opportunities may be individual or social, but should be designed in a way that offers timely feedback so that students can iterate and improve performance. Incorporate opportunities for peer- and self-assessment as well as instructor feedback to bolster autonomy and social learning.
Post-Processing
Post-Processing
Invite students to connect course content to their own experiences, aspirations, or emotions, and to reflect on what they learned and consolidate their understanding. These metacognitive activities help learners to become more self-regulated and build lifelong learning skills.
You can spot these categories in our downloadable course design template, aligned with the elements of your pre-populated course shell. Feel free to use them if they help advance your thinking as well, or to ignore them if they don't serve your needs.
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