Organizing the Course

Illustration of two workers- one messy and the other organized and happy.

Providing Structure

In this section, we will touch on a few key concepts for organizing your course. A deeper dive of this concept is provided in Step 5: Building the Course.

NYU Shanghai was founded in a unique partnership between New York University and East China Normal University (in 2013). With half its student body hailing from China and half from around the world, it is the first Sino-U.S. joint research university and NYU’s third degree-granting campus.

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Learning Time

When developing remote instruction our concept of Contact Hours transitions to Learning Hours through the calculation of Time-on-Task.

CalculatingTimeonTask

The Module

Think about each lesson as a module.

Modules serve as the building blocks of a remote instruction course.
Modules can be organized by time.
- You could organize modules daily, weekly or biweekly.
- You can choose to organize them by content, such as chapters in a textbook, or by theoretical framework.
- Each module should include links to all the materials, discussions, assignments, and assessment that are covered in a particular learning unit.

Grid lines connected above various shaped boxes.

Step 1: Outlining

Begin each module by outlining the learning objectives for the module/week.

Include the rationale for each module. Why are we learning the material in this particular module? How does it apply to my next course? My (future) employment? How does it contribute to my job skill set?

Step 3: Breakdown

Consider the breakdown and sequence of the content.

Step 2: Translating

Follow the learning objectives with a to-do list. Include a time estimate for what you think students might spend on each task to help them organize their time.

Step 4: Materials

List the links to the individual assignments and resources that students will need to access to complete the assignments successfully, as well as any rubrics for grading the assignments.

Remember to be explicit about what students need to do for each assignment, the deadline by which they need to do it, and how they’re required to submit it.

Tips to ConsIDER

Consistency is critical.

Make each module look exactly the same.
Provide structure.
Include clear instructions and information.
What will constitute each week, e.g., work due before, during, and after class?

Course structure provides students the necessary reinforcement to succeed in a remote instruction course.

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take a deeper dive

Proceed to the Step 2 Main Page

This site was developed by NYU SPS Learning and Teaching Nexus following the NYU Remote-Instruction mandate as a result of COVID-19.This site is evergreen, and will continue to grow and develop. All requests about content should go to nexus@nyu.edu.

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