Student Centered Course Design
Student Centered Course Design
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Community college students arrive carrying significant cognitive burdens before the first concept is introduced. When course structures add long, scrolling pages, unclear navigation, and buried resources, the result is frustration and disengagement. This follows students forward through the course.
This redesign was guided by two frameworks (Quality Matters and Universal Design) developed in parallel rather than applied sequentially, and my 'special sauce': Visual design. I know not everyone has access to a graphic designer. However, I hope to share some basic design principles that anyone can use.
I believe we should design our courses with neurodivergent students in mind. Accessibility is important in my work due to my experience with neurodivergent family members navigating the higher-ed realm and for my students.
Course Design Inspiration:
Course Design Inspiration:
Course Design.mp4Course Branding
Course Branding
Each course has its own design origin story. What they share is structural consistency beneath the visual differences. Students moving between courses find the same organizational logic and navigation patterns.
Financial Accounting
Financial Accounting
Bold and high-energy. The banner tells the accounting story visually before a word is read: data, community, money, and reports connected by ribbons suggesting flow and relationship. Color palette developed with contrast and accessibility as the starting point.
Managerial Accounting (AA)
Managerial Accounting (AA)
A softer register that reflects managerial accounting's world: production, cost, and process. The gear motif was a content-driven choice. The teal and pink palette is warmer and less corporate, signaling a different kind of analytical work.
Managerial Accounting (AAS)
Managerial Accounting (AAS)
The most refined of the three. The banner photograph was taken by Micaela, and the color palette was built from that image using color theory principles. The editorial typography and restrained button style reflect a course with a synchronous lecture component requiring a different homepage hierarchy.
Graphic Design Assistance
Graphic Design Assistance
Micaela Coon is a professional graphic designer whose formal training included a capstone concentration in designing for dyslexia. Students with dyslexia represent a significant portion of learners.
Her contribution to this course redesign was not cosmetic. She created the visual identity system for each course, including color palettes, typography selections, and course banners, and provided ongoing consultation on layout decisions, visual hierarchy, and cognitive load.
She introduced the Z-pattern principle (the way a reader's eye naturally moves across a page) and made placement decisions based on it.
A pedagogically sound module that is visually overwhelming creates extraneous cognitive load that undermines the pedagogical work. A visually elegant module not aligned with learning objectives fails at the level of instruction. Neither problem is solvable by the other person alone.
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