Module 1: Course Design Basics

Reflection Questions (available as a worksheet here):

• What do you want your students to be able to do by the end of the term? List 2-3 (or more!) course-level broad learning goals or specific learning objectives.

• How can you articulate these specific objectives in a way that clearly indicates to students what they will achieve in the course?

• What kinds of tasks would best reveal whether students have achieved the learning objectives? What instructional activities (including course content) would best help students work towards these objectives? (You can use the alignment matrix here to begin considering how to align your learning objectives with your assessments and instructional activities.)

Suggested Resources for Further Reading:

For more on Backward Course Design, see:

• Course Map Guide

• Linda Nilson, Outcomes-Centered Course Design (from Nilson, Teaching at Its Best: A Research-Based Resource for College Instructors)

For more on designing learning objectives, see:

• Learning Objectives Builder

• CMU Design Your Course Portal

For more on Bloom's Taxonomy, see:

• Bloom's Taxonomy Action Verbs (pdf)

• Using Bloom's Taxonomy to align assessments (pdf)