Course Mapping in a NEW Course Development

What is a Course map?

A course map will be of value while you outline the structure of your course. As you think about backward design, you will use this map to identify the learning experiences that fulfill your weekly objectives. The course map is considered a development document and shows alignment to your course objectives. In addition to using the prompts presented to help map (outline) your course, you should select items that utilize the following best practices:

Builds a learning community and has many opportunities for student-to-student and student-to- instructor engagement.
Allows for faculty presence and interaction in the course.
Creates active learning experiences.
Uses a combination of formative and summative feedback opportunities throughout the course materials.
Contains a variety of assignments and methods of assessment; students should be producing something every week.

After we have your course objectives, your Instructional Designer(s) will populate this map as needed through a series of discussions. During these discussions we will also suggest best practices for online learning, new technologies that could be employed, and opportunities for interactive media development.

Identify the program objectives tied to the specific week.
Identify the weekly learning objectives.
Explain the assessment and/or application that demonstrates mastery of these objectives.
Delineate ideas for practice activities to hone the skills into mastery.
Identify the instruction that introduces these objectives.
Track time on task for all elements included in a week (not required in all programs).

What Does a Course Map Look Like?

Your course map will use the table-structure outlined here. Each week will have its own section. Your IDs will supply you with a program-specific course map at the start of every NEW development. Each program has unique elements required on the course map, but this is the most common format (this is an image and the linked text does not work):

It's important to know that as you begin to populate your course map, you might find gaps or places where you know what you want to present, but you don't have the information or content ready. That's ok. The course map is a living document and is updated and refined as you collaborate with your IDs to create your course. At the end of development, you will have a finished document, outlining your entire course.

Populating Your Course Map

Your course map is broken into three parts, which correspond to the steps in our backward design approach:

Identify desired results (course objectives & weekly objectives)
Determine acceptable evidence (assessment)
Plan learning experiences (instruction)

1. Identify Desired Results

The first thing you will do in your course map is to identify objectives that clearly state what students are expected to know, and will be able to do, upon completion of this course. Your ID can help you finesse these, but the idea is that they should be demonstrable outcomes—something that can be concretely quantified. (If possible, try to differentiate between knowledge and performance objectives.)

Knowledge Versus Performance Objectives

Knowledge: What students are expected to know when they exit the course?
Performance: What students are expected to be able to do when they exit the course?

The difference between the two can be subtle, especially if you are writing objectives with active verbs. But ultimately, a performance objective tends to be more product-based or action-oriented. Many times performance objectives assume the knowledge objective. It is also important to note that large course objectives, sometimes known as the course outcomes, are more likely to be performance objectives. Sub-objectives, which may show up in the weeks/modules of the course, tend to incorporate both knowledge and performance.

Course Objectives/Primary Course Goals

With the objectives refresher out of the way, it's time to start populating your course map by identifying the objectives and overall goals for this course. If your course already exists in a different form (face-to-face, hybrid, etc.) start with the course objectives you already have. This is a great opportunity to review these and ensure that they use active verbs, are demonstrable, and don't rely too heavily on lower-order thinking skills (Bloom's REMEMBER and UNDERSTAND).

Consider the following questions to assist you in creating or revising your course objectives.

Here are a few additional tips for writing effective objectives:

Avoid phrases such as “Understand,” “Demonstrate the ability to,” “Have a thorough understanding of,” etc.
Course objectives should be SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time-boxed.
Objectives should be written with active verbs to drive performance:

General Goal-Related Questions

What do you want your students to accomplish in the course?
- What should students be able to do at the end of this course?
- What should students know at the end of this course?
What skills should students master through taking this course?
If you were in your students’ shoes, what would you expect or want out of this course?
How can you instill passion/enthusiasm for this subject in your students?

Career-Related Questions

What are the essential skills students will need to take from this course to their careers?
How will students in this course apply their learning to their workplace environments?
What products, artifacts, or deliverables should students have at the end of the course to show future employers that they have evidence of skill mastery?
How do the goals and objectives inform the advancement of the students’ careers?
How can students bring their personal and professional experience into this course

Lather, Rinse, Repeat

Once you have your course objectives created (or revised), the next step is to go through this process again, for each Week in your course. All the same recommendations for creating course objectives apply to creating weekly objectives—the biggest difference is that your weekly objectives will be more specific.

2. Determine Acceptable Evidence

Now that you have your objectives created, it's time to determine how you will assess them. You probably already have ideas on assignments and assessments. Your IDs will collaborate with you to make the most of your online assessment strategy.

Your Assessment Strategy

An engaging and effective online learning experience is an experience that includes a variety of assessment types, not just quizzes and papers. If you can do it face-to-face, there's a way to do it online—and this is where your ID's online learning expertise will be invaluable to you.

Here are some questions you and your ID can work through to formulate your assessment strategy:

How can you assess students’ levels of understanding?
How will you gather the proof that the student gets it, owns it, can do it, and can apply it?
How can students demonstrate the longevity of this understanding?
What tool(s) allow students to explain, interpret, justify, adapt, and/or apply what they understand?
How will students have to demonstrate understanding of this skill in the workplace?
What artifacts will show students’ ownership of this particular skill or understanding?
What rubrics will be used to assess complex performance?

Remember that assessments should:

Tie to the course/learning objectives.
Be credible and helpful.
Be grounded in real-world applications.
Provide useful formative and summative feedback to the student and be transparent.
Be valid and reliable.

Formative Versus Summative Assessment

While creating your assessment strategy, be sure you remember to include both formative and summative assessments. Formative assessment is meant to monitor student's learning to provide continuous feedback that can be used to both improve instruction and student learning.

Formative assessment:

Helps students target areas that need work
Helps faculty with timely intervention where needed
Are generally low stakes (carrying no point value)

Examples include: self-checks, discussions, journaling, practice exercises.

In contrast, summative assessment is used to evaluate student learning at the end of an instructional unit (topic, module, week, course, etc.)

Summative assessment:

Are high stakes (carrying a higher point value)
Are comprehensive in their conclusions
Determines student competency against the stated objectives

Examples include: midterm exams, papers, discussions, group projects, debates, portfolios.

3. Plan Learning Experiences

Finally, it's time to determine what learning experiences and instruction will promote the desired understanding, knowledge, and skills outlined in the course/learning objectives. This is where you will curate and cultivate the content you already have, determine where there might be gaps, and work with your IDs to fill those gaps.

You and your IDs will work together to determine the best methods and modalities for your course content. Your IDs can even (in many instances) assist in researching 3rd party resources for use in your course.

Your Learning Strategy

Your learning strategy is as important as your assessment strategy. Today's online students aren't content to watch a 45-minute talking head video, or click through a 50-slide PowerPoint. Your IDs will collaborate with you, and, incorporating modern online best practices, will help you create an effective and engaging course.

Here are some questions you and your ID can work through to formulate your learning strategy:

What learning experiences and instruction will promote the desired understanding, knowledge, and skill of the course/learning objectives?
How will the design ensure that all students are maximally engaged and effective at meeting the goals?
How can we use experience-based learning, investigative learning, problem-based learning, and career-based learning to enrich the student experience? (Discussions, group experiences, practice activities...these should be the meat of the course.)
How can authentic learning experiences have the added benefit of making courses scalable and reusable?
Where are there opportunities to create dynamic media that engages and promotes learning?

Instruction examples include: readings, interactive media, web links, short video, blogs, podcasts, case studies.