Where Do I Start With Planning My Course?

By: Kara Wasnewsky

Backwards Course Design process

Whether you are creating a brand new course, changing the modality of a course, or improving an existing course you need to plan effectively. Well-designed courses start with clear goals and the learning materials and assessments align directly with those goals. In their book, Understanding by Design, Wiggins and McTighe (2005) outline an effective process for course planning called “Backwards Course Design.” Backwards Course Design is sequential. First, the objectives are identified; next, the assessments are planned; and finally, the course materials are selected. This process ensures that everything students are asked to do will increase their likelihood of reaching the desired outcome. For a specific example of how the Backwards Course Design process is used in the design of a college-level course, watch the video below.

To help you with the course planning process, The Center for Instructional Innovation has created a course map template that you can use to work through this process. The template provides you with the space to record the goals/objectives, assessments, and course materials. It also provides space to calculate the time that students will spend completing the work, which will help to make sure that the expectations are in line with the federal regulations.

Happy planning!

If you need help or want feedback at any point in your course planning process reach out to your instructional designer.

Regis’ Course Map TemplateDownload

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