New course design

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Welcome.

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Welcome to New Course Design! This course was created by Salem State's Instructional Design Team to help you stay on track as you build a clear, purposeful and engaging course. 

We hope you'll enjoy this self-paced guide to course design.

To get started, visit the Course Overview and Welcome (Start Here) page

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Course Syllabus Download Course Syllabus

 


 

Module by Module Course Guide

Module

Outcomes - at the end of this unit you’ll be able to...

Deliverable

Estimated Time

0: Getting started

  • Navigate the course and the design document
  • Basic Course Info Worksheet

30 min - 2 hours 

  1.  Defining Purpose and Learning Goals
  • State major desired course outcomes
  • Explain backwards design principles
  • Course Design Document Part I: Course Outcomes/Desired Results

2- 4 hours

  1. Determine Acceptable Evidence of Mastery
  • Describe summative assessments for your course that are aligned with desired course outcomes
  • Define assessment, summative assessment, and Universal Design for Learning
  • Design assessments to include student choice
  • Course Design Document Part II: Major Assessments/ Acceptable Evidence of Learning

2-4 hours

  1. Course Unit-by-Unit Plan
  • Describe Student learning outcomes, summative and formative assessments, materials and technology for each unit in your course that are aligned internally and with whole course objectives.
  • Define formative vs. summative assessments
  • Identify and create measurable student learning outcomes
  • Course Design Document Part III: Unit-by-Unit Plan

3-4 hours

  1. Outlining a Week
  • Create a draft weekly overview for one week of their course
  • Explain how the activities in the week will support learning and progress towards unit and whole course outcomes.
  • Describe the three types of student interactions in the COI model. 
  • Describe how live and asynchronous work can complement each other
  • Course Design Document Part IV: Weekly Overview Prototype

2-4 hours

  1. Build basic course structures
  • Navigate and complete basic course setup in Canvas
  • Optional: Weekly outline
  • Course home page, syllabus and navigation menu organized

2-4 hours

6. Building Major Assessments
  • Create transparent assignments
  • Summative Assessments created
2-4 hours
  1. Make your course navigation student-friendly with Modules
  • Create student-friendly Modules on Canvas 

 

  • Content for first 5 weeks organized into modules with weekly/unit overviews
  • All assignments have task, purpose, evaluation criteria, and due date.

2-3 hours

8. Make your course welcoming and engaging
  • Create opportunities for human connection and feedback
  • State strategies to help students feel welcomed to the course, and stay engaged and connected throughout the course duration.
  • Multiple humanizing and orienting elements added to course
  • At least one opportunity for connection with peers set up
  • At least one opportunity for student feedback set up

1-2 hours

  1. Tech check and Publication
  • Use a variety of tools to check your course before publishing
  • Tech resource help, Accessibility, links check, publish & check with student view.
1 hour

 

 

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