Course Design

Last Updated: April 2012

Originally prepared by Gosha Zywno for UTDP 2009-2010

Table of Contents

• Course Design Overview and Guidelines
• Designing a Syllabus
• Learning Domains

Course Design Overview and Guidelines

• Undergraduate Course Management Policy [pdf]
  Ryerson University Senate. March 2009.
• Graduate Course Management Policy [pdf]
  Ryerson University School of Graduate Studies.
• Preparing Your Online Course for the 12 + 1 Week Semester [doc]
  Digital Education Strategies, Chang School.
• Design & Teach a Course
  Eberly Center for Teaching Excellence. Carnegie Mellon University.
• Preparing or Revising a Course
  By Barbara Gross Davis. Excerpted from Tools for Teaching. 1993.
• The Cutting Edge Course Design Tutorial
  Developed by Barbara J. Tewksbury and R. Heather Macdonald. Carleton College. 2005.
  The Center for Instructional Technology from Duke University has provided a summary of the key points of this tutorial.
• Integrated Course Design [pdf]
  By L. Dee Fink. From Idea Paper No. 42. The Idea Center. 2005.
• A Self-Directed Guide to Designing Courses for Significant Learning [pdf]
  By L. Dee Fink. Instructional Development Program. University of Oklahoma. 2003.
• Universal Design for Course Construction
  University Center for the Advancement of Teaching. Ohio State University.
• Fink's Five Principles of Good Course Design
  By L. Dee Fink. 1999.
• Course Design Resources
  Teaching and Learning Bulletin. Center for Instructional Development and Research. University of Washington.
• Course Preparation from Teaching at Stanford: An Introductory Handbook
  Center for Teaching and Learning. Stanford University.
• Course Design
  Center for Teaching. Vanderbilt University.
• How to Design and Teach a New Course [available via iTunes U]
  By Russell Fernald. Award-Winning Teachers on Teaching. Stanford University. 1997.
  A related article, "Turning ideas about teaching upside down" by Janet Basu, can also be found on Stanford's website.
• Transforming Course Design [video]
  MERLOT ELIXR.
  "Transforming Course Design is a process to improve student learning while simultaneously addressing the issue of instructional costs. Faculty from a variety of disciplines and institutions describe the steps they took to redesign their course structures to meet these goals, and the impact on their students and on their own perspectives on instruction."
• Online Education in Sustainability Assessment Guide [pdf]
  By Meg Holden and Kristin McIlhenney. Department of Geography. Simon Fraser University. January 2010.
  "This report documents the experience of designing and offering a new, fully-online, graduate level course in the multidisciplinary field of Sustainability Assessment for Cities. In addition to presenting the course design process and evaluating the experience of the students... lessons and reflections have been pulled out and are offered here as a guide for future developers of online learning opportunities."
• Teaching Goals Inventory
  By Thomas A. Angelo and K. Patricia Cross. Excerpted from Classroom Assessment Techniques: A Handbook for College Teachers
• The Teaching Perspectives Inventory
  By Dan Pratt and John B. Collins. University of British Columbia.
  
  • Evaluate Your TPI Results
    The Gwenna Moss Centre for Teaching Effectiveness. University of Saskatchewan.
• Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education
  By Arthur W. Chickering and Zelda F. Gamson. From The American Association for Higher Education Bulletin. March 1987.

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Designing a Syllabus

• The Syllabus
  Eberly Center for Teaching Excellence. Carnegie Mellon University.
• Learning-Centered Syllabi
  Prepared by Lee Haugen. Iowa State University. 1998.
• Writing a Syllabus [pdf]
  By Howard B. Altman and William E. Cashin. From IDEA Paper No. 27, Center for Faculty Evaluation and Development. Kansas State University. September 1992. 
• Writing a Syllabus
  Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence. Penn State University.
• Creating a Syllabus and Components of a Syllabus: Checklist
  Adapted from Tools for Teaching by Barbara Gross Davis. Berkeley University. 2006.
• Writing a Syllabus
  By Greg Reihman. Lehigh University.
• Course Syllabus Checklist [pdf]
  Center for Leadership in Learning. McMaster University.
• Writing a Syllabus
  Center for Excellence in Teaching. Boston University.

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Bloom's Taxonomy of Learning Domains

• Bloom's Taxonomy of Learning Domains: The Three Types of Learning
  By Don Clark. 2009.
• Bloom's Taxonomy
  By Mary Forehand. University of Georgia. 2005.
• Bloom's Taxonomy
  University of Victoria.
• Bloom's Taxonomy
  By Richard C. Overbaugh and Lynn Schultz. Old Dominion University.
• Applying Bloom's Taxonomy
  By Joan Dalton. Aussie School House.
• Multiple Choice Questions and Bloom's Taxonomy
  From "Designing and Managing Multiple Choice Questions" by John Carneson, Georges Delpierre and Ken Masters. 1996.

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