Planning your course

Planning your Course

plan.

Welcome to the "planning" part of our three part module! This part of the plan...create...teach module will help you think through your options for adapting your course to any instructional modality, and it will introduce you to the main tools we use to teach remotely at Webster.

We delivered much of this content as a live presentation in May in preparation for instructors teaching remotely this summer, so if you'd prefer to just watch the recording rather than going through each page, click "Watch the recorded presentation" below.

You may also prefer to just use our included checklist instead of going through each page. If that's the case, click on "Use the Checklist" to download that document.

We are continually updating this module with information about the fall, but the information contained here is applicable for all faculty who wish to be prepared for alternative scenarios in the fall term and beyond. 

Keep Reading ↓

Watch the recorded presentation

Use the Checklist

Goals

By the end of this first part of the plan...create...teach module, you should be able to:

• Apply a student-centered approach to your planning within your course
• Identify remote methods for delivering your assignments, activities, exams, lectures, and discussions
• Describe how you'll use some of the main tools for teaching remotely (Webex and Canvas)
• Describe strategies for engaging your students in the remote learning environment

Some general advice on planning your course

As you begin planning your course, regardless of the modality, we suggest that you go through these steps.

Align - Connect your activities to your course outcomes

• • Examine your course outcomes on the syllabus
  • Map learning activities to those outcomes
  • Look at every reading, every assignment, every lecture, etc.
  • Keep track of anything that is difficult to map to the outcomes
  • Take note of any activity where you get a big bang for your buck

Streamline - Determine which activities to focus on and which to discard

• • Have any activities where you get a big bang for your buck in terms of student learning? Focus your energy on making those quality experiences for your students.
  • Anything that is difficult to map to the outcomes? It may not be essential.
  • Choose items to discard, or to flag as additional resources for your students rather than requirements.
  • If you don’t want to discard them, consider how to better align them with your outcomes.

Adapt - Transform your activities to work with the remote format

• • Look at all of your remaining activities.
  • Consider what a format for each activity might look like in the modality you've been asked to teach in.
  • As you adapt, keep in mind those high-impact activities and focus on making those stellar experiences.
  • Consider opportunities offered by the online environment (flexibility, equity).
  • When in doubt, return to learning outcomes on your syllabus.