Teaching Online: Design & Delivery of Effective Online Courses: Online Course Design

Pacansky-Brock, M. (2014, March 26). How  design your online course [video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E12H1NUDkT0

The diagram is adapted from the Teaching Online Series from Indiana University.

The Backward Design Model is a very useful model for designing courses for both online and face-to-face settings.  Wiggens and McTighe, in their book Understanding by Design (2nd Ed., 2005), describe the three steps of backward design:

1. Identify desired results. What should students know and be able to do at the end of the course? These are your learning outcomes.
2. Determine acceptable evidence that students have achieved these learning outcomes. These are your formative and summative assessments.
3. Plan learning experiences, instruction, and resources that will help students be able to provide evidence that they have met the learning outcomes.

Dee Fink (2013) describes the steps of backward design as making three key sets of decisions:

1. What do you want the students to learn?
2. How will students (and the teacher) know if they are learning?
3. What will the teacher and students need to do for students to learn?

Alignment (Wiggens and McTighe) or integration (Fink) of desired learning outcomes, assessments, content materials, and teaching and learning activities provides consistency for students and supports more a accurate construction of course concepts.

It's about beginning with the end in mind by starting with desired learning outcomes, clearly stated in measurable terms, and working backwards through assessment activities, teaching and learning activities, and content delivery.