GILBERTO TEIXEIRA (D.B.A.)
Preparing a detailed course outline is useful in the early stages of course development. It lets the design team and the academic department have a clear idea of what the final course will incorporate. It can also serve as the basis for the syllabus for the course.
Below is a descriptive outline of what might be included. You might find it helpful to talk through some of the items with your instructional designer as you draft your course outline.
1. General course description
· What will be covered in this course?
o What will you (and won't you) cover in this course?
o What will your approach be to teaching this content? (e.g. lecture style, discussion format, case study, problem-based learning, collaborative learning, etc.)
o Are there any prerequisites to this course?
o How will this relate to the material that was covered in the prerequisite course(s)?
o Is there any other body of content that it will draw on? (For example, a science course might draw on calculus concepts, even if calculus is not an official prerequisite.)
o Are there any life experiences that the student might find it helpful to draw upon?
· How do you envision the course being delivered?
o Will this be an independent learning course, or will there be other students pacing through the course at the same time (as they would in a face-to-face class)?
o Will you expect students to interact with fellow classmates?
o Will you expect students to stick to a prescribed pace of study or can they work through the course at their own pace?
o What technology(s)--such as the Web, CD ROM, print, audio, video, pdf, etc.--will be used to deliver the course?
§ For each technology you would like to incorporate, briefly explain how that technology will be used (e.g. "A printed study guide will be used to deliver the core course content" or "Course lecture materials will be in pdf format and delivered to the students on a CD ROM" or "Class discussions will take place in a Web-based discussion forum" - don't worry about specifics)
2. General course goals/objectives
· List 4-5 broad statements of what you hope students will know, be able to do, or have experienced as a result of taking the course
3. General course requirements
· List the graded assignments for the course (e.g. papers, projects, quizzes, exams, class participation grades, etc.)
o include a description of each, including the general directions/steps students need to follow in order to complete the assignments; also indictate whether students must adhere to a specific style of reference such as APA
o indicate the percentage of the course grade that each assignment will be worth
4. Outline of overall course structure (i.e., lessons/topics)
· How will the course be broken down (units? lessons? modules?)
· What topics will be covered in each component?
· How much time will they have to complete the course?
· How much time will they have to work through each course component (i.e. a single lesson)?
· How much time do you expect students to devote to your course each week (or day or month...whatever time frame makes the most sense)?
5. Listing of general resources students will need for course
List any textbooks, articles, workbooks, videos, software, or other special materials students will need to have in order to complete the course. For each item
· provide as much identifying detail as possible (such as an ISBN number for a textbook or ordering info for a brochure)
· include a brief statement for each item as to why it is needed/required
Faculty often choose to use the same materials for their distance education course that they use in the traditional, face-to-face classroom. If you are familiar and satisfied with a given set of materials, using those will certainly facilitate the development of your course. Whenever one chooses course materials, there are several considerations to keep in mind:
· Readability
When analyzing the relative difficulty of course materials, try to forget all you know about the topic and look at the material with the eye of an uninformed student. How much difficulty do you think your students will have comprehending the material? Will your students bring the necessary background knowledge to your course that will enable them to comprehend what they are reading? Will other, supplemental materials need to be assigned in order to further clarify complex or difficult topics or to provide students with a way to investigate a topic further?
When analyzing the relative difficulty of course materials, try to forget all you know about the topic and look at the material with the eye of an uninformed student. How much difficulty do you think your students will have comprehending the material? Will your students bring the necessary background knowledge to your course that will enable them to comprehend what they are reading? Will other, supplemental materials need to be assigned in order to further clarify complex or difficult topics or to provide students with a way to investigate a topic further?
· Shelf life
The life of a course should be several years. Beware of items that will quickly date themselves and/or will quickly go out-of-publication. Since materials are often revised and updated frequently by publishers, choosing the most recent edition(s) often ensures that your course will not need to be revised right away. If more recent editions are not available, supplying students with journal articles or other supplementary materials can bring the topics covered up-to-date (of course copyright permission must be obtained in order to reprint/reuse such materials).
The life of a course should be several years. Beware of items that will quickly date themselves and/or will quickly go out-of-publication. Since materials are often revised and updated frequently by publishers, choosing the most recent edition(s) often ensures that your course will not need to be revised right away. If more recent editions are not available, supplying students with journal articles or other supplementary materials can bring the topics covered up-to-date (of course copyright permission must be obtained in order to reprint/reuse such materials).
· Cost
Similar to your traditional class, you may wish to consider the cost to the students of the materials that you select. For example, in the case of printed materials, such as a textbook, if only a small portion of the material is needed for the class, we may be able to obtain copyright permission to reprint that section at a lower cost. You might also consider whether or not the materials you select will be usable by the students in other courses or in their professional work. Students are often more amenable to purchasing special course materials, such as reference works or software, if they feel that they'll be able to use those materials outside of your course. In general, however, we recommend limiting the amount of course materials that must be purchased by the student to three or four resources, in order to keep the cost to the student as low as possible.
Similar to your traditional class, you may wish to consider the cost to the students of the materials that you select. For example, in the case of printed materials, such as a textbook, if only a small portion of the material is needed for the class, we may be able to obtain copyright permission to reprint that section at a lower cost. You might also consider whether or not the materials you select will be usable by the students in other courses or in their professional work. Students are often more amenable to purchasing special course materials, such as reference works or software, if they feel that they'll be able to use those materials outside of your course. In general, however, we recommend limiting the amount of course materials that must be purchased by the student to three or four resources, in order to keep the cost to the student as low as possible.
· Real-world applicability
Look for resources that contain things an adult learner can apply to his/her daily life and work, such as books with case studies, examples, or activities based on real-world events/challenges.
Look for resources that contain things an adult learner can apply to his/her daily life and work, such as books with case studies, examples, or activities based on real-world events/challenges.