Skip to main content
Indiana University Bloomington
  •  
  •  

Course Development

Process of Course Design

The following guidelines are provided by the IC staff to facilitate faculty and AIs as they develop on-campus and/or online courses.


For additional information regarding course design and development, you can check out the following pages:

 

Course Design Overview

There are 4 phrases in the design of an on-campus and/or online course. Each of these phrases need to be carefully attended to:

  1. Pre-design analysis

    At this phrase, you need to identify as well as analyse your student population, the facilities and resources available, the curricular context of the course...

  2. Determinging course goals and scope

    At this phase, you need to determine the scope the course, the goals as well as the objectives of the course, the expectations for student performance upon completion of the course...

  3. Designing course structure and content

    At this phase, you need to determine the chuncking as well sequencing of the course content, the learning activities, course materials...

  4. Determing evaluation methods

    At this phase, you need to select appropriate types as well as formats of student assessment, course evaluation...

[ Back to Top ]

Phases of Course Design

The following is a discussion of the various design tasks that need to be performed at each phase of the course design process.

  1. Pre-design analysis

    Before actually designing the course, you need to first have a clear idea of your target students, the resources available, and the general curricular requirements of the course. This pre-design analysis falls into the following categories:

    • Target students
      • number of students
      • demographic information
      • student status (undergraduate/graduate)
      • major
      • in cohort group or not
      • goals
        • educational
        • career
        • personal
    • Facilities
      • size of classroom
      • lab availability
      • available technology
    • Resources
      • library
      • online databases
      • software
      • community members and institutions
      • other faculty and AIs at IU and elsewhere
    • Curricular context
      • course level (introductory/advanced)
      • prerequisites
      • required/elective
      • number of credit hours

  2. Determinging course goals and scope

    When you have a clear idea of your students and the context of your course, you are ready to proceed with defining the following aspects of the course:

    • Content
      • scope of course (depth/breadth of content)
      • prerequisite knowledge
      • important concepts
    • Course goals
      • overall purpose of the course
      • knowledge and skills the course is to provide
    • Instructional objectives
      • higher order thinking skills
      • basic academic success skills
      • discipline-specific knowledge and skills
      • academic enculturation
      • career preparation
      • personal development
    • Learning objectives
      • observable performance expected of students
      • conditions under which student are expected to perform
      • level of acceptable performance
    • Expectations for student performance
      • grading criteria and policies
      • rubrics
      • self-assessment tools
      • samples of assignments

  3. Designing course structure and content

    Once the scope and goals of the course are determined, you are ready to proceed with defining the following aspects of the course:

    • Course structure
      • sequencing of readings and activities
      • content organizational scheme
        • linear
        • cumulative
        • modular
    • Learning activities
      • types of activities
      • types of interactions
      • expected outcomes
      • alternative/backup activities
    • Course materials
      • texts
      • software
      • online resources
    • Procedures/Course management
      • turning in work
      • late submission policy
      • incomplete policy
      • revision policy
      • office hours
      • contact information
      • method and timing of feedback

  4. Determing evaluation methods

    The final phase of the course design process is to determine both the student assessment methods and the course evaluation methods:

    • Student Assessment
      • Format
        • Tests and Quizzes
          • Criterion-referenced
          • Norm-referenced
        • Portfolios
        • Presentations and Demonstrations
        • Observations
      • Types
        • Instructor
        • Peer
        • Self
    • Course Evaluation
      • Formative