Designing and Teaching a Course
Summary
The success of any class depends largely on the pedagogical choices teachers make in their course design. Here are some resources that will support you both as you design your course and as you implement your course design in the classroom.
Here is a toolkit of essential teaching resources to help you create an inclusive, well-structured, and engaging learning experience for your students.
- Preparing a Syllabus: Start with your course roadmap. With the university's new syllabus policy now in effect, it's essential to use this resources to create a clear and compliant document that sets your students up for success.
- Backwards Course Design: Build a more coherent and effective course with this proven methodology. Start by defining your learning outcomes, then design assessments and activities that align perfectly with those goals.
- First Day of Class: Make the most of your first meeting to set a positive tone and build community. Move beyond just reviewing the syllabus and discover strategies to capture student excitement and enthusiasm from day one.
- Reading, Writing, & Discussion: Explore three key ways to engage students and support their learning are through readings, writings, and discussions. Encourage critical thinking and give students numerous opportunities throughout the semester to apply their knowledge.
- Active Learning: Go beyond the traditional lecture. Discover strategies to get students actively involved and find ways to balance content delivery and student engagement.
- Working in Groups: Group work allows you to pose challenging questions that group members solve collectively. Promoting interaction among students and essentially turns large classes into smaller sections in the same room.
- Making Material Clear: Ensure your students understand complex topics. Learn how to contextualize material, understand the types of questions that best fit your purpose, and help students read difficult texts in unfamiliar contexts.