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Course Design

Course design involves planning and developing a structure for the course to facilitate successful learning experience for the instructor and the students. Course design brings together the identification of learning objectives, the selection of appropriate teaching strategies and materials, and the organization of content in a way that supports effective learning. Reviewing the course as a whole and separating (chunking) complex subject matter into smaller, more manageable units or modules is an important part of the process. Once that structure is designed, moving on to selecting or creating materials and activities supporting learning and engagement.

Course Design and Development

Successful courses begin with quality course design. Careful planning during the design process not only makes teaching easier and more enjoyable, it also facilitates student learning. Design with accessibility and Universal Design for Learning (UDL) in mind from the beginning is being proactive in meeting the needs of all students.

Course design and development begins with a backward design model by identifying the overall course goals and objectives. Things to consider:

What do you want students to be able to do at the end of each unit and course?
What instructional strategies will be used to ensure all students are included?
What assessments will demonstrate what the students can do, are they aligned with the objectives and activities?
What experiences and activities best align with the objectives and engage the students in learning?
Are your course materials accessible?
Are strategies included for improving the course based on feedback and evaluation?

Backward Design

As with all quality course development, start by using the backward design model (Wiggins and McTighe, 2005) when designing or redesigning your course. In the backward design process, you structure student learning based on assessments that are intentionally designed to provide evidence that students have achieved the course goals.

Backward Design graphic - 1. Identify desired results - 2. determine acceptable evidence - 3. plan learning experiences and instruction

The first step in backward course design is to clearly articulate the final results of the course. Begin by asking yourself:

What do I want my students to be able to think and do by the end of the course?
How will my students be different by the end of the course?
What are the course goals (aligned with program goals)?
What are the unit/module objectives (aligned with course goals)?

Goals & Objectives

Bloom's Taxonomy, which is organized into six categories (levels of understanding), lists a variety of verbs to represent the action expected of thinking and doing. Bloom's Taxonomy can be used to develop goals and objectives for the course.

Goals are broad, generalized statements about what is to be learned in the course. Course goals are aligned with the program curriculum goals. Examples

Objectives, designed to be included in weekly units, should be more specific. Each objective includes only one action verb that is Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Tim-bound (SMART). Unit objectives are aligned with the course goals and the unit materials and activities.

Assessments

After creating course goals and unit objectives, the next step in designing your course is to think about and plan what evidence the students will provide to show they have achieved the final goals for the course and the progressive unit objectives. Consider a variety of assessment types; alternative, authentic, and flexible (providing choices) as a more holistic and authentic evaluation of student learning. The benefits include more accurate representation of student learning, enhanced engagement and motivation, including diverse learning needs, and fostering deeper learning and critical thinking.

Once you identify these different types of assessment evidence, it is time to start planning the communication, activities, assignments, and course content that will be aligned to meet unit objectives and final course goals.

The following Course Design Worksheet is a word document that can be used to develop your course before adding it to the Learning Management System (Blackboard). The worksheet is used as a storyboard, outlining the flow of your course.

Course Design Worksheet

The worksheet is very helpful to start thinking about the flow and organization of your content, and how this aligns with your learning objectives, outcomes, and assessments. Download the Course Design Worksheet to begin designing your course.

Start with Module/week 1 & 2 and when finished, ask one of our Instructional Designers to provide a review with some feedback. IDC Instructional Design Consultation Request.

Are your course materials and activities aligned with the objectives?
Do the assessments you selected provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate they have achieved the objectives?
Are your teaching strategies and course content inclusive and accessible to all students?

Next step would be to continue the examples you created from the first two modules on and complete the course.

Regular & Substantive Interaction

Regular Substantive Interaction (RSI) refers to meaningful and consistent engagement between students and their instructors or the educational content.

NDSU Exemplar Course Design Rubric

To ensure the quality of courses and course design, use the Exemplar Course Design Rubric. This rubric is grounded in research and scholarship and articulates the indicators and standards of quality. The rubric can be used to guide the development of new courses or review existing courses. The items listed in the rubric are evidence-based recommendations for components of successful courses that are found to be most impactful for student learning. Download the IDC Exemplar Course Design Rubric (2025 version).

Start of Semester Course Checklist

The Course Checklist is a final check, before making the course open/available, to ensure you have the key components of your course ready for students. Download the Course Checklist before you open/make available your course.

Simple Course Design - Blackboard Layout

The Blackboard course layout should be easy to navigate and understand. A major complaint from students is that they spend too much time searching to find the information, tools, and resources they need to succeed. We recommend using a defined navigation pathway following a unit or weekly Module design. That way, when students see a familiar layout at a high level, they can find the rest of the content for the week without guessing where things are located.

When considering your content design at a high level, it is helpful to think about how content is chunked into manageable segments with Modules as units or weeks. Each Module will include all of the information, content, and activities the students will need to succeed. All course materials, assignments, activities, and assessments are aligned with the lesson objectives and course goals. They are included in each Module to provide focus and context for students.