It’s easy to switch into automatic pilot mode when it comes to planning a course. It goes something like this: (1) we look at the topic of the course we’re ...

In my copious spare time, I enjoy compiling a list of bad ideas for universities. Here’s what’s currently at the top: Free College – where tuition is covered – but not the more expensive cost of ...

First impressions count and are worthy of preparatory efforts. In educational video production, especially for online courses, the introduction videos that make first impressions are among the more ...

Earlier this summer I discussed the idea of backward design, which comes from Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe’s excellent book Earlier this summer I discussed the idea of backward design, which comes ...

One of the greatest challenges of planning a course for the first time, or making substantial revisions, is what content to cover. Before my introduction to the principles of backward design, I would ...

One of the most robust backward design models developed for higher education is L. Dee Fink’s integrated course design. Fink outlines a streamlined process for designing academic courses, divided into ...

The pandemic-driven switch to remote learning alerted many faculty members to the importance of course design. In an online course, keeping students on track requires clarity and structure; it also ...