Design a Course

Course Design Considerations

Adapted from the Great Lakes Colleges Association Course Design and Teaching Workshop and from Jack Call, “Developing a Course Outline.”

Preliminary Questions

• Who are your students? What experiences and expertise might they bring to the table that is relevant to the course?
• Who are you as a teacher in relation to these students? Do you offer scholarly expertise in a subject area? Or bring current research findings to a general audience? Do you see yourself primarily as a discussion leader or facilitator? Do you mentor hands-on learning or model a creative process?
• How much time do you have? How many sessions? How long is each one? Bring the goals for each class and for the course as a whole into alignment with the limited time you have and the students you are teaching. Often that means a narrower focus for the course--less “coverage” and more “exploration.”
• How much time do your students have? LLI participants often lead very busy lives, and quite a few are taking more than one LLI course. The wise instructor will adjust the reading and writing load accordingly.
• What are the goals of the course, and how will you know when you have met those goals? Do you hope students will acquire a body of knowledge? A set of skills? An informed appreciation of art, music, film, wine, a literary text? Will they learn to create something beautiful or useful—a memoir, a poem, a culinary masterpiece, a painting?
• What strategies will help the course meet those goals? Which classroom model (lecture, discussion, case study, studio, lab) is best suited to your goals? Which teaching techniques? Which activities or assignments?

A Few Useful Concepts

Course “Architecture.” Think of your course in terms of units, movements, or important points on the map, and try to see its architecture. Make this architecture visible and explain it to students. Provide the structure and coherence within which learning can take place.

Structure/Freedom. Structure and freedom should balance each other comfortably in an LLI class. Developmentally, adult students require less structure and benefit from greater freedom to determine their own direction. Give your students the freedom to say what they need to say in class and the structure that helps them shape ideas, make connections, and see directions. 

Trajectory: Think of the “arc” of your course and try to make one assignment lead logically to the next.

Closure: Build  in some form of summary or reflection at the end. Remind students of what they/we have learned. Celebrate their insights or creations. Suggest where the path leads next through recommended readings or a follow-up experience.

Useful Resources:

1. “Design the Course” - https://osher.dartmouth.edu/get_involved/design_course/index.php
2. “Course Design Tools” - https://osher.dartmouth.edu/docs/coursedesign_tips_2022.pdf