Regardless of whether you are planning to teach fully online next term or return to the classroom to a perhaps blended approach to teaching face-to-face and online, it is important to take time to reflect on your course and identify changes that you will make. Below are some strategies to help you consider your course and your students, and start thinking about what you may change or improve next term.
Needs Analysis
Before redesigning a component of your course, it is important to take a step back and evaluate your existing course design and conduct a needs analysis. This will help you identify the components of your course that are designed well and aligned with the rest of your curriculum and those that you may wish to revise. It will also provide an opportunity to review your particular teaching context, the needs of your students, and issues arising in your course that you wish to resolve with changes in your course design. Below are some questions to consider:
The Learning Environment: Philosophical and Epistemological Underpinnings
- What philosophical and theoretical perspectives underpin teaching and learning in your discipline and/or the course being analyzed?
- How would you define your role as teacher?
- What expectations do you have of your students as learners?
- What technology-related expectations does your school, faculty, or university have that you are expected to adhere to? For example, blended learning, fully online learning, flipped classroom, etc. This is particularly important if you are planning to return to the classroom and what technology you would continue to use in your teaching
The Student Cohort
- What types of diversity are you aware of that will need to be addressed in the expected student cohort (e.g., Cultural background, age, location, prior knowledge and skills)?
- Are you aware of any specific learning needs that may arise from the diversity present in the student cohort?
- What expectations can you realistically have with regard to information technology access, knowledge, and skills of your students?
The Curriculum
- What are the learning outcomes for this course? Are they measurable?
- What knowledge, skills, and attitudes will be developed?
- Do your learning outcomes relate to any program learning outcomes or graduate capabilities?
The Teaching and Learning Processes, Activities and Resources
- What learning activities and learning processes are necessary (and desirable) to support the achievement of the intended learning outcomes?
- Do your current learning activities help foster meeting the learning outcomes? Is there anything about the learning activities you would change?
- What resources are needed to support the teaching and learning activities defined above? Are your current resources sufficient and effective?
Assessment and Feedback
- Do your assessments measure your students’ achievement of the intended learning outcomes?
- Have you observed any unintended learning outcomes?
- How do you provide feedback on your assessment tasks?
Next: Moving Forward – Evaluating from Multiple Perspectives