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Planning a course is not always linear but typically involves a series of steps.
A course plan demonstrates our values and beliefs about higher education in general,
and what we believe about our roles as teachers, specifically. The following steps
describe alternative planning decisions you can make in regard to your own course. For
more information, see Planning a College Course by Ryan and Marten, published by
The National Center for Research to Improve Postsecondary Teaching and Learning,
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 1989.
If it is to make the world a better place, you'll want to use contemporary social issues to
help students learn their roles in accomplishing this goal.
If it is to teach students to think effectively, you'll need to plan student interaction
employing the intellectual skills of observing, classifying, applying, analyzing, and
evaluating.
If it is to provide students with the ability to earn a living as productive citizens, you'll
need to include vocational knowledge and skills.
If it should emphasize the great ideas, products and discoveries of the human mind, you
must select content from the discipline to illuminate major ideas and concepts of
important thinkers.
If it should help students clarify their beliefs and values to provide guidance in their
lives, you must plan exercises which consider the merits of alternative values.
The goals for your course should reflect some of those identifed for the department or
program. Usually your course can be located on a "curricular map." For example, it
might be described as:
• a general education course for students with limited background in the discipline
• a graduate course
Ask the question, "How should students be different when they finish this course?" Is
there consensus in your discipline on what should be included in such a course?
Careful selection of content will reflect the most important topics. Questions to ask
include:
This Step requires a balance so that there is sufficient content to make the course
challenging and not so much content that the pace of the course is too rushed. Leave
room in case a topic takes longer or other unpredictable events occur. Use student
feedback devises to adjust coverage rate.
Structurally based content is consistent with the way relationships in the field occur,
e.g., spatial, chronological, physical, etc.
• relationships that proceed from simplest ideas to those of more complexity, and
abstractness
• students should first learn skills that are likely to be useful later in life
• students should encounter familiar ideas and simple phenomena before those
that are more unfamiliar and complex
Vocationally based content helps students become familiar with practice and employer
needs.
Why are students taking your course? Some reasons may be to:
They also may be there to get a better job or meet social expectations. The match
between your goals and those of your students is important. Try asking students what
their goals are. Share your goals and explain why they are important. What background
have your students had and what external pressures are they working? The answers
help guide your pace.
Use both active and passive modes of instruction. Lecture is the most common passive
mode while active modes include discussion, case studies, labs, clinics, and field
experiences. Research about teaching and learning shows that students learn more
content, more quickly, and retain what they have learned longer if they are actively
engaged. A combination of the two modes often works well.
Textbooks can be used as an organizing source wich integrates the course content. Tell
the students how you expect them to use the text in their learning, and what is useful
about it. Do not criticize it or the author. This isn't constructive and it can undermine
learning. If discrepancies occur between your views and the text, explain that rival
interpretations exist, and give reasons for your choice. You can encourage realization
that clear "truths" are not always agreed upon. Do clarify for students which ideas are
acceptable for examinations.
If textbooks are not used, you'll need to help students organize and integrate knowledge
in the course. Monographs and articles can:
• class schedule with topic and readings sequence, due dates for assignments,
and dates and times of exams
• exams or quizzes
The best time to make your own notes about needed changes is after each class
session.
Step 10. Seek Advice from Colleagues and Experts
Colleagues from the field can provide useful ideas for planning your course on topics
such as instructional modes, test construction, and student feedback. Your discipline
may have teaching journals which have useful ideas.