Course (re)Design Series

Reflection is an integral to teaching and learning. In the first session, new and experienced instructors are invited to reflect on their teaching practice. We’ll identify opportunities and challenges within the course development process, consider strategies to humanize learning environments, and explore accessible and inclusive teaching strategies to support and engage all students.

What are your design goals? In this session, we consider the various factors that influence course design. You will plan learning activities and assessments that support the achievement of the learning outcomes.

What constitutes acceptable evidence that students have achieved the learning outcomes? This session explores the accuracy, validity, reliability and equity of assessments. We discuss the advantages and limitations of various assessment formats and choose strategies that align with your teaching goals. You will develop an authentic assessment that allows students to demonstrate their learning and define marking criteria that describe qualitative differences at each level of achievement.

Interested in adding new activities to your repertoire of teaching strategies? This session explores a variety of active learning methods to create an engaging and inclusive learning experience. We discuss the practical considerations of integrating active learning into your teaching practice and explore how these strategies can be adapted for various disciplines and teaching contexts. You will develop an active learning strategy to teach a key concept in your course and exchange feedback with your peers to further refine your plans.

Constructive feedback can help students understand their strengths and areas for improvement, guiding them towards better performance and deeper learning. We explore how to integrate actionable, specific, and timely feedback into learning activities to enhance student engagement. You will practice seeking, giving, and responding to feedback by participating in a peer review.

The Course (re)Design Series provides time and space to reflect on your teaching challenges in a highly supportive, collaborative environment. In the final session, you will share an element of your course design with peers and engage in collaborative brainstorming for improvement while emphasizing the importance of reflection and community for enhancing teaching and learning experiences.

Contact your department Chair to determine your eligibility. With approval from your Chair, this workshop may be included in your Standard Workload Formula (SWF) for full-time faculty. Other-than-full-time faculty (OTFT) will be paid meeting rate for completing the series.

Yes, you can. If you are not currently developing a course, you can select a course you have previously taught or are currently teaching to use as an example for the practical activities.

Sessions 1 and 6 are offered as synchronous in-person. Sessions 2 to 5 are synchronous online with facilitated discussion and feedback in small groups.

Each workshop session is two hours. In addition to attending the workshop sessions, participants will complete assignments independently.

If you are unable to attend a session, please let us know. You will be given an opportunity to make up the session the next time the series is offered.