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Rachel Thelen, The University of Minnesota School of Dentistry
Noelle Haight, Occupational Therapist and Educator
Julia VanderMolen, University of the Pacific; Grand Valley State University
Key Statement: Four helpful tips, including backwards design, for the new instructor looking to (re)design their course.
Keywords: Curriculum Redesign, Course Design, New Teacher
Background
Imagine you are a new instructor whose supervisor has just asked you to take over a course from a retiring colleague in the upcoming academic year. This might be a course that you have always wanted to teach or one you never envisioned yourself teaching. What do you do now? Many new instructors face this “what now?” moment when tasked with teaching a new course. Fortunately, there are numerous strategies to help you effectively prepare for your first year as a course director or facilitator. In this article we will share tips that helped us redesign our first courses.
1. Start With the End in Mind
A helpful instructional design framework for new instructors is backwards design. This approach assists in designing new courses or redesigning existing ones by starting with the end in mind. Instructors first determine what students should know, understand, and be able to do by the end of the course (Cline et al., 2023; McTighe & Wiggins, 2012). This can be applied to various time frames, such as the end of the class session, midterms, and end of the course. Once these outcomes are identified, learning objectives and goals are created (McTighe & Wiggins, 2012).
Next, based on the desired goals and objectives, the instructor will determine assessments to ensure that students meet intended course outcomes (McTighe & Wiggins, 2012). These assessments can include quizzes, minute papers, surveys, and other methods to track student progress (Zakrajsek, 2016). Finally, the instructor will plan learning activities and instructions (McTighe & Wiggins, 2012). This may involve lectures, active learning activities, or group work to disseminate information and student learning. Although not strictly backwards design, consider that delivering course content in many different ways can help enrich the student learning experience (Zakrajsek, 2016). For example, rather than constructing a course with only lectures and quizzes, a course with papers, projects, and activities in addition to quizzes can help students apply knowledge in diverse ways and better achieve outcomes.
Designing a new course using the backwards design approach can be intimidating. If you inherited previous course materials, backwards design can help ensure course materials are properly aligned, potentially requiring only a few modifications. If, however, you don’t receive any existing materials when first teaching a course, backwards design can still be effectively applied. The previous course director or department can often provide you with the former course goals and learning objectives, where only minimal revision may be needed, to get you started, but you can still do this from scratch if needed. To become familiar with the process, it might be helpful to start with designing a single assignment or module.
2. Use Content Experts
Instructors may lack confidence and specific skill sets in subsets of the subject areas they teach. Using content experts in curriculum consultation or guest speaking can be valuable for the new instructor and student learning outcomes. For students, experts offer real-world knowledge and experience, which can assist in bridging a gap between theory and practice. Content experts can also offer diverse perspectives and insights into current trends, research, and resources. For instructors, collaboration with a content expert facilitates networking opportunities and opens doors for future collaborations either academically or professionally.
Additionally, expert collaboration can foster a more dynamic and engaging learning environment (Phan et al., 2024). Utilizing external resources to fill an instructor’s knowledge gap can enhance the quality of instruction and provide professional growth opportunities for new instructors.
3. Teamwork
When possible, work in teams! Teamwork in teaching can take various forms, such as co-teaching, observing other courses, or feedback from experienced instructors. Co-teaching, especially in the first year of teaching a new course, can be particularly valuable. It offers students a richer perspective when two complementary instructors teach together and allows the new instructor to learn effective teaching methods from a more experienced colleague (Hellier & Davidson, 2018). Team teaching can also lead to a deeper understanding of the content taught, as team members will often offer each other new insight and ask questions of the subject matter to gain a deeper understanding. Team teaching can also boost the confidence of all involved, which is especially beneficial for new instructors as they embark on their journey as educators (Hellier & Davidson, 2018). If co-teaching is not an option, observing the course beforehand or participating in peer evaluations can provide helpful experiences for improvement.
4. Continuous Improvement
It is important to view course design as an ongoing improvement process. Embracing a flexible mindset and focusing on progress versus perfection alleviates the anxiety and overwhelmed feeling that new instructors might experience when changing a course. Adopting this perspective will allow an instructor to adapt and change a course to meet the evolving needs of students and their growing knowledge and skills. Curriculum (re)design is an iterative process, and a course will never be “finished.” For new instructors, it may be beneficial to first teach a course in its existing format to completion and focus on gathering comprehensive feedback prior to making any changes. Thoughtful feedback from students can and should be obtained at regular checkpoints throughout a course. Formative assessment through student self-reflection can provide instructors with invaluable information about students' understanding and performance (Benson, 2023). The insights obtained through formative assessment allow instructors to implement real-time revisions and adjustments to ensure that the curriculum is relevant and learning outcomes may be achieved. Starting with small and incremental changes rather than sweeping curricular overhauls allows for a more manageable re-design process and for effective improvements.
Summary
New instructors face many challenges when taking on a course, whether it's a new assignment or one inherited from a colleague. One effective strategy for course design is the backwards design framework, which starts with identifying desired learning outcomes and working backwards to develop assessments and instructional activities. When a new instructor faces challenges due to gaps in knowledge, experience or confidence, integrating content expertise into the curriculum through consultation and guest lecturing not only enriches the student’s learning experience but may support the professional development of the instructor. Leveraging teamwork can also be beneficial, through co-teaching, observing other courses, or receiving feedback from experienced instructors. Co-teaching, in particular, provides new instructors with valuable insights and boosts confidence. Curriculum redesign is an iterative process that requires continual building, assessing, and improving. It is important to keep a flexible mindset and focus on progress rather than perfection when tackling a new course. Making small and incremental changes based upon feedback of students and teachers may make the process of curriculum redesign more manageable and less daunting.
Discussion Questions
How can you apply backwards design to your current or new course?
Can you identify a content expert to whom you could reach out?
What type of student feedback can you incorporate into your course?
References
Benson, S. (2023). Connecting assessment and learning. The Scholarly Teacher. 1-4.
Cline, K. M., Winhoven, M. M., Williams, V. L., Kelley, K. A., & Porter, B. L. (2022). Backward design to combat curricular expansion in a large, interdisciplinary, team-taught course. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 87(9), 1–2. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajpe.2022.12.009
Hellier, S., & Davidson, L. (2018). Team teaching in nursing education. Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing, 49(4), 186–192. https://doi.org/10.3928/00220124-20180320-09
Phan, T. A., Vu, T. H. N., Vo, N. T. N., & Le, T.-H. (2024). Enhancing educational outcomes through strategic guest speaker selection: A comparative study of alumni and industry experts in university settings. Business and Professional Communication Quarterly, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/23294906241263035
Wiggins, G.P. , & McTighe, J. (2012). Understanding by design framework. Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Zakrajsek, TD. (2016). Backwards design as a way forward. The Scholarly Teacher. 1-4. https://www.scholarlyteacher.com/post/backward-design-as-a-way-forward
About the Authors
