Instructional Design Aids: Course Vision Worksheet

Course Vision Worksheet

(Aid for composing these syllabus sections: Prerequisites, Purpose and Outcome, Instructional Methods)

The Course Vision Worksheet can be downloaded as a MS Word file.

Step 1: Desired Outcomes

Student-Centered Guiding Questions

1. What (knowledge, skills and attitudes) do you want the students to learn? Think about:
   • Facts
   • Concepts
   • Principles
   • Procedures
   • Interpersonal skills
   • Attitudes
2. What (cognitive, psychomotor and affective) do you want the students to be able to do? Think about:
   • Critical thinking and problem solving skills
   • Professional and/or clinical decision making skills
   • Tangible practice skills
   • Reflection and metacognitive skills
   • Collaboration skills
   • Communication skills
   • Values

Instructor-Centered Guiding Questions

1. What do you want to teach? Consider:
   • Major destinations on the journey from beginner to proficient to expert
   • Experiences and insights that only you can bring to the course
   • What competence looks like in practice
2. What do you want to be able to do in this course this semester? Consider:
   • Your teaching style and what gives you satisfaction in the classroom
   • Skills you want to showcase
   • New materials, methods, or strategies you want to try

Step 2: Requirements

Field / Discipline / Profession Guiding Questions

1. What tangible skills and knowledge should this course give a student applying for graduate study in the field?
2. What tangible skills and knowledge should this course give a student applying for a position in the field?

Accrediting Bodies / Curriculum Guiding Questions

1. What accreditation and curriculum requirements are met by this course?
   • What specific competencies are covered only in this course?
   • What kind of evidence is needed to confirm competency to maintain accreditation?
2. How does this course fit into the program of study?
   • What pre-requisite knowledge is required to succeed in the course?
   • What co-requisite courses are the students typically learning at the same time?
   • How does this course serve as the pre-requisite for other courses?

Step 3: Conditions

Learner Characteristics Guiding Questions

1. How would you describe the prototypical “any-student” and their impact on the learning environment? Think about:
   • Are these undergraduate students, graduate students, doctoral students?
   • What are common learner characteristics, strengths and challenges students at that level tend to express?
2. How will learner variability convert the prototypical “any-student” into an individual with unique talents and needs?
   • How will you reflect on the accuracy of your initial assumptions and adapt to student variability?
   • How will you reflect the diversity of your students and their lived experiences in the learning environment?

Learning Environment Guiding Questions

1. How do you envision the classroom environment? What characteristics create the totality of the classroom environment?
2. Is this course on-campus, on-line, hybrid?  How do you plan to blend the synchronous and asynchronous components?
3. What characteristics of your teaching philosophy and style contribute to the classroom environment?
4. How do you describe the subject matter?  What level of difficulty is embedded in the materials?

Ecology of Learning Environment Guiding Questions

1. How would you describe the broader context in which the course is being taught?
2. How can this course help students build their professional identity?
3. What other formal and informal learning domains and community influences might affect the course learning environment?
4. How will the academic calendar affect the course?

Step 4: Core Alignment

Based on your answers in Steps 1 through 3.  Synthesize the following:

1. List any pre-requisites.
2. Write a cohesive course overview. (Preferably in the range of 50 words)
3. Describe how the course fits into the program of study and relates directly to future study and professional practice.
4. Write an over-arching course goal.
5. Write three to five strong (final) learning outcomes* (objectives) that are higher order. (Aid for writing objectives.)
6. Describe the Instructional Methods.
7. Compare your Step 4 responses to the current syllabus. Are any of your responses in Step 4 extremely different than the current course syllabus?  If “Yes”, check with the program director.

^*Note: Writing appropriate lower level objectives to build up to these final outcomes will be addressed in course mapping.