Course Design Process 101

Educators typically approach course design in a “forward design” manner. They consider how to teach the content first, develop assessments around their learning activities, then attempt to draw connections to the learning objectives of the course.

In contrast, the backward design approach asks educators to consider the learning objectives of the course first. For this reason, backward design is considered an intentional approach to course design than traditional methods of design.

Backward Design Framework- Begin With the End in Mind

There are many course design frameworks to choose from when designing or redesigning a course. Backward Design is a popular framework from the book Understanding by Design by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe.

The backward design framework begins with the end in mind and includes 3 steps:

Identifying what you want students learn or be able to do. In this step you curate and develop the learning objectives.
Determining acceptable evidence. These are the assessments students will complete to demonstrate they have met the learning objectives.
Planning learning experiences and instruction. In this step, you develop your instructional activities, choose resources and provide opportunities for students to practice what they learned.

Backwards Design framework infographic

Backwards Design- Step by Step

The first step in the Backward Design framework is to create your learning objectives. These statements reflect what you want students to know or be able to do at the end of instruction.

Goal, Objective, Outcome? The terms goals, objectives, and outcomes are often used interchangeably which can lead to confusion.
- Goals refer to a broader view of what you want your students to achieve.
- Objectives refer to the steps students need to reach the learning goal
- Outcomes are what students actually achieve based on assessment evidence (Barkley & Major, 2016).
You will come across different definitions for these terms. It can be confusing but our best advice is to not get caught up in semantics. Until there is a better consensus among educators, we will refer to these statements as learning objectives.
- Learning objectives (LO) contain a measurable verb, knowledge and/or skill and additional supporting or clarifying details as needed. Creating LOs is an iterative process and it is likely you will need to refine them as you develop your instruction.
- Two popular frameworks used to create learning objectives are Bloom’s Taxonomy and Fink’s Taxonomy of Significant learning.
View our Creating Learning Objectives Self-Paced Resource Guide for a step by step overview of how to create learning objectives.

Creating Learning Objectives Resource Guide
After you drafted specific and measurable learning objectives, the next step in the course development process is to develop your assessments. These assessments should align with your course learning objectives and give students the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned.

Consider the following two questions at this step:
1. How will I know if students have achieved the desired results?
2. What will I accept as evidence of student understanding and proficiency?
There are two types of assessments you can incorporate in your course.
- Formative Assessment: occurs while learning is taking place. The goal is to make immediate modifications/improvements to the teaching and learning experience when warranted. Typically these tasks are not graded or points are granted for participation.
- Summative Assessment: occurs at the end of a unit, course, or program. The goal is to document student learning and use results for future modifications/improvements for the next cohort of students taking the course.
For examples of measurable verbs and aligned assessments, view our Bloom's Assessment Verbs reference sheet.

For more information about Course Assessment, visit the Academic Assessment portion of our website.
Now that you have determined what you want students to know or be able to do (learning objectives) and created ways for students to demonstrate what they have learned (assessments), the final step is to provide the instructional resources and activities that align with your objectives and assessments.

These resources give students opportunities for practice and feedback so they can successfully complete the assessments. Instructional resources and activities can also be used as formative assessments.

Active Learning

Active learning strategies are a great way to help students apply what they are learning and keep them engaged. Review our resources on Active Learning and our Active Learning Classrooms.

Open Access Resources (OER)
- - Open Educational Resources (OER)- These are free, open and adaptable resources that you can incorporate into your classes and modify based on your needs. Find more information about finding and using OERs on the Library OER LibGuide page.
  - OER Commons and Merlot are popular repositories you can peruse for free learning objects, lesson plans and instructional resources to possibly use for your online course module or workshop plan assignment.

*Backward Design Video Designed and created in Camtasia by Tina Fox; Written and Narrated by Jerod Quinn

Course Alignment Map

The following template walks your through each step of the backward design framework. Below you will find a link to download the template with descriptions to guide you through through aligning your student learning objectives, assessments and instructional activities.

Need More Guidance? Feel free to also reach out to the CELT at celt@stonybrook.edu to schedule a consultation with an instructional designer.

Course Alignment Map