Course Design & Delivery

Overview

Whether you are preparing to teach a course for the first time, updating an existing course, or even developing a lesson plan, it can be helpful to start the process by asking yourself three questions:

1. What do you want students to learn or be able to do by the end of your course, lesson, or unit?
2. How will you determine if they have accomplished those goals?
3. What teaching approaches and activities will you use to prepare students to meet those goals?

Your responses to these questions will help you begin to identify your learning objectives, methods of assessment, and approaches to teaching— three core components of any course. These questions are at the heart of the course design process. Moving through each question systematically is an example of Backward Design, a commonly used framework conceptualized by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe. In addition to Backward Design, there are other approaches to course development, many of which incorporate the needs of students and climate of the learning environment as important factors shaping design and teaching choices.

At the Searle Center, we encourage instructors to embrace a learner-centered and inclusive approach to all aspects of their course design process. We offer a variety of programs, services, and resources addressing course design topics, such as developing learning objectives, assessing student learning and giving feedback, using active learning strategies in the classroom, and building high-impact practices into courses.

Programs

Our programs offer the Northwestern community a variety of ways to develop teaching skills, enhance student learning, and find community. The following programs will spark your curiosity about course design and delivery.

Course Design Institute

An annual immersive three-day course design institute centered on developing a new Canvas-ready syllabus for the upcoming academic year, driven by inclusive, evidence-based practices, iterative discussion, and reflective learning communities.

Learn More and Register

Academic Kickoff

The Academic Kickoff features interactive, informative sessions designed to facilitate graduate student and postdoc transitions to teaching roles at Northwestern University. The events are held every fall and spring.

Visit the program page

Reflective and Effective Teaching

Reflective Teaching Guides further their pedagogical development by mentoring their peers in Reflective and Effective Teaching (RET).

Visit the program page

Universal Design for Learning Practicum

This is a three-week, cohort-based online program designed for participants to reflect on the evolving needs of students and instructors, with an emphasis on mental health.

Visit the program page

Learning & Teaching Guides

Guides created by or in collaboration with the Searle Center to help educators explore and advance their course design and delivery.

• Northwestern Principles of Inclusive Teaching (2021)
• DEI Syllabus Statements (2023)
• In Brief: Revealing the Hidden Curriculum of Our Courses (2024)
• Reflection on Flexibility in Course Attendance Policies (2021)

Creating significant learning experiences : an integrated approach to designing college courses

Fink, L. Dee, 2003

How Learning Works: Seven Research-Based Principles for Smart Teaching

Ambrose, Susan, Michael W. Bridges, Michele DiPietro, Marsha C. Lovett, Marie K. Norman, 2010

The Missing Course: Everything They Never Taught You About College Teaching.

Gooblar, David, 2020

Distracted: Why Students Can’t Focus and What You Can Do About It

Lang, James, 2020

Understanding by Design

Wiggins, Grant and Jay McTighe, 2005

Further Resources

Our current recommendations for both foundational and leading-edge content related to course design and delivery.

• Gillis, Alanna. “Reconceptualizing Participation Grading as Skill Building.” Teaching Sociology 47, no. 1 (2019): 10-21. https://www-jstor-org.turing.library.northwestern.edu/stable/26978646
• Hanstedt, Paul. Creating Wicked Students: Designing Courses for a Complex World. Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing, 2018.
• Krathwohl, David R. “A Revision of Bloom’s Taxonomy: An Overview.” Theory into Practice 41, no. 4 (2002): 212-218. https://www-jstor-org.turing.library.northwestern.edu/stable/pdf/1477405
• Lang, James. Small Teaching: Lessons from the Everyday Science of Learning. 1st ed. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2016.
  • A second edition was published in 2021; it is not currently available through the library.
• Tanner, Kimberly. "Structure Matters: Twenty-One Teaching Strategies to Promote Student Engagement and Cultivate Classroom Equity,” CBE-Life Sciences Education 12, no. 3 (2013): 322-331. DOI: 10.1187/cbe.13-06-0115

Awards & Grants

Northwestern University recognizes educators and researchers doing innovative work. The following list includes opportunities which we believe dovetail with work related to course design and delivery.

• Alumnae Award for Curriculum Innovation
• Open Educational Resource (OER) Faculty Grant
• University Teaching Awards
• Canvas Hall of Fame
  

Calendar of Events

Below are all of our upcoming events related to course design and delivery.

Contact Us

Reach out to us at teach@northwestern.edu.