how to plan a course outline

by Berry Kassulke 5 min read

Writing a Course Plan / Outline

  1. Choose an Organizational Pattern or Method. After reading the course title, course description, and understanding the...
  2. Envision Your Course as a Story, Essay, or Movie. A great course is like a speech. The course title is the title of...
  3. Do Extensive Research. Spend time doing research and thinking through how you want to teach...

  1. Create your course plan header. ...
  2. Consult colleagues and outline your course table of contents. ...
  3. Define course goals and learning outcomes. ...
  4. Define materials and equipment students will need for your course. ...
  5. Plan your course schedule. ...
  6. Outline your course format. ...
  7. Explain how you will assess your course.

Full Answer

How to create a successful outline?

Make the Outline 1. Identify the topic. The topic of your paper is important. Try to sum up the point of your paper in one sentence or phrase. This will help your paper stay focused on the main point. ... successful. If you discover that it's difficult to create an outline from what you have written, then you need to revise the paper. Your ...

How to create an online course outline?

These 10 simple steps will show you how.

  • Step #1: Begin with the end in mind…this is why we evaluated our learning outcomes.
  • Step #2: Determine each major milestone necessary to work toward each learning outcome.
  • Step #3: Create individual action steps to reach each milestone.
  • Step #4: Outline the knowledge you need to demonstrate for each action step.

More items...

How to make the perfect outline?

  • Rationale
  • Specific aims and objectives
  • Experimental approaches to be used
  • The potential significance Specific Aims
  • X
  • Y
  • Z Background and Significance
  • Background
  • Significance to current project
  • Significance to long-term research objectives

More items...

How do you create an useful outline?

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg says people who use the tests for work, such as staff who need to regularly test themselves because of their job, will be able to claim them as a tax deduction.

How do I write a course outline?

A course outline should include the following sections:Course Name, Number, Credits and Description.Prerequisites/Co-requisites.Instructors Name, Contact Info and Bio.Course Schedule.Learning Outcomes.Content Breakdown by Session.Instructional Methods Used.Course Evaluation Process, Policies and Grading Scale.More items...•

How do I create a course plan?

Determine course content.Select the main topics to be covered. To obtain an initial list of course topics, look in current textbooks or the current literature (for a special-topics course). ... Pare down and refine your initial list of topics. ... Determine the structure of the course; arrange the topics in a logical order.

What's an outline for a course?

A Course Outline defines the course aims and learning outcomes, course requirements, textbooks, and assessment dates and criteria. It also contains contact details for the Course Coordinator and tutors. Course Outlines for each course can be found in Blackboard.

What comes first in planning a course?

Before the beginning of the semester, have a basic, solid outline for the course. Know the learning goals, major assignments, course policies, and the big picture goals of the course. Don't get bogged down in details.

What is a course design plan?

The course design plan serves as a blueprint for development. It includes important course information, design elements, and style choices. The content, curriculum, and structure are identified as well as testing and evaluation methods.

What are the important contents of the course outline?

When creating your course outline there are some essential pieces that you need to include:Course Description from the Academic Calendar. ... Course Goals. ... Student Learning Objectives/Outcomes. ... Assessment Overview. ... Assessment Plan. ... Schedule of Activities. ... Plagiarism Announcement. ... Reading List.

What is the purpose of an outline in a course?

Creating an outline that serves as a guide to the course is useful for both learners as well as for you so you can develop a more effective course .

Why is it important to have an outline?

Having an outline allows you to organize these topics in a way that will make sense to your students. In addition, it prevents you from forgetting to add critical information that is relevant to the topic. Writing out what you plan to cover will also help you generate ideas.

How long should a microlearning lesson be?

Depending on how far down the path of microlearning you are going, lessons might only need to be a couple of minutes up to 10 to 15 minutes in length. There's not too much content in a 2-minute lesson so you really need to get at the heart of the topic and do so quickly if you're going that route.

What is the best tool to use to outline a project?

These are great, but with most, you will have to manually re-type your ideas into other software to use them later on. However, if you're a visual learner, mind mapping is probably the best tool for you. You can also use Trello or other productivity software to outline and manage your projects.

How long does it take to create an eLearning course?

The idea behind rapid eLearning is where you use every tool and strategy you can to potentially create a course in 2 to 3 weeks instead of taking several months. So within your lessons, outline the exact content you will cover.

What is the lesson in Module 1 of Marketing?

Module 1: Marketing. Lesson 1: How to choose the right marketing strategy for your business. Topic 1: Why choose Facebook marketing. By using the modules, lessons, and topics for each new idea, you will create a system that is simple for your learner to follow.

What is assessment plan?

Assessment plans fall in line with learning objectives. While your learning objectives identify what the student will learn, the assessment allows you and the student to have a clear picture of how well they have mastered the objectives. Your outline will identify the types and frequency of assessments.

How is a course organized?

All outlines need to be based on the course description, however, sometimes, there is no easy way to make the topics have a consistent pattern. This method basically takes key points from the course description and expounds on them so that at the end of the course, everything mentioned in the course description has been done.

What do you need to do after reading the course title?

After reading the course title, course description, and understanding the purpose of the course, one of the first things you need to do is choose how you will organize your material.

Find the steps

With your two main questions answered, now is time to get clear on the steps. If “Sam” wants to go from A to B, i.e. their current location, where they don’t know what to do, to this fancy schmancy destination, how are you going to get them there?

Give them the roadmap

Inside each module there are going to be things your student needs to know to progress on to the next step. Don’t assume anything about their previous knowledge or experience. Break down a single step into smaller bit size chunks that give them the literal roadmap.

KISS – Keep it simple stupid

At this point you should know the main objective of your course. You should have defined all the modules and all the lessons. But now you need to think about what you will actually teach in each particular lesson.

The future belongs to creators

ConvertKit helps creators like you take their projects from idea to reality. It's never been easier to build an audience and grow a business. And you can do it all for free.

What is an online syllabus?

An online syllabus is similar to one for a face-to-face course, however, research supports that online students need even more detailed instructions. For help in developing a syllabus, review writing a syllabus .

How long is hybrid online learning?

Hybrid & Online Learning. Typically, online courses are divided into weeks or modules that last anywhere from four days to two weeks. Without prescribed class meeting times, you have more options for structuring content and interactions. Here are a few important considerations:

1. Determine your course outcome

So tell me, what pain point are you solving for your clients when they take your course? What is the result that they will get? What is the outcome? I talk more about how to determine your course outcome in an earlier blog post but knowing the outcome your client will get by taking your course is fundamental to creating a good course…make sure you have this in place before you go any further..

2. Brainstorm

Get it all out. That’s right, take a pen to paper (sticky notes are even better) and dump all of the information that someone needs to know/do in order to get that outcome. No filtering here, just get everything out on paper (or computer) so it’s not clogging up your brain.

3. Batch

From your brainstorming session, step back and look at your results. At this point you want to see if you see any patterns or commonalities such that the info that you’ve jotted down can be batched into groups. Chances are, you’ll start to see that smaller subgroups can be created.

4. Create your journey

When your clients are taking your course they’re going to start at one point and end up at another point (the outcome). As a result, your client is going to go through a journey in order to get there. The idea is that you want to lay out the step-by-step process that you’re going to take your clients through.

5. Create your modules and lesson titles

Let’s now start breaking down the journey you’ve designed. Each step in your journey will represent a module. Within that module will be your lessons. What does your client need to know/do in order to be able to accomplish that step?

What is course outline?

According to the University of Lethbridge’s Teaching Center, a course outline is a document that benefits students and instructors as it is essential when designing any course. Also known as a syllabus, a course outline serves as a planning tool. As the syllabus is written, it also guides the instructor’s development of ...

What are the activities that help students meet their learning objectives?

If students need to provide evidence of learning by completing a multiple choice exam, then the activities in the schedule should prepare them for this assessment. Lectures, readings, small group and whole group discussions can all be activities that help the student meet their learning objectives.

Why do we refer to the syllabus?

In some cases, some may refer to the syllabus to give the students an idea of what particular skills they would have obtained after completing the course.

What information should be provided about required readings?

Provide specific information about required readings, including title, author (s), edition number and availability (from where they can be purchased or borrowed). It is helpful to the students to indicate how each reading relates to a particular topic in the course. You may also like outline an essay.

Why is it important to define course professional goals?

It is imperative to define these course professional goals, as they will help you determine what you expect from your students, and what your students can expect from the course. In some cases, it helps if you indicate what careers can they be pursuing to provide motivation for them to do better in their academics. 3.

What is a syllabus?

Finally, a syllabus also works as a reference for colleagues, administrators, and accreditation agencies.

Why do we need a course plan?

By planning your course before building it, you will have a map that prevents you from getting stuck on a single module or straying too far from your original goals—saving you valuable time in the process.

Why is it important to have a good course plan?

A good course plan is crucial in maintaining quality while achieving tight course authoring deadlines.

What is learning outcome?

Learning outcomes are the goals of your course. They are statements that usually start with “By completing this course, learners will…” and describe what students will be able to demonstrate by the end of your course. For example, in a course on Business for Bakers, the learning outcomes might be:

What is an orientation course?

An orientation course provides an overview of all the courses you offer. If you are offering many courses in your Academy, create an orientation course to build student engagement and interest with the course contents and let them get acquainted with the goals of your Academy.

What are traditional academic courses?

11 Traditional Academic Courses. Academic courses are courses with a traditional academic structure followed by universities. Each section usually consists of an introduction to the course, where objectives are discussed, a short test to assess pre-existing knowledge, and multiple lectures.

What is a presell course?

Presell courses serve as a storefront of an upcoming course. They can rapidly validate a course idea and start building an email list of your potential students before officially releasing a course.

What is a mini course?

Mini-courses are short to consume summaries (teasers) of a full-sized course. Like presell and orientation courses, they serve as teasers that make students enroll in a course. However, in contrast to the other two categories, Mini-courses provide real educational value: A full summary of what will be taught in the full-sized course .

What is instructional design?

Instructional design is a thoroughly researched subject I suggest you study to get lots of insights into your course design.

What can you frame in a live meeting?

You can frame your live meetings with many different types of material, also: Quizzes, gamification, discussions in the discussion forum, transcripts of the live sessions, downloadable files (PDF) of your presentations.

Can you teach online courses?

Online courses are not strictly used for teaching. An online course can be a suitable wrapper for a digital good you are offering. In other words, an online course can be used as a portal to give access to users to certain digital products or extra services.

image