Rethinking Course Design

Summary

Step back from semester pressures and dedicate four full days to designing or redesigning a course. Don’t miss this unique opportunity to engage in a vibrant community of peers. You'll work with dedicated support from educational developers, experienced faculty facilitators, and a small group of colleagues from across disciplines who understand the challenge of creating meaningful learning experiences.

Description 

During the workshop, you will:

• Explore an approach to course design consistent with your subject-matter understanding.
• Work in small multi-disciplinary groups and benefit from peer feedback and self-reflection.
• Receive guidance and feedback from facilitators.

Learning outcomes

By the end of RCD, you will be able to:

• Apply principles of course design such as constructive alignment and backwards design to enhance your course and support student learning.
• Articulate clear and appropriate learning outcomes for your course.
• Assess the strengths and weaknesses of various instructional strategies in relationship to your specified learning outcomes and assessment methods.
• Review your course design considering principles of accessibility and inclusivity.

What to expect 

During RCD, participants engage in a mix of large- and small-group sessions, as well as individual work, with facilitators modelling a range of teaching and learning activities throughout. A core component of the workshop is giving and receiving specific, productive, and actionable peer feedback on course design ideas. The session is jointly facilitated by an experienced faculty member and members of CEE’s educational development team.  

Application Process 

Space is limited, and advance registration is required. Continuing SFU faculty receive priority, though limited-term faculty and sessional instructors are welcome to apply. 

Completion Requirements

Participants who successfully complete RCD will receive a Letter of Completion.

You may also be interested in

• Instructional Skills Workshop
• Blended Course Design Workshops

Quotes From Past Participants

“One of the first questions that Rethinking Teaching made me address was: What is my objective with the course? What do I want students to get out of it? This made me really think about how to make the class more palatable for the students. One part of the course that students found daunting was a module where they were exposed to 12 core theories all in the same lecture. Through Rethinking Teaching, I developed a course concept map that helped me identify three overarching and interlinked theories that became a running theme throughout the course. I could then introduce the other theories gradually in other modules.”  

Atiya Mahmood, Associate Professor in the Department of Gerontology