Course Design

All effective courses begin with a careful and intentional design process that structures content to promote student-centered engagement, critical thinking, and practical application of knowledge. For additional information about the course design process, coaching to integrate PBL in your courses, or help with any of the topics below please schedule a CATE consultation.

In a project-based learning (PBL) classroom, students learn by actively engaging in authentic, real-world projects. Students gain deeper knowledge as they explore complex questions and challenges in the field, resulting in a final product or presentation that showcases their understanding. Click on each instructor to see their unique PBL approaches!

PBL in RTF!

In John Peyton's Introduction to Music course, students embark on a semester-long project as they learn about various professions in the music industry.
From start to finish of the course, students are collaborating in roles that model professional practice, performing hands-on application of concepts,
and managing decisions on issues that occur in real-world scenarios of the music business.
Learning in this course culminates in a student production in the form of a live concert with all facets of the event performed by students.

The Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition defines Open Educational Resources (OERs) as teaching, learning and research resources released under an open license that permits their free use and repurposing by others. OERs can be textbooks, full courses, lesson plans, videos, tests, software, or any other tool, material, or technique that supports access to knowledge (UT Libraries). Some examples of high-caliber, institutionally-based OER include MIT OpenCourseWare, Open Yale Courses, Coursera: Open SUNY, and Harvard Extension School Open Learning Initiative.

CATE encourages faculty to use OERs whenever possible. This should be considered during the design phase of your course when you are considering what textbooks and other course materials to use. Using OER is a great way to increase student access by reducing financial barriers to education, especially with textbook costs continuing to rise. It allows instructors to choose from existing resources or, in many cases, customize existing content to fit specific course needs. Students can also be involved in selecting and creating content with OER, which increases their investment and engagement in the course.

Learn more about what OER is, what it can look like for your class, how it's supported in the UT community, and where to get help in the Faculty Guide to Use of Open Educational Resources (OER). UT Libraries also offer lots of helpful information including finding, selecting, remixing, and creating OER. They provide some details specifically for faculty and instructors on adopting and adapting existing OER as well as creating new OER. When you’re ready to get started, you can complete this online form to request that a librarian assist with a search for free or affordable alternatives to existing course materials or for new courses.

Additionally, Penn State University has launched an expanded online publication service for openly licensed educational materials (authored by Penn State faculty). Explore their Repository of Open and Affordable Materials (ROAM) here.

If you have questions or would like more information about OER, please contact Heather Walter, Tocker Open Education Librarian, at heather.walter@austin.utexas.edu.

Here are some best practices to consider implementing in your large class to keep student motivation high, foster community, and ensure content retention:

Class Activities

Decades of research says lecturing is one of the least effective teaching methods, and this is especially true for large classes. Instead of lecturing, focus on individual or group activities you can do in class, such as the following:

Activity teaching activities such as entry/exit tickets
Polls
Minute papers
In-class exam reviews and essay preparation
One-sentence summaries
Hand out index cards for note-taking
Use collaborative documents (such as Google Docs or Jamboards)
Decide if it would be best to group students randomly, based on similar interests, or based on different skills (e.g., each group should have a writer, a videographer, and an editor)
- Have students introduce themselves using asynchronous tools, such as a discussion board or Flipgrid
- Use survey data to help form groups based on similarities or differences
- See this video from Dr. Jennifer McClearen and feel free to download and use her sample student questionnaire
Provide time in class for any group work
Consider hosting group office hours or encourage students to bring a friend

PowerPoint

Keep your slides sleek and streamlined – It should not be so detailed that it can replace your presentation
Limit text on slides
Use images appropriately
Leverage supplemental materials
Provide guidance on how to take notes
Use handouts during videos (e.g., worksheet)
Provide a 'skeleton' of your lecture, rather than full slides, to encourage engagement

Grading Workload

Balance individual and group assignments
Provide clear rubrics for every assignment
Incorporate peer evaluation into group assignments by having group members evaluate each other based on a rubric or using the Canvas peer review tool for more efficient grading
Provide guidance on giving actionable feedback – Don’t just agree with or “like” parts of the assignment, coach students on how they can identify areas that can be improved and make concrete suggestions for how to improve them

Additional Resources

Teaching Large Classes – UT Center for Teaching and Learning
On teaching large classes – Faculty Focus

As you design your online course, think about how students will engage with the content, with the teaching team, and with each other. You have options to provide course content in the form of reading assignments, live or recorded lectures, presentation slides, and other materials that students will listen to, watch, or read.

Outline your objectives for the semester before it begins so both you and your TAs understand your responsibilities each week (e.g., publish content on Mondays, reach out to students with low Canvas engagement metrics on Thursdays, etc.)

Online students often look for early access to the class so try to publish the course 2-3 days before the official start date. This helps to cut down on email overload.

Consider establishing a consistent weekly schedule by creating a consistent module overview page. Leverage organizational features in Canvas such as checking the box to add to student “to do” lists. Describe for your students what the work week looks like (e.g., read/watch lectures on Monday, post to the Canvas discussion board by Wednesday, and respond to a peer by Friday).

Provide proactive students with the opportunity to preview resources and assignment due dates. Open assignments as appropriate for live course activities.

To ensure students are making regular progress, space deadlines for smaller requirements 7-10 days apart, depending on complexity. For substantial summative assignments in smaller classes, consider requiring a one-on-one meeting with you or a TA the week before a big deadline to support successful completion.

Communicate with students consistently and frequently. Send announcements at least once per week with upcoming topics/materials, deliverables, deadlines, and any other pertinent information.

It is especially important for online courses to be welcoming, engaging, and include the instructor’s voice. At the start of the semester, consider uploading videos introducing yourself/the course or giving a Canvas/syllabus tour. Throughout the semester, use short videos or screenshares to walk students through key transitions in the course or complex assignments. You may also want to adjust your writing style to be more reflective of how you would speak in a physical classroom.

Provide opportunities for students to introduce themselves and interact with each other to form a learning community. This may be done through Canvas discussions, live Zoom meetings, creating small group threads or breakout rooms for discussions, encouraging study groups, assigning group projects, etc. Always monitor public/group student submissions to ensure they are appropriate for class and abide by student-to-student engagement rules.

Faculty are expected to hold office hours for online classes.
- The Canvas Scheduler allows students to self-schedule appointments with you for specific blocks of time.
- Within your Canvas course, you can set up recurring Zoom meetings for office hours or live class sessions. One of the benefits of a weekly Zoom meeting is that students always know when they can find a member of the teaching team to ask questions.
- If you hold regular weekly Zoom office hours, consider what format would be best so you can tell students what to expect (e.g., meet with only one student at a time, open for groups, utilizing breakout rooms for students with grade concerns or other private questions, etc.).

Additional Resources

For more ideas, check out this guide to Best Practices for Online Courses, search the Canvas Commons, or explore sample syllabi from Moody College online courses.

UT provides online tutorials as well as live and recorded workshops. Canvas technical support is available 24/7.

Center for Advancing Teaching Excellence: Course Design

Center for Advancing Teaching Excellence: Course Design

Course Design

Project-Based Learning Showcase

Fundamentals of Course Design

Expand Your Course Design