Foundations of Course Design

Designing An Online Course?

This toolkit is available as an open resource for all Mines instructors. If you are developing a new online course at Mines, you’ll need to enroll in a more comprehensive Canvas-based version of FoCD and collaborate with Mines Online through their official Build and Approval Process. To get started, click the button below to contact the Mines Online team.

Mines Online Course Build Protocol

Foundations of Course Design (FoCD) is a four-part toolkit designed to support instructors through the course development process. It offers an introduction to central pedagogical and course design concepts, examples across a variety of disciplinary contexts, and links to relevant resources that will support you along your course development journey. This unique resource is based on the Mines Engineering Learning and Effective Teaching frameworks which are grounded in educational research and best practices in STEM education. We recommend working your way through the toolkit sequentially, beginning with part one. This will help you develop course learning outcomes that are specific and measurable, design assessments that are authentic and aligned, and build unique, accessible learning experiences that guide students toward success. For additional support, reach out to one of our Faculty Developers for a course design consultation.

"Developing Learning Outcomes," with an image of a check mark.

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Part 1: Developing Course Learning Outcomes

Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs) help you define clear, measurable targets for what students will achieve in your course. Part 1 offers step-by-step guidance on crafting effective CLOs that are specific, clear, and relevant to students.

"Designing Summative Assessments" with a variety of icons including a portfolio, project timeline, notebook, and quiz.

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Part 2: Designing Summative Assessments

After defining your CLOs, you’ll need to design approaches to measure students’ achievement of those outcomes. Part 2 introduces you to a range of summative assessments options, as well as tangible strategies to ensure that your course assessments are aligned and authentic.

"Building Learning Pathways" with a hiker walking along a pathway toward a target location.

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Part 3: Building Learning Pathways

Now that you have aligned your CLOs and assessments, it is time to build learning pathways that will guide students toward proficiency and success in your course. Part 3 provides a framework for building engaging learning experiences where students can connect course content with prior knowledge, acquire new knowledge, and practice with formative feedback.

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Part 4: Creating Accessible Courses

As educators, we need to ensure that our learning experiences are accessible to all of our students. Part 4 provides practical tips and resources to build an accessible learning environment using Universal Design for Learning principles.