Building a Pathway to Student Learning: A How-To Guide to Course Design

This book leads you through the process of designing a learning-centered course. It is written as a “how-to” handbook, providing step-by-step guidance on creating a pathway to student learning, including 26 workboxes (also available free online) that lead you through each element of the course design process and promote a rich reflection process akin to being in a workshop setting. The authors prompt you to (1) consider the distinctive characteristics of your students; (2) clearly articulate your course learning goals; (3) create aligned summative assessments; (4) identify the specific knowledge, skills, and attitudes students will need in order to be successful; (5) craft effective learning experiences, informed by the well-documented research on how people learn; and (6) incorporate formative assessment to ensure you and your students are staying on track.

Completion of the sequence of worksheets leads to a poster as a visual display of your course design. This graphic depiction of your course ties the components together, provides a clear map of action for teaching your course, for modifying as you evaluate the success of particular strategies or want to introduce new concepts, and for developing your syllabus. A rubric for evaluating course posters is included.

For faculty developers, this book provides a proven and ready-made resource and text around which to design or redesign learner-centered course design workshops or multi-day course design retreats, replicating or modifying the renowned workshop that the authors have developed at the Air Force Academy for both faculty new to teaching and those with many years of teaching experience under their belt.

Steven G. Jones is the Assistant Director for Faculty Development in the Center for Teaching and Learning at Georgia College and State University. From 2002-2004, he was the Project Associate for Integrating Service with Academic Study at Campus Compact. During that time, he edited the second edition of the Compact's Service Learning Toolkit. He was also a co-author of two other Compact publications: The Promise of Partnerships and The Community's College. From 2004-2008, he was the Coordinator for Service Learning in the Center for Service and Learning at IUPUI. He was also the campus co-coordinator for the American Democracy Project. He was co-editor, with Robert Bringle and Julie Hatcher, of International Service Learning: Conceptual Frameworks and Research and co-editor, with James Perry of Quick Hits for Civic Engagement. Over the course of his career, Dr. Jones has published several book chapters and journal articles on civic engagement.

Robert K. Noyd is Professor of Biology at the U.S. Air Force Academy where he teaches botany, general biology, and senior seminar courses. He has taught for over 35 years in high school, community college, small college, university, and service academy classrooms. He has served as the Academy’s Director of Faculty Development and continues to write innovative educational materials and present workshops throughout the country on course design and learning-focused strategies. His new first edition biology textbook uses research-based principles of learning to motivate and inspire students nationwide.

Kenneth S. Sagendorf is the founding Director of the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL) and a Professor at Regis University – a Jesuit University in Denver, CO. He holds degrees in biology (B.S.), applied exercise physiology (M.S.), and College Science Teaching (Ph.D.). In his 20+ years in higher education, he has worked as a faculty member and administrator at four academic institutions – from small state schools to research institutions to the United States Air Force Academy. His own scholarship focuses on creating environments and cultures conducive to student learning – at the lesson, course, program, and curricular levels. His publications include books on incorporating disability into the college classroom and curriculum and promoting academic integrity through classroom instruction.

Peter Felten is Assistant Provost for Teaching and Learning, Director of the Center for Engaged Learning, and Professor of History at Elon University. His publications include: Transforming Students: Fulfilling the Promise of Higher Education (Johns Hopkins, 2014), and Engaging Students as Partners in Learning and Teaching (Jossey-Bass, 2014).