D2L Brightspace Course Design Guidelines Instructor Name Semester Program Director Course This course review was completed by the campus Instructional Designer. The review was requested by your Division Director as a portion of the instructor evaluation process. The review contains the following sections: the general standard, the specific design standard, applicable annotation, a “Yes”, “Needs Improvement (NI)”, “No”, and “Not Applicable (N/A)” column, and notes from the instructional designer. The bottom of the document also contains a summary of the findings and recommendations for course improvement. You are encouraged to collaborate with the Instructional Designer, your Program Director, and/or your Division Director to work on the recommendations. I. Course Overview and Introduction General Standard: The overall design of the course, navigational information, as well as course, instructor, and student information are made available to students at the beginning of the course. Design Standards Annotation NI No Notes I.1 Navigational instructions make the organization of the course easy to understand. Instructions provide a general course overview, present the schedule for activities, guide the new student to explore the course website and indicate what to do first. I.2 Course overview is easily located: A statement introduces students to the course and to the structure of the student learning and, in the case of a hybrid course, clarifies the relationship between the face-to-face and online components. The instructor's statement gives the new student an idea of how the learning process is structured, including schedule, communication modes, types of activities and assessments. These features are often found in the course syllabus, but they should also be found in an introductory or welcome announcement. I.3 Instructor introduction and contact information is
II.2 Each lesson's objectives are clearly stated and understandable to students. Measurable module or unit level learning objectives are important. They precisely describe the specific competencies, skills and knowledge that students should be able to master and demonstrate at regular intervals throughout the course. III. Assessment and Measurement General Standard: Assessment strategies use established ways to measure effective learning, assess student progress by reference to stated learning objectives and are designed as essential to the learning process. Design Standards Annotation NI No Notes III.1 The of assessments selected are consistent with learning activities and measure the achievement of stated objectives and learning outcomes. Assessments and learning objectives align in a clear and direct way. The assessment formats provide a reasonable way to measure stated learning objectives. III.2 Specific and descriptive criteria are provided for the evaluation of students' work and participation. Students are provided with a clear and meaningful description of the criteria that will be used to assess and evaluate their work and participation in the course. Students have clear guidance as to the expectations and required components of work and participation.
III.3 Guided and independent practice opportunities are provided (formative assessments, reflections, etc.). Students have ample opportunity to measure their own learning progress. Students learn more effectively if they receive frequent, meaningful and timely feedback. III.4 Desire2Learn tools are appropriately used to assess objectives. Assessments are varied to provide multiple avenues for the demonstration of mastery and accommodate multiple learning styles. IV. Resources and Materials General Standard: Instructional materials are designed to be sufficiently comprehensive to achieve announced objectives and learning outcomes and are prepared by qualified persons competent in fields. (Materials, other than standard textbooks produced by recognized publishers, are prepared by the instructor or distance educators skilled in preparing materials for distance learning.) Design Standards Annotation NI No Notes IV.1 Appropriate/ accessible instructional materials support the stated learning objectives. Course materials, resources and learning objectives align in a clear and direct way. The course materials and resources provide a reasonable base to achieve the stated learning objectives. IV.2 to outside material are clearly labeled, properly and have descriptions. Students are provided with a clear and meaningful description of the criteria that will be used to assess and evaluate their work and participation in the course. Students have clear guidance as to the expectations and required components of work and participation.
IV.3 The visual design of the course material is appropriate for the online environment and consistent with Universal Design. Visual design will meet Universal Design Guidelines as well as College Policy. IV.4 Modules and topics are named descriptively and appropriately. Students can easily determine the purpose of all materials, technologies and methods used in the course and know which materials are required and which are recommended. IV.5 All resources and materials used in the course are appropriately cited in MLA, APA, or other appropriate format. V. Interaction General Standard: The effective design of instructor-student interaction, meaningful student cooperation, and student-content interaction is essential to student motivation, intellectual commitment, and personal development. Design Standards Annotation NI No Notes V.1 The of learning activities selected are consistent with the achievement of stated course and module objectives and learning outcomes. Activities and learning objectives in a clear and direct way. The activities provide a reasonable way to measure the stated learning objectives.
V.2 Learning activities foster and if appropriate to this course, interaction. All online course should include interaction between the instructor and the students and between the students and the content. The degree and type of student-to-student interaction may vary with the discipline and the level of the course. V.3 Clear standards are set for instructor response and availability time for grades posted, etc.). Standards adhere to the current contract. Instructors use a "@gfcmsu.edu" e-mail address. Information clearly indicates how quickly the instructor will respond, when feedback will be provided and when the instructor is available to meet. V.4 The requirements for student-student, student-content, and student-instructor interaction are clearly articulated. The requirements and expectations for interaction in both the online and face-to-face components are clearly stated.