Continuum College Instructor Resources

Course Design / Revision

Revision at both the course and program level is expected and routinely occurs in UW PCE programs.

Canvas Resources Library

The University of Washington Continuum College has put together this Canvas Resources Library including tools, templates, tasks, and tips to help you navigate course design from the ground up.

Self-enroll in the Canvas Resources Library

No content inside the box element. Make sure your close your box element. Required stucture: [box][tile]content[/tile][/box]

During your Course

As you teach your course, regularly reflect on your teaching practices and use the following strategies to assess and improve your teaching:

  1. Reflect weekly
    Use class breaks to reflect on what is going well and what should be reworked. Review lesson plans, student work, and presentation materials every week and write notes about what was effective and what needs to be redesigned for the course moving forward.
  2. Collect feedback from students
    Formative assessment involves collecting student feedback/data to inform your teaching.
    • Micro-quizzes or end-of class questions – gauge what students took away from your lesson and highlight areas of confusion
    • Regularly invite constructive feedback ask what works well for students (pace fast/slow, engagement, lesson structure)
  3. Invite an observer into your course
    Program managers (PM’s) are often willing to sit in on parts of lessons to provide feedback. They can also recommend an expert teacher in your discipline or colleagues with experience in pedagogy and lesson design.
  4. Observe yourself
    Watching a recording of yourself teaching can be a powerful way to reflect and self-evaluate your teaching style.
  5. Observe someone else
    Observing someone else teach can inspire you to try new things in your own course. Your PM can recommend an expert teacher and inquire about sitting in on their course.
  6. Professional development opportunities
    Communicate with program colleagues to compare your courses, teaching plans, challenges, and triumphs. Take advantage of UW PCE workshops and self-study content on this website!
  7. Use student evaluations
    PM’s can help you solicit anonymous feedback from your students:
    • Mid-Course Evaluations – Web surveys consisting of only a few open-ended questions. After you read the feedback, let your students know that you’ve read their responses, and address what changes you feel you can make immediately.
    • End of Course Evaluations – A two-part evaluation where students evaluate aspects of instruction on a numerical scale, and a sheet of open-ended questions. Results from these are typically shared with instructors a few weeks after the course ends and can be valuable when making decisions about how to modify the course the next time it is taught.
    • Exit Surveys – Exit Surveys are open-ended questionnaires given to students upon completion of the full certificate. They are helpful in identifying gaps or redundancies in the whole curriculum.