Free PDF - Self-Directed Guide to Designing Courses...

Campbell, Margaret

Fink, L. D. (2003). A self-directed guide to designing courses for significant learning. [Report, Instructional Development Program, University of Oklahoma]. http://scholar.google.com/scholar_url?hl=en&q=http://www.cccu.org/~/media/filefolder/A%2520Self-Directed%2520Guide%2520to%2520Designing%2520Courses%2520for%2520Significant%2520Learning.pdf&sa=X&scisig=AAGBfm3PnQ6Us81DArcG3tozUAMgtMKN3A&oi=scholarr

Summary

This is a 34-page report, published by the author of Creating Significant Learning Experiences in College Classrooms. (2003). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. This author's book and report were cited in one of the articles that I read on flipped classroom design as being instrumental in causing a desire to improve classroom design. The report is an outline of steps to take in order to design an effective class or course and includes backward design (understanding by design) and a strong focus on instructor reflection as part of the design process.

Evaluation

The step-by-step approach is helpful for getting "right to the point" of improving instruction. Because it was written in 2003, there are some aspects of the plans that do not take advantage of all the Web 2.0 collaborative possibilities that we enjoy in 2012. However, the basics for doing an analysis of one's practice and one's learning experience design are presented in both text and easy-to-follow charts. I found the report's style of asking questions in order to get the instructor thinking about topics particularly effective. Also, some of the charts are simple and are available elsewhere...but some of the charts, especially the charts for organizing structured sequences and flipped classroom activities, helped to make some of the complex processes of learning activity design much more practical.