UNSW Course Design Institute

An invitation to learn

Very often, as educators, we have a tendency to think about a course through the lens of the instructor and what content we need to “teach”. But you can take a look at your course through fresh eyes and rediscover your inner student.

How do you want your students to see your course, from start to finish? Why should students take your course? What will they find exciting in your course? What do you want them to take away and hold on to, long after the course is done?

During the Course Design Institute, you will focus on your students, what you want them achieve and how you can help them have a significant learning experience. Whether you are brand new to teaching or an old hand, there is always more to be learnt, and we hope that you will find this a rewarding experience that you continue to draw upon long into the future.

Throughout the week  the CDI Team will provide you with:

• A team of peer-facilitators/coaches
• A safe, non-judgemental environment where participants and facilitators can think deeply (and with curiosity) about teaching, learning, themselves and their learners
• Support for risk-taking and risk-takers
• Novel, evidence-based ways to consider teaching and learning
• Resources (people, places, materials, time) to explore, reflect, discuss and experiment with the course-design process.

CDI is designed to guide participants through the instructional design and redesign process in an intensive, five-day workshop. The institute will provide participants with the skills, knowledge and support necessary to foster a learner-centred environment. This workshop would suit course convenors who are interested in (re)designing a course and who are open to learner-centred approaches to course design.

During your time at CDI, a team of peer facilitators will assist you in applying the principles, methods and strategies of backward design and course alignment. Each phase of the facilitation process is designed to model diverse pedagogical principles, including learner-centred teaching and active-learning techniques. Participants are placed in a small-group learning community for the duration of the institute, allowing for rich exchange of ideas and insights and collaboration among peers.

At the completion of this institute, participants will be able to:

• Formulate significant, measurable learning outcomes
• Develop formative and summative assessments; that is, an assessment plan that maps to learning outcomes
• Integrate evidence-based pedagogies and technologies, including learning activities, instructional materials and resources, that support the course learning objectives
• Develop content appropriate to the course learning outcomes.

Participants will leave the institute with at least one developed learning unit, complete with learning outcomes, assessments, activities and resources, as well as a plan for the rest of the course.

The next CDI will run on Kensington Campus in 2024. Please submit your interest here. For further enquiries, please contact [email protected]

The next CDI in Canberra will run 4-8 September 2023. Please submit your interest here by COB 25 August 2023. Sydney staff are welcome to join if they can get to Canberra for the week. For enquiries regarding the Canberra CDI, please contact Dijana Townsend.