Strategies for Course Design

There are so many ways to strategically design a writing-intensive course or a course that incorporates writing. While this list is by no means exhaustive, here is a sample of selected resources that cover the conceptual frameworks for designing a writing-intensive course, some practical ways to think through course objectives, and how to best teach for transfer. These are materials that can be helpful at any point in a semester, but may be particularly helpful when stepping back to consider ways to design or redesign an existing syllabus or course. Often just the simple acts of taking time to think deliberately about a course as a whole and ask a handful of evaluative questions (How does active learning take place in my classes? Are my syllabi accessible to all students? How do other writing instructors think through their rationale for constructing particular classes?) provide eye-opening insight and significant results.

Whether you are radically experimenting or merely tinkering, these selected readings may be useful as you revise your syllabus and your classroom environments.

Course Design Overviews

Building Accessible Syllabi and Learning Environments