Course Design Key Components

We focus on the following critical elements to build courses that drive success.

Student Engagement

Courses are designed to keep learners actively involved through interactive elements, real-world applications, and dynamic activities. Through different types of interactions and engagement strategies, we strive to create content that encourages participation, critical thinking, and retention.

Student to Instructor (S-I)

The student-and-instructor interaction welcomes and encourages students to raise their own questions about their learning and provides opportunities to discuss their learning needs with the instructor during the class. 

Examples of student and instructor interaction 

• Providing different channels allows students to share their thoughts during learning. For instance, office hours, discussion forums, emails, etc.
• Forming proper feedback loops to provide students with opportunities to learn and recognize the gaps between their current performance and the learning objectives.
• Building in structured activities during lecturing, such as polling, live group discussion, and reflection points, to provide students the opportunities to check their learning regularly. 
• Offering prompt feedback and response to assignments or submissions of any kind so students have information about their performance.
• Providing survey opportunities to ask for students’ feedback and suggestions on the design of the class and the instructor’s teaching. 
• Preparing a syllabus with clear learning objectives and expectations so that students become familiar with what is expected during their learning. 
• Developing overview videos to help students recap their learning progress and review the coming learning. 

Student to Content (S-C) 

The student-to-content interaction allows students to reflect on what they have learned and have the opportunity to apply the knowledge and skills. 

Examples of students and content interaction

• Quiz-in-video – built-in quizzes into video lectures so students can interact with the content and also receive prompts while watching the lecture
• Readings
• Videos 
• Assigned readings (textbooks, articles, primary sources, etc)
• Written lecture materials or transcripts of lectures
• Illustrative images
• Charts and graphs (often static, but may be animated)
• Video or audio lectures
• Narrated PowerPoint presentations
• Embedded or linked multimedia content (such as films, YouTube videos, podcasts, etc)
• Links to popular media, current news events, or blogs
• Research assignments (in which students curate content themselves)
• Content sharing between students (such as in a discussion, class wiki, or group project)  

Student to Student (S-S) 

The student-to-student interaction advances students’ learning to a higher level and forms a sense of community in the course.  

Examples of students and student interaction

• Using collaborative activities to have students involved in the learning process 
• Threaded asynchronous text, video, and audio discussions
• Student blogs and ePortfolios
• Group projects
• Peer review assignments
• Social annotation for reading and watching activities

Multimedia

Multimedia plays a key role in our course designs. From video lectures to infographics and animations, we use multimedia to enhance understanding and keep the content engaging. Our team ensures that all media aligns with the course goals. 

Examples of multimedia

• Video lectures
• Presentation Slides
• Welcome videos from the instructor
• Any external materials, such as YouTube, TedTalk, etc. 
• Interviews
• Guest speaker videos
• Graphics, animation, and other media 

Assessment

Assessment is integral to ensuring learners have mastered the content. We create a variety of assessment types, from quizzes to project-based evaluations, all aligned with the learning objectives.

Examples of Assessment

• Formative assessment
  • Reading quiz
  • Reflection discussion
  • Working sheet 
• Summative Assessment
  • Group project
  • Scaffolding project

Technology

Our instructional designers leverage the latest educational technology platforms to deliver seamless learning experiences. Whether integrating an LMS or developing custom digital tools, technology is the backbone of modern learning.

Examples of Using Educational Technology to Facilitate Teaching and Learning

• Using Bruin Learn to develop a course site
• Applying integrated LTIs for student engagement and assessment activities. See the full list of UCLA’s current LTIs. 
• Bring in external software for subject-specific learning needs. 

Communication

Strong communication between learners and instructors is vital. We build discussion forums, direct communication tools, and collaborative platforms to foster a vibrant learning community.

It considers, but is not limited to, the following aspects: 

• What will be the main method(s) to share course updates, assignment reminders, or any course-related information with students?
• What will be the methods for students to ask questions or address their concerns? 
• How information and feedback will be provided to students to reduce the gap between their current performance and the learning objectives? 

Accessibility

At UCLA, we make great efforts to create a learning environment that is accessible and inclusive for all students. To address the accessibility needs, we highlight several aspects of accessibility during our course design services. 

• Documents
  • Create and use accessible documents
  • PDFs typically require additional work to be accessible.
• Videos
  • Provide closed captions for recorded video lectures and all other video materials
• Images and graphics
  • Use Alt-Text for images and other graphics
• Accessibility to technology tools
  • Check and include the accessibility information for the selected technology tools
• Use Ally
  • UCLA Bruin Learn has Ally integrated as the accessibility tool