Developing a Course: Roles and Responsibilities
What to Expect in the Course Design Process
Our course design process is collaborative, evidence-based, and iterative to ensure that every course we build is relevant and effective. Instructors partner with an TLC instructional designer to brainstorm and outline module learning objectives, design assessments and activities, and integrate course content and media accessible to all learners in an online environment.
Course Map
The foundation of every course starts with a detailed course map that outlines the key learning objectives and aligns all content, activities, and assessments with those goals.
Design → Development → Evaluation
Once the course map is established, our team designs the course content and develops the necessary materials. The course is then evaluated through multiple development phases to ensure it meets high-quality standards.
Improvement for Future Iterations
We continuously improve our course designs based on feedback and data collected from the initial course offering. This iterative process ensures that courses stay current, relevant, and effective.
The Course Development Process
Collaboration
You will work closely with an Instructional Designer (ID), exchanging ideas and sharing expertise. You know the course material and goals and the ID will help you accomplish those goals.
New approaches
Your ID will ask you to think about your course in a way that might be new to you. Rather than first listing the material you want to cover, you will start by defining what students should be able to do by the end of each step of the course. This shift in focus can help you discover how best to reach students using the online format.
The TLC will provide you with an instructional design and video production team for the agreed-upon course development cycle to support you through the development process and the course’s first offering. Afterwards,the instructor and departmental tech support are responsible for the course. The TLC team will assist new instructors and new courses. Because IDs work on multiple courses at a time and schedule out several quarters in advance, it is important to stick to the agreed-upon timeline.
Instructor’s Role and Responsibilities
Course Design and Production
Before you commit to developing a course, be sure you are ready to:
Invest the time required
Consider how much time you spend researching, preparing, and delivering materials for an in-person course. Now, imagine doing all of that work the quarters before you teach and also adjusting your teaching methods for a different audience and medium. Plan how this work will be accomplished with your current teaching obligations.
Create materials
Learning objectives, overviews, lectures, readings, weekly activities, assignments, discussion prompts, and other materials need to be created in time for your ID to review, provide feedback, and incorporate them into the online platform.
Communicate
Timely, consistent communication, including regular review of the online course with your ID, will assure the course is developed on time and to your satisfaction. You should plan to meet with your ID weekly during the development process.
Work to a Timeline
Your course will be developed within one course development cycle, usually two or three quarters. You will come to an agreement with your department and the TLC at the beginning of the process. If you are not able to keep to this timeline, please inform your ID as soon as possible to discuss next steps and available alternatives. If you do not meet key benchmark deadlines, the course offering will have to be delayed.
Approvals
You will work with your department to prepare the forms and obtain departmental course approvals, including the Academic Senate approval for online courses.
Scheduling
You will work with your department to schedule the course and any exams.
Teaching Assistant Appointments
You should work closely with your department to ensure that the percentage appointment accurately reflects TAs’ real responsibilities. TA appointments are decided per usual department policy, and TA contracts are generated by the department in the same way as any other appointment. They are funded like any other TAship; the TLC does not fund TAs.
Ordering Course Materials
The instructor is responsible for ordering textbooks, TA desk copies, streaming films, and library reserves. These processes require that the instructor uses their UCLA logon, so your ID cannot do them for you.
Financial Reporting
The instructor and departmental staff are responsible for financial tracking and reporting to granting agencies, if the course is grant-funded.
Before Each Class Offering
- Communicate with the ID (during the first offering) or your local tech support (during subsequent offerings) before the class is scheduled and enrollment begins so they can start planning and setting up the course website. Alternately, you may choose to set up the course site yourself after the first offering.
- Refresh the syllabus, assessments, and course materials well in advance of the start of class. The ID will teach you how to do this on the website.
- Contact and train TAs on the content. Your ID will be available for training the first time the class is offered. TA training for subsequent offerings will be your responsibility in conjunction with local tech support.
- Communicate with students on what to expect from their online class.
When the Class Is Offered
- Regularly communicate with the students and interact with them in the course.
- Regularly meet with TAs and actively oversee their work.
- Hold office hours.
- Oversee grading and submit final grades
- Manage academic dishonesty cases, working with the Dean of Students office.
- Manage disability accommodations as communicated by the Center for Accessible Education.
- For the first class offering, your ID will help you manage website tasks as they arise during the class. After the first offering, it will be your responsibility, in conjunction with your local tech support, to maintain the website.
After the Class Is Over
- Review course evaluations and gather feedback from TAs. If you need to do significant revisions, talk to your ID about their availability to work with you on a course refresh.
Instructional Designer’s and Responsibilities
Your ID will collaborate with you on the instructional design of your course and will teach you how to design and build it in Bruin Learn. While your ID will act as a resource and support, this is ultimately your course.
Your ID will work with you during the course design phase and will actively support you during the first course offering. Afterwards, you will assume responsibility for the course in conjunction with your local tech support.
Course Design and Production
Instructional design solutions
Your ID can assist you in creating a course where learning is more effective, content is appealing, and best practices are achieved.
LMS expertise
Your ID will help you build your course in Canvas, taking advantage of the LMS’s strengths. You will be able to learn these best practices first-hand, enabling you to become a confident Canvas user.
Technology expertise
Your ID will research and recommend software or other tools, as relevant for your course. You will need to master those tools so you can support students during course offerings.
Accessibility compliance
Your ID will discuss ways to make your course accessible to all students, such as files that are screen reader-compatible, transcribed audio, and video captions.
Video and graphics support
Your ID can help you determine the appropriate strategy for creating your video content, either using one of the campus studios or creating them on your own. The media production staff will oversee the management and coordination of media
production for the initial course offering: personnel, project teams, media assets, and storage. If you need to create additional materials after the first offering, contact your ID to discuss the production team’s availability.
Project management
Your ID will help you track tasks and deadlines.
For the First Class Offering
- Your ID will work with you to create the initial course website in Canvas. It will then be your task to update the site with any new material for subsequent offerings.
- Your ID will train the TAs the first time on how to use the course website and instruct them in best practices in online teaching, and will provide you with a TA training guide for subsequent offerings.
- Provide you with technical assistance to so you can answer questions from TAs and students on the use of the website and tools. IDs don’t provide direct tech support to your TAs and students, but are a resource if you need help answering their questions for that first Offering.
Departmental Roles and Responsibilities
Approvals and Departmental Consent
The Chair and departmental staff should work with the instructor to help to prepare materials and obtain departmental course approvals, including approval of a new course, GE or diversity designations, and the Academic Senate approval for online courses. The Chair is responsible for ensuring that the course meets curricular standards and goals, as with any other class.
Scheduling
Departmental staff should schedule the online course per usual departmental processes, in the same way any other course is scheduled. OTL can provide advice on the appropriate way to list a class based on how it is structured (synchronous vs asynchronous; discussion sections or not).
Tech Support
After the first offering, tech support for Canvas is transferring to the local computing group or departmental tech staff.
Teaching Assistant Appointments
TA appointments fall within departmental purview and should be processed like any other TAship.
Ordering Course Materials
The instructor is responsible for ordering textbooks, TA desk copies, streaming films, and library reserves. Many departments have a staff member who helps with these tasks.
Financial Reporting
The instructor and departmental staff are responsible for financial tracking and reporting to granting agencies.
Development Timelines
Our team is continuously beginning development cycles with new courses and assigning IDs to those courses based on their anticipated workload. Therefore, we need to adhere to the timelines agreed upon at the outset of the project in fairness to you, the ID, and the other projects they are working on. If unforeseen circumstances arise that will interrupt or delay your development, please contact your ID immediately so we can work out an adjusted timeline.
Course Enhancements and Revisions
Enhancing your course after at least one quarter of teaching is a great way to introduce new material, add tools that will help students meet their learning objectives, or otherwise modify your online course. If you would like to work with an ID to enhance your course significantly after the first offering, contact your ID, and we’ll work together to schedule another collaboration.