Course Planning Checklist

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The following are some pre/early-course tasks and considerations:

Arts & Science Context

• Review the A&S Academic Handbook for Instructors
• Confirm the course delivery mode
• Visit the teaching and learning space, whether physical or virtual, and test the equipment

Course and Syllabus Design

• Design the course using backwards design:
  • Identify learning outcomes
  • Determine assessments
  • Plan learning activities how they relate to content and each other
• Draft the course syllabus
• Establish communication method and frequency:
  • Direct email communication: Download the course roster to access student email addresses
  • Quercus announcements: Keep in mind that announcement notifications are sent out only when the Quercus course is "published"
• Set course expectations and guidelines
  • Establish feedback expectations, rubrics (if used), and grading turnaround
• Connect with the teaching team, such as teaching assistants (TAs), and confirm hours, duties, and responsibilities

Assignment and Activity Design

• Consider how the assignment and activity aligns with the course material and learning outcomes
• Identify opportunities for scaffolding where appropriate
• Explore how to set up Quercus assignments, assignments groups and weighting, and the Gradebook

Quercus Organization

• Build the Quercus course shell and organize the course content
  • Visit the A&S Quercus Idea Board for Quercus organization possibilities
  • Download and use the Quercus template
• Add TAs (and other teaming team members) to the Quercus course
• Publish the Quercus course site

Welcome and Introductions

• Welcome students to the course and invite them to visit the Quercus course site
  • Consider including a welcome email, announcement, or message (video, image, audio, and/or text) included in a Quercus module or page
  • Clarify the purpose of Quercus and provide an orientation of the Quercus course site
  • Remind students to customize their Quercus notification settings
• Introduce the teaching team
• Invite students to introduce themselves through:
  • Pre-course or welcome surveys
  • Icebreakers or mood check-ins
• Communicate course structure and expectations
  • Share the course syllabus
  • Confirm communication methods and frequency
  • Consider developing and using a community agreement
  • Review U of T guidelines on conduct and academic integrity: Refer to the Code of Student Conduct and the Code of Behaviour on Academic Matters

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As the course progresses, consider the following:

• Check in with the teaching team and maintain communication with all members in the teaching and learning environment
• Check in with students and identify opportunities for soliciting feedback and checking knowledge
• Foster various forms of interactions and engagement:
  • Between students: Group work, breakout rooms
  • Between students and the course content: Discussions (including discussion boards), collaborative annotations
  • Between students and the instructor(s): Office hours, check-ins, feedback
• Maintain the course "rhythm" (structure and schedule)

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The following are some late/post-course tasks and considerations:

Course Logistics

• Remind students of remaining important dates and final assessment reminders
• Inform students when access to the Quercus course site will close
• Consider including a wrap-up email, announcement, or message to review learning outcomes, key takeaways, and course highlights
• Identify student assignment exemplars that you hope to use in the future: Remember that you must obtain written permission from your students to keep their work, and all personal identifiers should be removed from the assignment sample
• Archive the course: export, download, and save all course materials
• Download and save course evaluation records and any informal feedback from students (e.g., emails, Gradebook)

Course Reflection

• Reflect on the course and analyze the student feedback and course evaluation data
• Review the course syllabus and identify topics that captured your students’ engagement
• Highlight effective approaches to introducing core concepts and devise new strategies for explaining complex concepts
• Revisit course design (e.g., activities, assessments, lecture organization) and note any adjustments for the next iteration of the course
• Update the resource list

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Boettcher, J. V., & Conrad, R. M. (2016). The online teaching survival guide: Simple and practical pedagogical tips (2nd ed.). John Wiley & Sons.

Jaggars, S. S., & Xu, D. (2016). How do online course design features influence student performance? Links to an external site. Computers & Education, 95, 270–284.

Marks, R. B., Sibley, S. D., & Arbaugh, J. B. (2005). A structural equation model of predictors for effective online learning Links to an external site.. Journal of Management Education, 29(4), 531–563.

Martin, F., & Bolliger, D. U. (2018). Engagement matters: Student perceptions on the importance of engagement strategies in the online learning environment Links to an external site.. Online Learning, 22(1), Article 1.

Rovai, A. P. (2002). Sense of community, perceived cognitive learning, and persistence in asynchronous learning networks Links to an external site.. The Internet and Higher Education, 5(4), 319–332.

Young, A., & Norgard, C. (2006). Assessing the quality of online courses from the students’ perspective Links to an external site.. The Internet and Higher Education, 9(2), 107–115.

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