4 - Planning a course: trips and tips

Summary

Let our children grow tall, and some taller than others if they have it in them to do so.

– Margaret Thatcher, former British Prime Minister

At a very fundamental level, dreaming about, then designing a framework for, then developing the content of, and then delivering the classes in, a course is one of the more entrepreneurial activities an instructor does. For a brand-new course, it may occur only a handful of times over the span of a career. It occurs repeatedly, albeit in a slightly different way, when you conscientiously revisit and revise a course that may be going into its twenty-seventh offering. In either instance, course planning is akin to mapping a road trip – identifying the destination, knowing the students' “you-are-here” position, choosing the best vehicle(s) for the journey, identifying the best routes, selecting the most conducive speed to travel, and highlighting the memorable scenes along the way that all contribute to a strong, lasting, effective learning experience for students. Indeed, it is about creating a journey that invites and entices students to experience and internalize as much of the trip as they possibly can so that they learn and, to use Thatcher's analogy, grow as tall as they can.

Course planning is about…

Anticipation

Planning a course, at its most basic level, brings to bear an instructor's best thinking about how to craft an effective learning experience for students.