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Table of Contents
02..Welcome Letter from the Provost

Course 03..Roles and Expectations

Development 04..Course Delivery/Course Rigor

Manual 09.. VIP2TM Course Design Checklist

12.. The Course Development Process

21..About Grantham University

Progressive Excellence in
Course Design 22..University Learning Outcomes

23..Our Students

24..Our Stakeholders
[Updated March 24, 2017]

25..References

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Welcome from the University Provost

VIP Online Course Design Philosophy

First, a warm thank you! We appreciate your willingness to share
your content matter expertise for the benefit of Grantham learners.
Our goal is to support you through this endeavor, and so this Course
Development Manual serves as the required textbook for GU975
VIP2TM Online Course Design -- the Blackboard course in which you
will be completing your work.
In order to create a Grantham course, you will incorporate knowledge
and theories that go beyond your subject expertise. Therefore, you
will be partnered with an expert in learning theory your instructional
designer (I.D.) who will be your point person throughout the contract
period.
Together with your I.D., you will develop a supportive, interactive
Our tagline Online. But not alone. summarizes the VIP2TM philosophy
regarding our goal to provide a supportive community in which
students actively participate with instructors and their peers.
What is VIP2TM? It is our methodology to provide support that is:
VISIBLE.
IMMEDIATE.
PROACTIVE.
PERSONAL.
By supplementing your content knowledge with the Grantham VIP2TM
course design methodology, together we will create a rigorous,
transformative learning experience for our students.
Thank you for your work on behalf of our students,

Cheryl Hayek,
online learning experience that challenges students to transform
current mental schema as they gain new knowledge and skills. Our Ed.D.
goal is to help students become self-directed students as they
Interim University President, Provost, and Chief Academic Officer
progress toward graduation and their career paths beyond.
Grantham University

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Roles and Expectations
Your role is to be our Subject Matter Expert (SME). You were
selected for this role because of your credentials and expertise in the
discipline (subject matter). We recognize your experience and
knowledge within your professional field, and we trust that you will
pass along that wisdom and insight to our students.
We also recognize that you may not be an expert in curriculum
development. That is where our instructional designers (IDs) come in.
Our role is to assist you, the SME, in providing an updated,
rigorous, transformative course that meets the VIP2TM standards.
Our instructional designers bring expertise from a variety of areas:
curriculum, instruction, library and information technology, educational
technology, higher education administration, learning theory, and
instructional design research.
We will coach you through our design process during weekly
meetings (by phone, Skype, Google Hangouts, or Blackboard
Collaborate). This is our way of being Visible, Immediate, Personal
and Proactive with you!
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With this new version of our Course Development Manual, we are
changing many of our processes and expectations for course design.
We will introduce best practices for e-learning through GU975, and
expect to see many of those ideas implemented in your course.
Expectations:
Check in weekly with your ID
Participate in GU975, completing weekly deliverables
Submit weekly deliverables in a timely manner
Consider the skill sets and knowledge base (learning
objectives) that our students need to develop in order to be
productive members of the workforce
Determine how to appropriately measure and report student
mastery of learning objectives
Incorporate transitions between students prior learning (from
previous courses) and future learning
Select course content that aligns with learning objectives
Create a variety of instructional vehicles that address different
learning modalities (audio, video, kinesthetic, etc.)
Devise opportunities for students to demonstrate mastery of
learning objectives
Create new material based on best practices
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Course Delivery
At Grantham University, courses begin every Wednesday of the year;
we do not observe the traditional semester structure. The duration of
each course is eight weeks. Any given week of the year, there may
be several active sections of your course, each at different points in
the curriculum.
Furthermore, your course will remain active for a maximum of three
years before revision. For that reason, you will need to provide open-
ended instructions regarding date-specific activities or current events.
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Course Rigor
Even though our courses run only eight weeks, they must continue to
meet the standards of rigor that define a unit of course credit in higher
education.
Rigor is evaluated employing the most recent research available and
is calculated using a Carnegie Unit calculator. The Carnegie Unit
Model is accepted as the industry standard in measuring the average
time a student will need to invest in order to successfully complete the
course requirements.
The Carnegie Unit Model suggests that, for every credit hour of a
given course, students must spend a total of 45 hours to complete
the course: 15 hours spent in direct engagement and 30 hours of
preparatory work.
Therefore, a 3-credit course should require students to complete a
total of 90 hours of prep work, and 45 hours of direct engagement.
In Granthams eight (8) week course model, for a three credit-hour
course, students should be expected to spend an average of 5.625
hours in direct engagement and 11.25 hours in preparatory activities
in each week of the course.
While we may never know how much time each student will actually
spend in preparation or engagement, the Carnegie Unit offers
guidelines for designing our courses. We attempt to quantify rigor
using the Carnegie calculator tool during course design.
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5. A case study or lab which allows the students to experience

the course concepts in practical application

Engagement Activities

1. Audio lecture(s) offering your professional experience as

talking points to motivate students to seek out additional
information on their own
2. Video lecture(s) creating a bridge between course concepts
and deliverables for the week (discussions, assignments, case
studies, quizzes or exams, and so on)
3. A discussion forum which allows students to ask questions, try
out ideas, synthesize learning, and connect and learn from
their fellow students and through direct discussion with the
course instructor
The deliverable template for the Carnegie table is a spreadsheet that
4. A self-assessment quiz
automatically calculates Carnegie units upon your data entry. In-
5. A midterm exam in week four (4)
class (engagement) and out-of-class (preparation) activities are
6. A comprehensive final exam in week eight (8)
listed independently, with guidelines for converting time on task to
Carnegie hours. Be sure to view the module in GU975 that explains
how to use this tool.

Here are some examples of activities that would be categorized as

either preparatory or engagement.

Preparatory Activities

1. Readings from the course textbook

2. Supplementary materials (published articles, videos, publisher
ancillaries, etc.) that expand on the learning goals and
objectives for the week
3. Assignments that encourage students to synthesize their ideas
and express their learning through various modalities
4. Assignments that provide opportunities for students to practice
new skills
COURSE DEVELOPMENT MANUAL (REVISED 2016)
Cognitive load theory (Sweller, 1994) proposes that
there may be a limit to how much learners can handle
based on how instruction is delivered.
A rigorous class need not be overwhelming, if it is designed well.
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Carnegie units and time on task are not the only components of reference by creating environments where students gain autonomy in
academic rigor. We must also consider the intellectual challenge of thinking. This is accomplished when students learn from each other,
our courses. and help each other in problem-solving groups.

For this reason, we spend most of our time in the course development
process focusing on how to create discussion prompts and
assignments that address Mezirows four processes of transformative
learning:

Elaboration of an existing point of view

Establish new points of view
Transform our own point of view
Become critically reflective of how our point of view differs
from others

Rigor, Intellectual Challenge, and Transformative Learning

Intellectual challenge arises when we intentionally use verbiage from

the revised Blooms taxonomy (Krathwohl, 2002) in our course
objectives and instructions for assignments. Higher order thinking
skills require students to process new information, and either
accommodate new schema or assimilate new information into existing
schema.

Additionally, we must address the dissonance that arises when

students encounter new information that may conflict with their
existing schema. The theory of transformative learning (Mezirow,
1997; 2004) suggests that we effect change in the learners frames of

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Other Considerations
As a SME, we expect you to develop original lectures, discussions
and assignments for the course. In addition, we expect you to
incorporate academic textbooks and other high quality resources
into the course as a means to support your original materials. In
most cases, you are free to add supplemental resources
(PowerPoints, test banks, study guides, etc.) from the publisher of
the textbook that we will use in the course.
Along with textbooks, we recognize that external resources
publications or videos you may find in library databases or on the
Webcan directly inform or enhance the course curriculum and
learning experience for students. In fact, we encourage you to
explore the inclusion of such resources as you work with your ID.
Note, however, that Grantham University is a for-profit institution.
As such, the laws governing the manner and extent to which we
use those external resources can differ from those governing non-
profit educational institutions. In order to stay within the parameters
of fair use at Grantham University, we need to observe the following
guidelines:
When including external content in your course, you must
clearly identify the author and/or origin of the content when
you share it with your ID. Proper attribution, particularly in the
case of copyrighted content you have selected from the web,
is crucial to ensuring that we adhere to fair use. Although
materials in the public domain have no copyright restrictions, it
is still best practice to disclose the origin of those materials.
We can link to external content and, in many cases, embed it
within the course. However, we cannot copy, store, distribute,
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or modify such content unless expressly granted those rights
by the copyright holder.
If you wish to excerpt a work or quote from it, you should plan
to do so sparingly and under advisement from your ID.
If you wish to use materials you have published outside of
Grantham University or developed for another institution, you
must ensure that you are free to reproduce your work (i.e., you
own the necessary intellectual property rights).
Before We Begin: Big Questions
To help you start thinking about course development, consider how
the course design might vary depending on the following factors:
(Bain, 2004)
Where the Course Fits Into the Curriculum
Does the course stand on its own, or does it support other
courses?
What skills, abilities, or qualities will it help students develop?
Nature of the Subject
Is this subject primarily theoretical, practical, or some
combination?
Are there important changes or controversies occurring within
this field of study?
How will you address these potential variances in your design?
Characteristics of the Learners
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What prior knowledge, experiences, and initial feelings will

incoming students have with this subject?
What are their learning goals, expectations, and preferred
learning styles?

Characteristics of the Instructors

What beliefs and values might different teachers have about

teaching and learning?

Stimulating True Learning

What questions will I ask of them to focus their attention on
significant issues, or to clarify concepts, or to highlight
assumptions that they are likely to ignore?
What big questions will my course help students answer (or
what answers will it help them to question)
What reasoning abilities must students have or develop to
answer these questions?
How will I help students who have difficulty understanding the
questions and using evidence and reason to answer them?
How will I communicate with students in a way that keeps
them thinking?
VIP2TM Exemplary Course Design Checklist
Your ID will assist you with incorporating these elements in your
course. Additionally, you should know that the VIP2TM checklist is the
assessment piece for your work at the end of the project period,
your course will be evaluated using the full checklist. Your contract
will be fulfilled when the checklist indicates an exemplary course has
been built!
Goals and Objectives
Goals and objectives are easily located within the course
Goals and objectives are clearly written at the appropriate
level, reflect desired outcomes
Goals and objectives are written in measureable outcomes
Goals and objectives are made available in a variety of areas
in the course (within the syllabus and each individual learning
unit)
Goals and objectives are clearly and consistently aligned with
course readings, assignments and activities

Content Presentation

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Content is made available or chunked in manageable
segments throughout the 8 week course model
Navigation is intuitive, content flows in a logical progression
Content is presented using a variety of appropriate
mechanisms or modalities
Content is enhanced with visual and auditory elements;
supplementary resources are available and well-integrated
with other course materials (integrated publisher resources, e-
textbooks, course manuals, etc.)
Communication Strategies
Scaffolding approach is apparent; weekly content taps into the
rich, practical experience of adult leaners lives to bridge
experience with new academic learning
Learner Engagement
It is clear how the instructional strategies will enable students
to reach course goals and objectives
Course design includes opportunities for learners to work with
content in meaningful ways, supporting andragogy (i.e., real-
world application, immediate relevance)
Development of Learning Communities
Higher order thinking (e.g., analysis, problem solving, or
critical reflection) is expected of learners and explained with
examples or models
Individualized instruction (differentiated/multiple learning
styles), supplementary activities, or resources for advanced
learning activities are provided
Discussion forum assignments push students to think critically
while also engaging with one another
Technology Use
LMS tools are used to reduce the labor-intensity of learning
Interaction Logistics
(e.g., providing links to needed resources where they will be
used in the course, integrating publisher resources that are
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tailored to the course materials, and providing streamlined
access to supplementary materials)
Technologies are used creatively in ways that transcend
traditional, teacher-centered instruction
A wide variety of delivery media are incorporated into the
course
An effort has been made to use low-cost or no-cost materials
when available
There are plentiful opportunities for synchronous and/or
asynchronous interaction, as appropriate (student to student,
student to faculty)
Asynchronous communication strategies promote critical
reflection or other higher order thinking aligned with learning
objectives
Synchronous communication activities benefit from real-time
interactions and facilitate VIP2TM communication
Communication activities are designed to help build a sense of
community among learners
Student-to-student interactions are required as part of the
course (peer review, discussion forums, etc.)
Students are encouraged to initiate communication with the
instructor
Collaboration activities reinforce course content and learning
outcomes, while building workplace-useful skills such as
teamwork, cooperation, negotiation, and consensus-building
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Guidelines explaining required levels of participation (i.e.,
quantity of interactions) are provided
Expectations regarding the quality of communications (e.g.,
what constitutes a good answer) are clearly defined
A rubric or equivalent grading document is included to explain
how participation will be evaluated
Expectations: Objectives and Assessment
Orientation to Course and LMS
Assessments match the goals and objectives
Learners are directed to the appropriate objective(s) for each
assessment
Rubrics for desired outcomes are provided
Instructions are written clearly and with sufficient detail to
ensure understanding
Acceptable methods for completing assignments (open book,
etc.) are identified
Quantity and scope of assessments are appropriate for the
Supportive Software
course level
Assessment Design
Composition/difficulty level of assessments is appropriate (i.e.
activities are explained using appropriate reading level and
vocabulary according to the cognitive domain level)
Higher order thinking skills are required (i.e. analysis, problem-
solving, synthesis, and evaluation)
Course/Institutional Policies
Assessments are designed to reflect authentic, real-world
situations to facilitate transfer of learning, supporting the
problem-oriented preference of adult learners
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Assessment activities occur frequently throughout the duration
of the course
Multiple types of assessments (3+) are used to allow students
to demonstrate proficiency through multiple means
Clearly labeled tutorial materials that explain how to navigate
the LMS and the specific course are included
Tutorials are found easily (few clicks) whether internal or
external to the course, with easy return to other areas of the
course, offering VIP2TM immediate support
Tutorial materials support multiple learning modalities: audio,
visual, and text based
Clear explanations of optional and/or required software (in
addition to the LMS) are provided within the course
Software required to use course materials is listed with links to
where it can be captured and installed
Links are located within the course where learners will use the
software (i.e., near the materials requiring its use)
Links to institutional policies, materials, and forms relevant for
learner success (for example, plagiarism policies) are clearly
labeled and easy to find
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Links allow easy navigation from the course to the information
and back
Links to institutional services such as the library, or writing
center, are clearly labeled and easy to find
Technical Accessibility
Course materials use standard formats to ensure accessibility
If specific software is required to which some learners may not
have access, alternative file types are provided
Large files are identified to help learners consider download
times
Alternative (smaller) files are provided where appropriate
Videos are streamed whenever possible; graphics are
optimized for web delivery and display without needing
extensive scrolling
Accommodation for Disabilities
Supportive mechanisms allow learners with disabilities to
participate fully in the online community
The design and delivery of content integrate alternative
resources (transcripts, for example) or enable assistive
processes (voice recognition, for example) for those needing
accommodation
Links to institutional policies, contacts, and procedures for
supporting learners with disabilities are included and easy to
find
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Design factors such as color, text size manipulations, audio
and video controls reflect universal accessibility considerations
Feedback (from students)
Learners have the opportunity to give feedback to the
instructor regarding course design and course content both
during course delivery and after course completion
Feedback mechanisms allow students to participate
anonymously in course evaluation
The Course Development
Process
Initial project meeting
Your ID will set up an initial project meeting to discuss the scope of
the project, required deliverables, expectations and timelines. With
every course re-design, the curriculum department gathers feedback
from all teaching faculty. This feedback, along with additional
necessary data, will be provided to you by your assigned ID. During
your initial project meeting, your ID will discuss the data for
consideration during the development process.
During this meeting you will establish the days/times for your weekly
meetings.
Weekly meetings with ID
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Whether you prefer phone calls, Google Hangouts, Skype or web
conferencing through Blackboard Collaborate, you and your ID will
talk on a weekly basis. Be sure to log into Blackboard GU975 during
these weekly meetings, so you can view and access the same
materials that your ID is using.
Textbook selection
With some course re-designs, a textbook will have been already
selected for the course. In other cases, you will be asked to review
textbooks and offer your recommendation.
Attempt to find an electronic textbook (e-book) for your course. Be
sure to look for textbooks that offer a wealth of instructor resources
videos, powerpoint slides, test banks, assignments, study guides,
discussion forum questions. These will supplement, not take the
place of, the course content you will develop.
Templates for Deliverables (GU975 on Blackboard)
The GU975 Blackboard site contains all the templates you need for
deliverables.
The GU 975 course is set up to provide information you need in a
timely manner to complete your deliverables. You will submit your
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deliverables as assignments on Blackboard, and your ID will be able
to provide feedback as you work through the project period.
Deadlines for Deliverables
Please meet your weekly deadlines for deliverables. While you have
eight weeks to complete the agreed-upon deliverables, your ID has
additional deadlines after your project period. We appreciate your
promptness!
WEEK ONE
Deliverables:
Syllabus information (including course
description, course objectives, textbook
citation, and course outline)
Beginning with the end in mind, we are going to start by examining the
course description and course objectives, then map our learning
activities to these objectives. This may seem backward to
some novice curriculum developers and yes, the theory is called
backward design.
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Backwards design (Wiggins & McTighe, 2001) is a fairly simple design

model that begins with our course objectives as the starting point
and scaffolding for all activities in the course.

When you start with the objectives and assessments in mind, you can
ensure there will be no fluff in the course. Each task is designed with
a specific purpose in mind that culminates in the students mastery of
the course objectives.

There should be approximately eight course objectives. This allows

each course objective to be the main topic for one week during the
course. Your ID will help you with revising course objectives, if
necessary.

We will write objectives using verbiage from Blooms revised

taxonomy (Krathwohl, 2002). Krathwohl describes four dimensions of
knowledge that occur in most of our courses: factual, conceptual,
procedural and metacognitive knowledge. He creates a matrix that This table also appears in GU975. Use the verbs in the right-hand
intersects these four knowledge domains with six cognitive processes: column as you rephrase your course objectives.
remembering, understanding, applying, analyzing, evaluating and
creating. These are described in the table below.

Grantham courses at the 100-200 level should incorporate verbiage

from the lower three categories, referred to as LOTS (lower order
thinking skills): remembering, understanding, and applying.

Courses at the 300-400 level should incorporate HOTS (higher order

thinking skills) which include analyzing, evaluating, and creating.

Refer to Blooms verbiage when revising course objectives, writing

exams, creating discussion prompts, and explaining assignments.

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If you are revising an upper level course, and choose to include a

progressive project rather than an exam, you will need to think
through the steps that students must take to complete the
assignment. Think about what they should be accomplishing and
WEEK TWO
submitting each week. Comprehensive projects are excellent vehicles
for encouraging students to employ their new skills, and to create
artifacts that could be used in a portfolio.
Deliverables:
Summative Assessments (exams or
projects)
Summative assessments (the midterm exam, final exam, and/or
progressive project that requires the entire course to complete) are
high-stakes exercises, because the student has only one chance to
demonstrate mastery of the course objectives.

We begin our course design by writing our summative assessments,

because of the backward design principle described earlier. This is
similar to Steven Coveys (1989) habit #2, begin with the end in
mind.

Each of the exam questions should be aligned with a course

objective. Further, you want to provide several types of exam WEEK THREE
questions to test students cognitive processes; this means you will
have some multiple choice questions along with some fill in the blank,
short answer and essay questions.
Deliverables:
Watch the videos in GU975 that explain why we design exams in this
manner, and how to create a comprehensive exam that incorporates Assignments
Blooms revised taxonomy. Discussion Forum Prompts
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Audio-video practice runs Case studies

Debate
Each One Teach One (peer tutoring)
Formative assessments (discussion forums and weekly assignments)
Interviews with professionals in the field
are low-stakes exercises. The student may resubmit work, revising it
each time based on instructor feedback. The key here is instructor
Journals (metacognition: thinking about your thinking)
feedback. If the student is misunderstanding a concept, this is the Labs/clinicals
time for the instructor to provide corrective feedback so that the Powerpoint presentations
student has a solid foundation for future work. Reaction paper
What is the Purpose of Assignments? Reflection paper
Research paper
Ideally, assignments will simulate real-world problems that students
are likely to encounter on the job. Through weekly assignments, Simulated audit/debrief
students have the opportunity to develop skills necessary for Simulated job interview
mastering course objectives. Study guides
Skill development is different from demonstrating knowledge. Your Textbook reading
task is quite difficult: to devise assignments that afford an opportunity Video recordings
to develop skills. You may not find these in the publishers resources;
you have to use your own expertise and creativity to accomplish this
mission.
When preparing assignments, follow these steps:
To create a transformative learning experience, we need to provide
opportunities for learners to actively apply, analyze, and evaluate 1. Map out your plan to use different types of assignments each week
course concepts and requisite skills. Additionally, these activities (see the deliverable template).
should be low-stakes with immediate feedback from the instructor.
2. Think through the purpose of the assignment. What is the end
Here are some ideas for you to consider for providing a variety of game?
assignments throughout the course:
3. Think through the student viewpoint how clear are the
Annotated bibliography expectations? How easily can the assignment be faked?
Audio recordings 4. Write clear instructions that delineate the entire assignment.
Book report
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5. Ask a third party (friend or family member) to read through the
instructions and attempt to complete the assignment.
6. Revise your instructions based on feedback from your third party!
7. Provide an answer key for the other instructors of the course.
What is the Purpose of Discussions?
Weekly discussions are the crux of any online course. In lieu of face-
to-face interaction, the discussion forum is the place where students
engage with each other, and also with the instructor. Thus, students
are encouraged to think and to learn out loud.
Tips for Effective Discussion Prompts:
1. Write questions that require students to refer to assigned
readings (either the textbook or online articles)
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2. Expect and encourage a diversity of viewpoints. (i.e. do
not ask a question that has one correct answer)
3. Provide instructions that model how to engage in critical
thinking (i.e. presenting an informed argument, referring to
logical fallacies, citing sources informally to back up
arguments)
4. Teach students how to respond to other students initial posts
Well-formed prompts facilitate healthy interaction; however, we want
to encourage more than interaction. We want to build community
(Siemens, 2002).
Consider the process that occurs in an online class, as disparate
individuals first communicate with each other, then build community
through the processes of collaboration and cooperation (Siemens,
2002). That process does not just naturally occur it requires a well-
designed group project (yes, you are the one who will design it!)
This may be a shift in your thinking about discussion posts, as they
have previously existed in Grantham courses. Imagine ill-structured
problems that require group collaboration in order to arrive at
solutions. Imagine broad, overarching questions that may require
research before posting a comment. Imagine healthy debate that
continues beyond the obligatory initial post and two responses.
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Types of Discussion Prompts:

1. Reactions to assigned readings or current events

2. Group projects
3. WIKI-type little help please

A-V Presentations

Now that we have addressed course objectives, assessments,

assignments, and discussion forums, we can turn our attention to
delivery of content. But wait! Heres another shift in expectations!

(Q: What happened to written lectures?

Think about these factors as you use your discussion forum to build A: They are being replaced by audio/video presentations.)
an online community among your students (Brindley et al, 2009):
Your ID will guide you through the process of
1. Provide clear instructions and transparent expectations.
2. Make sure the task is appropriate for group work
recording audio and video lectures, and creating
3. How can you lead students to create meaning from the screencasts for tutorials.
course material while implementing concepts into the group
task?
4. What motivates your students to collaborate with each other?
5. Consider how you will prepare the learners for their roles in the
group task it will not come naturally!
6. Think about the timing of tasks When should you introduce
the task? What is an appropriate length of time for the entire
project?
7. How, when and why should instructors jump into the
discussion?

Its a good practice to offer more than one type of discussion prompt
each week. This does not necessitate more work for the instructors
it necessitates more work (i.e. thinking) by the students.
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Have you ever made a screencast or used your webcam to record
yourself? If not, well help you!
Please consider these alternative modalities for delivery of
course material:
Video lectures are similar in purpose to audio lectures they provide
a personal connection between you as a guest lecturer, the student,
and the course content. In a video lecture, you may highlight
important points from the text, but dont summarize or read the text.
Pose thought-provoking questions, share relevant professional
experiences, and tap into students innate sense of curiosity!
Video tutorials are used to walk students through specific procedures
or processes. Using a tool such as Screencastomatic.com is one way
you can prepare your own screen cast tutorials. Work with your
assigned ID to discuss if this type of instructional strategy is
appropriate for the course content.
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Voice-overs for Powerpoint presentations. If you have already
planned to include the publishers Powerpoints, you may simply
record a voice-over to enhance the material on the slides. By
themselves, slides add no value to the course. If you were in a typical
classroom, you would naturally supplement the slide show verbally
with your lecture material. In an online environment, this is even more
necessary!
Audio lectures provide a personal approach in which you can
introduce yourself as a guest lecturer for the course. You can share
personal and professional insights that will pique the students
interest. Share tales from the field that serve as case studies.
Ask questions that serve as pop quizzes or encourage higher level
thinking by students. Some guidelines include:
Prepare a script so you arent tempted to wing it.
Practice enough times that your final take sounds
extemporaneous, not scripted or stiff.
Time of audio clip should be about 5 minutes or less
You may include more than one audio clip per week
Work to establish a personal connection the students will
want to know your credentials and background experiences.
Interactive lectures contain stopping points (snap inspections) where
students can check their understanding of the material. There are
several components of the interactive lectures: the storyboard,
requested video(s) or image(s) to be embedded, audio file(s) and a
written script for the audio. Your ID can help prepare these types of
lectures using Captivate.
GRANTHAM UNIVERSITY

WEEK FOUR
Deliverables:
Course Development Template (CDT) for
weeks 1 and 2
Now that you have the course objectives solidly imprinted in your
mind, and you have aligned both summative and formative
assessment exercises with course objectives, we will examine best
practices for delivering learning content in an engaging, efficient, and
effective manner (Merrill, 2008).
First, browse through theGU975 content related to Best Practices.
We want to introduce you to the newest ideas, along with evidence-
based practices, so that you are adequately prepared to create
rigorous, transformative, engaging learning experiences.
Some of the latest trends in e-learning include badges, gamification,
universal design, and peer interaction. The modules in GU975 will
provide more information about these topics, along with ideas for
incorporating them into your classes.
Specifically, the content you will provide in your CDT consists of what
you see on Blackboard.
You will need to create a name for the week simply the topic for
the week. This will appear on the left sidebar menu on Blackboard.
COURSE DEVELOPMENT MANUAL (REVISED 2016)
19
Then develop your Getting Started narrative, which is a paragraph
that briefly recaps last weeks topic and ties it together with this
weeks topic. You should also pose a thought-provoking question that
provide incentive for students to carefully read the textbook.
This narrative now serves as a script for you to record your blog-type
video clip. Be sure to introduce yourself as the guest lecturer, and as
appropriate, provide some of your professional experiences that relate
to the weekly topic. Ask students how they would solve the problem
you encountered, using what they learn from this weeks content.
You will complete a Read, Review, Complete to-do list for the week.
You will provide all materials that you wish to include for example,
the URL for websites or videos that are online, powerpoint slides, and
PDF articles.
IMPORTANT NOTE:
These content items in Blackboard cannot stand on their own. You
need to provide some kind of thread or glue that holds the content
together for the student. This means you will be writing transitional
statements that would typically be made by instructors during class in
grounded classrooms.
GRANTHAM UNIVERSITY
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WEEK FIVE WEEK EIGHT

Deliverables: Deliverables:
CDTs for weeks 3 and 4 Carnegie Table
IRA map
VIP2 rubric
Any necessary revisions
WEEK SIX
The deliverable template for the Carnegie table is a spreadsheet that
automatically calculates Carnegie units upon your data entry. Be sure
Deliverables: to view the module in GU975 that explains how to use this tool.

CDTs for weeks 5 and 6 During this week, we will also run final checks for any revisions made
to the IRA map and the VIP2TM checklist.

WEEK SEVEN

Deliverables:
CDTs for weeks 7 and 8

COURSE DEVELOPMENT MANUAL (REVISED 2016) GRANTHAM UNIVERSITY


About Grantham University
We are proud of our Grantham University history, which spans more
than six decades and exemplifies continuous commitment of service
to those who serve (i.e. veterans, active duty military members, guard
members, and military families), as well as public agency staff and
students from around the world.
The University offers more than 40 associate, bachelors and masters
programs and certificates that position our graduates for success in
their chosen career paths.
While Grantham University courses are 100% online, our
administrative offices are located in Lenexa, Kansas. This is where
your instructional designer is based.
COURSE DEVELOPMENT MANUAL (REVISED 2016)
21
Our Vision
Grantham University is committed to being a globally recognized
innovator in higher education, serving those who serve and serving
those who strive to make a difference in their professional lives and
community.
Our Mission
To provide quality, accessible, affordable, professionally relevant
programs in a continuously changing global society.
Our Core Values
Accessibility and Affordability. We demonstrate our
commitment to accessibility and affordability of higher
education by facilitating learning that fits into students
schedules and seeking efficiencies that keep programs
affordable.
Diversity. We affirm our commitment to an inclusive
community by making academic programs, educational
services, and employment opportunities available to all
qualified individuals. We encourage tolerance, mutual respect,
and acceptance of differences throughout the institution. We
believe diversity enhances our institutional culture, improves
productivity, and prepares our graduates to participate
effectively in the global community.
GRANTHAM UNIVERSITY

Education and Service to Those Who Serve. We honor
those who serve our country and our communities. We are
dedicated to the provision of affordable and uniquely
accessible programs and support to these deserving students.
Excellence and Innovation. We maintain a strong
commitment to high standards in all aspects of academic
programs, learning outcomes, and student support services.
Additionally, we seek to continuously strengthen and improve
the effectiveness of our academic programs and operations by
incorporating creative and effective ways to meet the diverse
needs of our student population.
Student-Centric Success. We place the academic and
personal success of our students at the center of all University
functions, services, activities, and academic programs. We
are committed to implementing best practices to facilitate
students development and success from the point of entry to
degree completion.
Institutional Integrity. We hold all students, faculty, staff, and
administrators to the highest standards of integrity, honesty,
and personal responsibility. To provide quality academic
experiences, we are committed to continually assessing and
re-evaluating every aspect of our academic model. We
endeavor to build an institutional culture grounded in candor,
transparency, and best professional practices.
COURSE DEVELOPMENT MANUAL (REVISED 2016)
22
Grantham University Learning Outcomes
(ULOs)
While each course contains learning objectives, and each academic
program of study consists of programmatic outcomes, the institution
as a whole embraces five University Learning Outcomes.
The Grantham University Learning Outcomes include:
Communication competence in effective written and oral
communication
Critical Thinking ability to analyze problems, reflectively
process information, and formulate solutions
Respect for Diversity awareness of and appreciation for
varieties of human experiences and social structures
Professional, Ethical, and Social Responsibility
responsibility to the greater societal good and an applied
ethical framework in decision making
Lifelong Learning definition for and acquisition of a
continuing pursuit of educational needs throughout their
professional lives
By incorporating these university learning outcomes into each
program of study, Grantham ensures that graduates are prepared to
succeed in their professional and civic pursuits.
GRANTHAM UNIVERSITY
 23

Our Students
Grantham University students are, more often than not, adult learners,
and bring with them a wealth of real-life experiences and knowledge
to the online learning environment. While this knowledge and
experience can be an advantage because it naturally provides a
diverse set of ideas and understanding, it also poses unique
challenges to you and the course instructor in that it can be more
difficult to move students beyond their preconceptions and
perceptions about a given topic.

Here is a quick highlight of the four assumptions about adult learners

(Knowles, 1973):

Change in self-concept: Adult learners view themselves as

self-directing, and may perform best in an environment in
which they are allowed to direct their own learning.

Role of experience: Through their life experiences, adults
have a rich array of mental schema, thus value action-learning
techniques rather than transmittal teaching techniques.
Readiness to learn: Adults are ready to learn when they
perceive a deficit in their skills or abilities to solve a problem.
Therefore, problem-based learning techniques are the best
way to activate the sense of readiness.
Orientation to learning: Adults prefer to start with a problem
and then work towards finding a solution to it, rather than
receiving knowledge without context.
Building Self-efficacy and Community
Keep in mind that adult learners often feel that they cannot succeed in
college. Thus, your goal is to create metacognitive activities and
collaborative assignments as significant strategies in teaching
students how to think about their thinking and how to work
interdependently as well as independently.
Through these critical reflection activities (Mezirow, 19990), and
through well-designed collaborations (Brindley et al, 2009), students
are better able to synthesize course concepts and analyze underlying
principles within the discipline and subject area more completely a
transformative learning experience (Mezirow, 1997).

COURSE DEVELOPMENT MANUAL (REVISED 2016) GRANTHAM UNIVERSITY


The key to productive collaboration begins with clear instructions,
prompts and expectations. Additionally, instructors must know how to
mold and model the desired behavior, develop an appropriate task for
group learning, nurture small group interactions, provide feedback,
and expedite meaning-making among learners (Brindley et al, 2009;
Stacey, 1998).
Through your design of the discussion forums and other community-
building activities, our Grantham courses will address the four
assumptions of adult learners, with the anticipated result of enhancing
our students abilities to communicate effectively, think critically,
function in a diverse environment, and enjoy lifelong learning.
Our Stakeholders
Countless organizations, individuals, and agencies hold a stake in
our educational outcomes. Thus, our obligation to provide a
rigorous, transformative curriculum drives our design process.
Consider these stakeholder expectations:
Political Pressures: State and federal agencies demand greater
accountability for measuring and reporting student mastery of stated
learning outcomes. Public outcries regarding the increased cost and
decreased accessibility of higher education mean we must
demonstrate clearly what we expect students to gain from a Grantham
education, and how our learning experience will help graduates
become beneficial participants in society.
COURSE DEVELOPMENT MANUAL (REVISED 2016)
24
Employer Demands: Employer demands for a highly-skilled,
knowledgeable, and innovative workforce, include:
The ability to work well in teamsespecially with people different
from yourself
An understanding of science and technology and how these
subjects are used in real-world settings
The ability to write and speak well
The ability to think clearly about complex problems
The ability to analyze a problem to develop workable solutions
An understanding of the global context in which work is now done
The ability to be creative and innovative in solving problems
The ability to apply knowledge and skills in new settings
The ability to understand numbers and statistics
A strong sense of ethics and integrity
(Peter D. Hart Research Associates. (2007). Retrieved from
http://www.aacu.org/leap/students/employers-top-ten)
Student Expectations: Students expect an affordable, relevant,
personal, and transformative learning experience that will prepare
them to compete in a global economy.
Faculty Needs: Faculty needs include opportunities for a viable
work/life balance, professional development, academic freedom, and
administrative support.
College and University Concerns: The senior administrative team at
Grantham is concerned with attracting and retaining students,
achieving and maintaining accreditation, keeping costs manageable,
and maintaining the academic rigor and integrity of our courses.
GRANTHAM UNIVERSITY
 25

References

Peter D. Hart Research Associates. (2007). "How Should Colleges

Bain, K. (2004). What the best college teachers do. Cambridge, MA:
Harvard University Press.
Brindley, J., Blaschke, L. M., & Walti, C. (2009). Creating effective
collaborative learning groups in an online environment. The
International Review of Research in Open and Distributed
Learning, 10(3).
Prepare Students to Succeed in Today's Global Economy?"
Retrieved from http://www.aacu.org/leap/students/employers-
top-ten
Siemens. G. (2002). Interaction. E-learning Noncourse. October 8,
2002. Retrieved from
http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/Interaction.htm

Knowles, M. (1973). The Adult Learner: A Neglected Species. Stacey, E. (2009). Collaborative Learning in an online environment.
American Society for Training and Development. Houston, International Journal of EDE, 14(2), 14-33. Retrieved from:
TX: Gulf Publishing Company. Retrieved from the ERIC http://www.ijede.ca/index.php/jde/article/viewArticle/154/379
database: ED 084 368
Sweller, J. (1994). Cognitive load theory, learning difficulty, and
Krathwohl, D. R. (2002) A revision of Blooms taxonomy: An instructional design. Learning and Instruction, 4, 295-312.
overview. Theory into Practice, 41(4). Retrieved Wiggins, G., & McTighe, J. (2001). "What is Backward Design?" in
from: http://www.unco.edu/cetl/sir/stating_outcome/documents Understanding by Design, 1st edition, pp. 7-19. Upper Saddle
/Krathwohl.pdf River, NJ: Merrill Prentice Hall.
Merrill, M. D., (2008). Converting e3-learning to e3-learning: An
alternative instructional design method. In S. Carliner & P.
Shank (Eds.) The E-Learning Handbook: Past Promises,
Present Challenges (pp. 359-400). San Francisco, CA:
Pfeiffer.
Mezirow, J. (1997). Transformative learning: theory to practice. In
New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, 74, 5-12.
San Francisco, CA: Jossey Bass.
Mezirow, J. (1990). How critical reflection triggers transformative
learning. Fostering critical reflection in adulthood, 1, 20.

COURSE DEVELOPMENT MANUAL (REVISED 2016) GRANTHAM UNIVERSITY