FORMAL COURSE DESIGN AND THE STUDENT LEARNING EXPERIENCE

Abstract

What impact does collaboration between faculty and professional course designers have on the student learning experience? As the use of technologies increases, educational institutions have to find ways of identifying and addressing expectations about how technologies can best be incorporated into the teaching and learning experiences. This paper reports on efforts at Washington State University to develop and assess the course design and faculty development process and the impact the process has on student learning experiences. The results of a comprehensive set of faculty and student surveys from five groups suggest that the systematic course design process improves students’ opportunities for faculty-student interaction, student-student interaction, and other elements associated with best practice. The implications of this study for faculty development and policy implementation are discussed.