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Learning/Teaching Principles
Design & Teach a Course
Design Your Course
Timing & Logistics
Who Your Students Are
Situational Constraints
Learning Objectives
Potential Assessments
Instructional Strategies
Course Content & Schedule
The Syllabus
Solve a Teaching Problem
Use Educational Technology
Try Something New
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Eberly Center for Teaching Excellence
Office of Technology for Education

Design and Teach Your Course

Many of the decisions affecting the success of a course take place well before the first day of class. Careful planning at the course design stage not only makes teaching easier and more enjoyable, it also facilitates student learning. Once your course is planned, teaching involves implementing your course design on a day-to-day level.

Design Your Course

To design an effective course, you need to:
  1. Prior knowledge can help or hinder learning.  |  MORE
  2. Motivation generates, directs, and sustains learning behavior.   |  MORE
  3. The way students organize knowledge determines how they use it.  |  MORE
  4. Meaningful engagement is necessary for deeper learning.  |  MORE
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learning principles

  1. Effective teaching involves acquiring relevant knowledge about students and using that knowledge to inform our course design and classroom teaching.  |  MORE
  2. Effective teaching involves aligning the three major components of instruction: learning objectives, assessments, and instructional activities.  |  MORE
  3. Effective teaching involves articulating explicit expectations regarding learning objectives and policies.  |  MORE
  4. Effective teaching involves prioritizing the knowledge, skills and attitudes we choose to focus on.  |  MORE

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teaching principles