Take some time to design the learning experiences in your courses. You have identified what your major assignments/assessments are and how they scaffold across your program, but often scaffolding also needs to occur within each course to prepare students to successfully complete the evaluation components. Time is an essential resource for all human action - including learning.

Students often have multiple demands on this resource.  When they are able to allocate some of it to their learning responsibilities, it would be most worthwhile if they were spending it making contact with resources that are high value to their course learning and their overall pursuit of the discipline.

As the course developer you have a lot of power over what students make contact with by way of what resources you assign.

Courses should be regularly reviewed to ensure they are highly relevant and representative of all the voices in your field.

Using the required and recommended resource sections in your course outline can allow you to highlight for students the breadth of information they should make contact with, while also directing them to the more salient resources used to support the evaluation framework of the course.

Think about copyright when you are planning your course materials. There are many examples of copying that are common educational activities that are regulated by the Copyright Act.

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The information above is adapted from the Copyright Literacy for Ontario College Employees learning modules. It is advised you complete the Copyright Learning Modules to ensure you are up to date on the dos and don't of academic copyright. Not only is this an important legal issue, but it is also a way to model appropriate and fair use to students.  The modules will also help you understand what exceptions we have as educators. If you have questions about copyright, your librarian is an excellent resource who would be more than happy to discuss these issues as they relate to your specific course.

Open Educational Resources, or OER, refer to any teaching and learning materials that reside in the public domain or have been released under an open license, such as a Creative Commons License or GNU General Public License, that permits no-cost access, use, adaptation and redistribution with no or limited restrictions. OER can be:

• Full courses,
• Learning objects
• Tests or any other tools, materials, or techniques for use in teaching, learning, and research.

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Why OERs Matter for Teaching and Learning

Why OERs Matter: Benefits for faculty

• Increases student retention by reducing costs
• Assures academic freedom to modify or add content to your specifications
• Extends your academic profile
• Provides more relevant and engaging materials for your students

Why OERs Matter: Benefits for students

• Low cost or free
• Easy to find and access, even before classes start
• More customized and relevant

How to Get Started With OERs

For faculty, OER often begins with a need to fill content gaps or to identify enhanced or replacement resources for a course. The following list of steps illustrates a typical OER development process to consider as a starting point.

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The above material has been adapted from The OER Toolkit. Faculty are encouraged to follow the link and explore the information and resources provided on the website.

Take some time to design the learning experiences in your courses. You have identified what your major assignments/assessments are and how they scaffold across your program, but often scaffolding also needs to occur within each course to prepare students to successfully complete the evaluation components. One unintended outcome of this exercise is that you may discover that either you have an assignment that is no longer relevant or you are missing something that might even be a more meaningful gauge of student learning.

Consider these tips to integrate your learning activities with your assignments/assessments.​

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For more information please visit https://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/course-design-ideas/scaffolding-student-learning-tips-for-getting-started/

Other Resource Considerations

When selecting your resources there are some other considerations that have some unique discipline considerations. You might find it helpful to discuss these considerations in a faculty group or even with your PAC.

1. Student ROI - what are the most important resources students should contact in the course/program. What is the seminal literature students should come in contact with? What are some resource options if students want to dig deeper on a given topic (these are great for recommended readings). 
2. Access - What format availability exists for each of your resources? Can you select a resource that has multiple formats (text and e-text) or alternate modalities (video or audiobook).  Can you provide the information contained in a resource in multiple formats? See the UDL guideline on Multiple Means of Representation here udlguidelines.cast.org/representation
3. Representation and Equity - Who is represented in your assigned resources?  Who is missing?  What voices should your students come in contact with and how can this best be incorporated into the course/program?  This resource may help begin these conversations and help identify strategies that can be used in your course/program. shorturl.at/eyY45

The End

Congratulations on completing the New Program Development modules.

If you require any additional help or resources please feel free to contact the Office of Academic Excellence or your Curriculum Specialist.

​Good Luck on the development (or re-development) of your program and courses!