Partnering with faculty to create clear, engaging, accessible, and student-centered learning experiences.
Instructional Design is a collaborative partnership focused on creating meaningful and effective learning experiences for students. Faculty bring valuable subject-matter expertise and knowledge of their students, while Instructional Designers bring expertise in online learning, course design, accessibility, instructional technology, assessment, and student engagement. Together, we combine these areas of expertise to create courses that are clear, engaging, accessible, and aligned with learning goals.
Our goal isn’t to change how you teach. It’s to help translate your expertise into an effective learning experience for your students.
How We Work Together
01 | PLAN
Start with the big picture.
Before changing individual assignments, pages, or modules, we look at the course as a whole.
Together, we examine things such as:
- Course and module learning objectives
- Assessments and alignment
- Course organization and navigation
- Student workload and seat time
- Instructional materials and resources
- Opportunities for interaction and engagement
- Accessibility and usability
02 | DESIGN & DEVELOP
Turn the plan into a course students can navigate and learn from.
Once we establish the course structure, we work together to develop and refine the course.
This may include:
- Organizing modules and content
- Developing or revising Canvas pages
- Improving assignment instructions
- Aligning assessments with objectives
- Developing meaningful learning activities
- Incorporating multimedia and instructional technology
- Improving consistency and clarity
- Applying accessibility best practices
The Subject Matter Expert is the expert in the content. The Instructional Designer is the expert in the learning experience.
Neither role replaces the other. The strongest courses come from the two areas of expertise working together.
03 | REVIEW & REFINE
Make sure the course works for students.
Before a course is ready to launch, we review the student experience from beginning to end.
We may look at:
- Clarity
Can students understand what they are expected to do?
- Alignment
Do activities and assessments give students opportunities to achieve the stated objectives?
- Organization
Can students easily find what they need?
- Accessibility
Can students access and interact with the course materials?
- Engagement
Are students actively doing something with the content rather than simply receiving information?
- Consistency
Does the course provide predictable patterns that make it easier for students to navigate?
This stage may also include accessibility checks, Quality Matters considerations, and a final course walkthrough.
04 | LAUNCH & REFLECT
The course doesn’t stop evolving when it goes live.
After the course is offered, we can use student performance, course analytics, instructor observations, and student feedback to identify opportunities for improvement.
Questions might include:
- Where are students struggling?
- Which activities are working well?
- Are students completing the work as intended?
- Are assessments measuring the intended learning?
- What could be clarified or simplified?
Design → Develop → Review → Improve
Course improvement is an ongoing process!
What Can an Instructional Designer Help With?
You don’t have to be redesigning an entire course to work with an Instructional Designer. We can help with things like:
Course Design
- Course organization
- Module structure
- Backward design
- Learning objectives
- Alignment
Assessment
- Assignment design
- Rubrics
- Authentic assessments
- Assessment alignment
- Feedback strategies
Student Engagement
- Discussions
- Interactive activities
- Collaborative learning
- Active learning strategies
- Various interaction types
Accessibility
- Alternative text
- Accessible documents
- Accessible PowerPoints
- Video captions
- Color and contrast
- Screen-reader considerations
Canvas & Technology
- Canvas organization
- Pages and modules
- Canvas tools
- Instructional technology
- Multimedia integration
Course Quality
- Quality Matters
- Course reviews
- Student experience
- Usability
- Course consistency
And so much more!
Ready to Get Started?
Whether you’re redesigning an entire course, developing a new course, or simply trying to improve one assignment, an Instructional Designer can help you determine where to begin.
You don’t have to figure it all out on your own. We’re here to partner with you.
Let’s Work Together!
Have a course you’d like to discuss? Have an idea for improving an assignment? Not sure where to start?
Reach out to the Instructional Design team to talk through your goals and determine how we can support you.
Contact Us
Email: nevans@faulkner.edu, icavender@faulkner.edu
Request Support: Instructional Design Support Form
Office Hours / Availability: By appointment
We’d love to hear from you!
Reach out to our Instructional Design team and let’s explore how we can support your course.