Overview of Course Development

Clayton R. Wright, PhD

crwr77[at]gmail.com

Listed below are questions that should be addressed in each phase of course development.
They address who the learners are, what needs to be taught, why this material must be
taught, how the materials should be taught, and when it should be taught.

Needs Assessment

1. What educational gap needs to be filled?

2. Can this problem be solved by instructional changes? If yes, then proceed with
further development.
3. What should students be able to do at the end of the course that they could not do
at the beginning? What standards must they obtain and under what conditions?
4. If students are being prepared for a specific occupation, what information, skills,
and attitudes do they require to work effectively in their chosen field?
5. Who are the potential students?
6. What are the needs, skills, and constraints of the instructor who will use the
finished product?

Analysis and Design

1. What discipline will be covered?

2. How will the new or revised course fit within existing programs?
3. At what level will this course be offered, e.g., introductory or advanced?
4. What credit value will be given to this course?
5. What are the goals of the course?
6. Do these goals address the educational gap determined by the needs assessment?
7. Who are the potential learners? What are their interests, abilities, attitudes,
motivations, and previous experiences?
8. How many learners can be expected to enroll in this course?
9. What is the general content of the course?
10. What are the constraints – accessibility to equipment and expertise as well as
time, financial, and human resources? Are there standards that must be meet?
11. What plan of action should be selected to meet the above conditions?
 12. Who will do what? Who will prepare, review, and edit the materials? Who will
coordinate the activities?
Course Development

1. What are the objectives for each unit or section of the course?
2. Which of the objectives are essential and which are “nice to know”?
3. Is there a mixture of objectives particularly those at the higher level and those that
are associated with attitudes and values?
4. What specific content should be included?
5. Is the content appropriate to the students’ characteristics and experience?
6. Is the content up-to-date, accurate, and relevant?
7. How should be content be organized and sequenced?
8. What instructional methods and learning strategies will be employed?
9. Are instructional strategies appropriate for the student, the content, and the
instructor?
10. What activities will be aimed at involving students in the learning process?
11. What opportunities will be provided to practise and to transfer skills to new
situations?
12. Are the learning activities realistic? Are they meaningful for the students?
13. Do the resources address different interests, abilities, and learning styles?
14. Are the resources accurate, current, and suitable for the culture in which they will
be used?
15. What resources will students require? What will the institution provide? What
resources must the student obtain?
16. Are the course evaluation procedures congruent with the objectives of the course?
17. Will the course include a variety of evaluative instruments to assess learning?
18. How will student learning be managed and monitored?
19. Will the course meet the needs of the students?
20. Will the course meet the needs of the organization or accreditation body?
21. Has a blueprint of the course been prepared, reviewed, and approved?

Overview of Course Development by C. R. Wright, crwr77@gmail.com 2

Course Production

1. What will be the primary mode of course material delivery, e.g., face-to-face
instruction, print material, digital video disc, the World Wide Web, etc.?
2. What are the attributes of the delivery mode? What does the medium do or
convey best?
3. What other media may be necessary to support or enhance the primary delivery
mode?
4. What other media may be required to address different learning styles?
5. What copyright or intellectual property issues must be addressed?
6. What writing style is appropriate? Is it simple, direct, and conversational?
7. Is the writing appropriate for the target audience?
8. How should the text be formatted and displayed for the media being employed?
9. How should the media be packaged? Is the packaging utilitarian and attractive?
10. When will various expertise be required, such as reviewers and editors?
11. Are the costs of the learning material reasonable for the institution and students?
12. Can the materials be produced on time and within budget?

Piloting and Revising the Course

The first time you deliver a course, you are really piloting it. You should ask yourself:

1. Did the students attain the goals and objectives that were established?
2. Was the course delivered in an effective and efficient manner?
3. Would students recommend this course to others? If not, why not?
4. Were you satisfied with the course and your delivery of it?
5. Can the course content be reduced and still retain its effectiveness?
6. Does the course need more learning activities, particularly interactive ones?
7. Were the media suitable?
8. Were the evaluation procedures adequate, appropriate, reliable, and valid?
9. Were student needs met, not just learning needs, but personal and career needs?
10. How could the course be improved from a student perspective and from an
instructor perspective?

Overview of Course Development by C. R. Wright, crwr77@gmail.com 3

 Steps in Course Production
1. Conduct needs assessment and determine educational gap(s) that need to be filled
2. Identify specific goals
3. Analyze tasks
4. Identify entry behaviour of learners
5. Form matrix of tasks and skill levels
6. Specify instructional objectives
7. Group and sequence objectives
8. Outline evaluation procedures
9. Choose topics, survey content, review existing materials, survey possible instructional
strategies, and survey possible learning activities
10. Draft a course outline or blueprint
11. Outline a plan of action
12. Report back to stakeholders
13. Revise action plan
14. Formulate instructional strategies, select content, select or develop appropriate resources,
and design evaluation instruments and procedures
15. Prepare detailed course outline or blueprint
16. Apply for copyright permission for previously produced material
17. Draft material
18. Review material with course reviewer and instructional designer
19. Revise materials
20. Design final evaluative instruments
21. Edit materials
22. Pilot test
23. Analyze pilot test results
24. Provide feedback to all previous steps
25. Confirm copyright permission received
26. Revise course
27. Conduct final edit and proofreading
28. Complete final version of course
29. Prepare student outline
30. Design summative evaluation of the course
31. Duplicate course materials
32. Train instructors in use of materials and establish or modify support services
33. Implement course
34. Distribute course material and provide instruction
35. Conduct summative evaluation to determine whether educational gap has been filled
36. Revise course as needed
37. Report back to stakeholders
38. Update course material as required

Overview of Course Development by C. R. Wright, crwr77@gmail.com 4