3 Simple Ways to Improve Your Course

Even the most experienced instructors can find ways to strengthen the design and delivery of their courses. Fortunately, course improvement doesn’t have to mean a full redesign or weeks of extra work. Adding structure, setting communication guidelines, and connecting the dots are three simple ways to enhance your online course.

Add Structure

A consistent course structure is a powerful tool for reducing students' cognitive load. A clear layout helps students navigate content more easily and follow a predictable cadence for learning materials and assessments. When students don’t have to hunt for instructions or wonder what’s expected, they spend more energy on learning and less on logistics. A course structure should also be aesthetically pleasing.

Tips:

• Establish an intuitive flow of materials and due dates. For example, each week, all readings and lecture videos happen first, reading quizzes are due on Wednesdays, the first post for discussions is due on Wednesdays, response posts for discussions are due on Sundays, and any remaining assignments are due on Sundays. This would help students remember that deliverables are due on Wednesdays and Sundays in your course.
• Utilize D2L Due Dates.Due dates will appear in the course calendar and help students stay on track with assignments. 

Import the Course Maker template. Many Quality Matters standards are already built into the Course Maker template, making it an evidence-based and elegant solution for your course.

Set Communication Guidelines and Follow Through

Communication is a cornerstone of any learning environment, yet many courses lack connection points or obvious expectations for instructor-to-student interactions. Students are more likely to engage productively and respectfully when they know how, when, and where to communicate. It also helps manage instructor workload and reduces misunderstandings.

Tips:

• Customize these Start Here module pages in the Course Maker template:
  • Meet Your Instructor: Contact Information. Students should know the best way to reach you (email or phone) and when they can expect to hear back from you (ideally 24-28 hour response times).
  • Online Classroom. This page provides online communication and engagement expectations (“netiquette”). Feel free to add any other guidelines that are important to you.
• Host weekly office hours. At the beginning of your course, ask for student input on the best day and time to host open office hours. Taking the initiative to schedule consistent hours removes extra steps between you and your students.  There is nothing wrong with also scheduling office hours “by appointment”, especially for students who are unable to attend the regularly scheduled meetings.
• Set up and monitor an “Ask Me Anything” discussion board. “Ask Me Anything” or “AMA” is a dedicated space for students to ask questions about readings, assignments, technical issues–anything big or small to aid in their success in your course. Encourage students to answer each other’s questions if they know the answer. A forum like this cuts down on emails, and gives you a finger on the pulse of what is confusing for students. This is valuable data to help you refine materials, instructions, and so on.
• Post announcements. At least once a week, post a short written or video announcements as a way to check in with your students. Remind students about upcoming deadlines, share relevant current events that tie in with course materials, explain high-level themes you’ve gleaned from discussion boards, and remediate most-missed questions on quizzes–the possibilities for connecting with your students are endless.

Give timely feedback on assignments. Turnaround times of a week or less are crucial for your students’ success since online courses move quickly. Students need to know where they stand before they can confidently master new or more complex concepts as the course progresses.

Connect the Dots

Students often struggle to see how individual assignments, readings, and activities fit into the bigger picture. Including specific and measurable learning outcomes clarifies and gives purpose to each deliverable in the course. When you connect learning materials and assessments to outcomes, you give students a roadmap–and a reason–for their learning. Learning becomes intentional, not just transactional.

Tips:

• Create a learning roadmap. The module overview page is the perfect place to house an introductory statement, learning outcomes, and activity list for the week. Map each learning material and assessment to a learning outcome. For example:
  • Learning Outcome 1. Analyze the United States’ foreign policy approach in the early 19th century.
  • Reading: The Monroe Doctrine (Learning Outcome 1)
  • Submit: Essay or video analyzing the US’ stance on foreign affairs in the post-Revolutionary War period and how the Monroe Doctrine impacted the political climate on the global stage. (Learning Outcome 1)
• Use learning outcomes to introduce learning materials. In 1-3 sentences, articulate why you are asking students to interact with this material. This will help students see the relevance of the activity in relation to a graded assignment. For example, “The Monroe Doctrine is a primary source material. This reading is foundational to helping you on the essay due at the end of the week, which meets Learning Outcome 1: Analyze the United States’ foreign policy approach in the early 19th century.”

Remove unconnected materials. After creating learning roadmaps for each module and explaining how learning materials tie into the learning outcomes, you may find that some items are no longer necessary. Feel free to discard any materials that no longer serve you, or keep them as “optional” items that students can interact with on their own time.

Final Thoughts

Small changes can yield big results. By adding structure, clarifying communication expectations, and tying content to learning outcomes, you’re not just improving your course—you’re making it easier for students to succeed. Start with one strategy and build from there.