Since 2016, the Center for Teaching’s Course Design Institute (CDI) has helped University of Iowa faculty from 56 departments design or redesign their courses. The five-day workshop provides instructors with the dedicated time, structure, and support needed to construct or revise a course while connecting with colleagues from across campus.
Participants work side-by-side with their peers to find fresh ideas, inspiration, and new perspectives on instruction. The institute culminates with a poster session where participants share their course designs with peers and campus leaders, highlighting the approaches and insights they gained during the week.
Success stories from previous Course Design Institute participants
Priscilla Williams, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering, used her time at the 2024 Course Design Institute to design CEE 4370: Open Channel Flow and Sediment Transport, creating a visualized learning journey to enhance student understanding of the course.
“My poster was a map of the students’ progress in the course, illustrating where their knowledge base begins (a narrow river), and showing how the course learning activities and assessments allow them to expand their understanding and attain the course learning objectives. Through this process, the narrow river evolves to a wide meandering river, exemplifying this new knowledge base which is evaluated through their summative assessment (a term project).”
“The intensive one-week format was the most efficient way to design a course,” says Williams. “It was also very helpful to brainstorm with faculty outside of my college in addition to the Center for Teaching staff, and our cohort was universally engaged and supportive.”
Allison Levine, assistant professor of counselor education, designed CSED 5249: Medical and Psychopathological Aspects of Chronic Illness and Disability during the 2023 Course Design Institute, using Bloom’s taxonomy to guide the course structure.
“As a counselor and an educator, I often refer back to a hierarchy of needs mindset. In teaching we would consider that to be aligned with Bloom’s taxonomy. Thinking about the overall goals I had for this class and then how to tie those to measurable objectives as well as accreditation standards were the steps I took, informed by the taxonomy. As you can see in my design, the course was developed to begin with foundational information which is then built upon as the students develop that knowledge and can begin to break it down, interpret it, and apply it.”
“I loved how I was able to clearly design my classes around the goals and objectives in a way that I struggled with previously,” says Levine. “I also had a refreshed energy for the course, and many new activities to incorporate. My students provided very positive feedback about their experiences which I think is largely due to the time I dedicated to the course during the CDI!”
Abbey Dvorak, associate professor of music therapy, designed MUS 3690: Music Therapy with Adults during the 2024 Course Design Institute, identifying a plan for different types of assessments and learning activities to support active student engagement.
“The Course Design Institute helped me identify and plan different types of assessments and learning activities in which students could actively engage with in the classroom," says Dvorak. "With some modifications, I'm using the basic structure from the poster, including course learning goals."
"I appreciated the opportunity to have focused time to work on course design and modification and to talk with others with similar interests,” says Dvorak.
Apply for the 2025 Course Design Institute
Course Design Institute participants will:
- Learn new strategies to redesign or restructure current and future courses
- Use evidence-based frameworks to align learning goals to assessment
- Gain fresh and valuable insights into a wide range of teaching practices through inter-disciplinary sharing and feedback
- Create intentional, authentic learning activities and transparent course structures to increase student engagement
Instructors interested in participating must have DEO approval before they apply. Application review will begin on Friday, March 28, 2025. The institute is scheduled from Monday, May 19, through Friday, May 23, running daily from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.