Organization and Clarity

SFQ Questions

The following statements/questions could be asked for student feedback.

The faculty member:

  1. Conducts the course in an organized and well-planned manner.
  2. Clearly defines what is expected of the student to be successful in the course.
  3. Follows the course outline.
  4. Presents content in a way that contributes to my understanding.
  5. Presents content at a reasonable pace.
  6. Uses DC Connect to share course-related materials, links and information.

There are many ways that course and instructional organization and clarity can support student learning and a positive educational experience. These may include providing a detailed introduction to your course; maintaining uniformity and consistency in presentations and course content to support predictability; utilizing key features of DC Connect including the calendar; directly connecting course learning outcomes to content and assessments; and, having regular, informal check-ins with your students. These strategies can meet students' needs, improve engagement and potentially increase scores on this section in the SFQ.

Course organization and clarity is important for successful course delivery. Not only it is important to keep you, as the instructor, on track; it also helps the students be successful in the course. Students must be able to be comfortable when navigating their course, in particular DC Connect, to increase their competency (Al-Busaidi, 2012, p 29).

Introduction to your course (Q1; Q2; Q3; Q6)

If you are teaching in-person

introduce yourself, guide your students through the course outline and introduce your course in DC Connect. Take time to demonstrate where announcements are posted, where assignments will be located and how to submit them, how to access quizzes and discussion boards, and how to connect with you (Q2; Q3; Q6). While valuable for all students, this is especially important for first year, first semester students.

When teaching within a face-to-face classroom taking the students through the DC Connect page will assist students in feeling comfortable in how to access and navigate the course, and ensure they are aware of where to look for important dates and information (Q1; Q6).

If you are teaching online, introduce students to DC Connect

Taking time to introduce your students to how you set up your DC Connect page, will help the students stay organized and avoid confusion as the semester progresses (Q1; Q6).

  • This can be done in a quick course introduction screenshare video or using video note within DC Connect. In addition, if you have posted something important, highlighting where it is located, as well as linking to it in the announcement is helpful for organization.

    Example - Introduction to DC Connect.mp4

  • Add professor contact information into a widget on the course home page for easy access
  • Share with the students how to engage with DC Connect (e.g., how to make a discussion post, where to complete a quiz, how to locate assessment feedback and grades).

Consistency in Slides/Presentations (Q1; Q4)

Consistency and uniformity in slide presentations is helpful for students to know what will be coming next and allows students to be able to engage with the content without unnecessary focus on the layout (Q1; Q4). In the same way that repetition helps us remember items of importance, uniformity in course structure and presentation allows for students to easily find the important content. Some suggestions are as follows:

  • Begin with an agenda – this supports student engagement by increasing the predictability of topics being covered in the presentation.
  • Utilize the Jump Start method to guide the flow of your presentation.
  • Use an established slide design tool - Office 365 is a fantastic way to increase the professionalism of your PowerPoint presentations with ease.
Example of consistency and uniformity in slide presentations
Screenshot of a slide created using the Designer tool in Microsoft Office 365
Screenshot of a slide created using the Designer tool in Microsoft Office 365

Consistency in Course Content in DC Connect (Q6)

Utilizing DC Connect to organize and present your content will allow students to easily access required information and resources, and easily find and retrieve information presented in prior week. (Q6)

Here are some tips to help you plan your DC Connect layout:

  • Organize your content based on your course outline, by logical topic/modules or by week.
  • Support identification of modules with easy-to-understand titles. For example, Week 1 – Course Introduction
  • Ensure documents and resources are well labeled
Example of consistency in course content in DC Connect
Screenshot of an example Welcome module in DC Connect
Screenshot of an example Welcome module in DC Connect
  • Avoid direct uploading of PowerPoints, utilize the HTML page features to build your content into the course shell structure and save the PowerPoint to enhance your teaching time.
  • Upload support documents and resources as PDFs to reduce network loading time for students.

Consistency in DC Connect Layout (Q2; Q6)

  • Use the DC Connect templates to support students in locating everything they need and to increase engagement and interaction with the LMS (Q2; Q6)
  • Upload the current Course Outline and highlight important sections for the students to pay particular attention to (e.g., course learning outcomes, evaluation plan, etc.)
  • Consider how assessments and quizzes are provided/released, and try to maintain consistency in that area. For example, link all assignments/quizzes in the content area, and/or within the announcement section.
Example of consistency in DC Connect layout

Screenshot of example assessment in DC Connect
Screenshot of example assessment in DC Connect

Utilize Key Features of DC Connect to Help Keep Students Organized (Q2; Q6)

Using DC Connect to its fullest will help with this task. Some helpful features include:

  • Using the Course Schedule tab in the template helps students to see how the weekly schedule aligns with the Course Outline for organization and clarity (Q2; Q6)
Example of using the Course Schedule tab

Screenshot of an example course schedule in DC Connect
Screenshot of an example course schedule in DC Connect

Screenshot of example learning plan
Screenshot of example learning plan

  • Setting dates for the modules to open to help learners know what content is required to be read/completed without overwhelming them (e.g., 1 or 2 weeks before)
Example of setting dates for the modules to open

Screenshot of a module in DC Connect with a date listed below the module title
Screenshot of a module in DC Connect with a date listed below the module title

  • Ensuring all quiz, assignment and discussion post deadlines are added to the calendar. Please note that some assessment tools automatically add deadlines to the calendar. To determine if the deadline was automatically added, check your calendar.
Example of adding all quiz, assignment and discussion post deadlines to the calendar

Screenshot of the calendar in DC Connect
Screenshot of the calendar in DC Connect

  • Use the announcements tool to remind students of the focus for class that week, highlight requirements for activities and to alert them to upcoming dates of importance (e.g., test and assignment due dates, guest speakers, etc.)

Be Clear about how Content and Assessments Connect to Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs) and Industry Role (Q2; Q4)

Students are often more willing and eager to engage in a course when they understand why the content is important and how it will benefit them (Q2; Q4). This is an easy task to incorporate into your weekly content and will help students organize and prioritize.

Connecting PLOs, CLOs and professional applications

  1. Create an introductory slide that highlights the Program Learning Outcomes (PLOs) and how they connect to the course and even their future career path:
Example of Program Stand Alone Course

Example of a program stand alone course
Example of a program stand alone course

Example of Multiple Program Courses

Example of multiple program courses
Example of multiple program courses

  1. Include a slide that accompanies your agenda slide to highlight the CLOs for the lesson, how they connect back to meeting the PLOs, and examples of why, how and where that content is of importance in a professional setting.

Content Connection – connecting the learning path.

Organizing the course in a way that shows how the content from each week, module, and section connects and leads towards the bigger picture of the course and program, supports positive student engagement and scaffolding of learning towards mastery (Q2; Q4). The Jump Start model provides a structure to employ diverse types of activities to support this.

Another way to support student clarity in course organization is to create a diagram or infographic that illustrates the progression of course content. This provides students with visual links between modules and topics, demonstrates logical progression and scaffolding of the course content, and supports for predictability for students. 

Show the connection between learning and assessment

Showing In assignment descriptions you can also include a box which clearly connects the assignment outcomes to the learning outcomes (Q2).

Example of connecting the assignment outcomes to the learning outcomes

Example of an assignment
Example of an assignment

  • Connecting the CLO and PLO to assignments including in the rubric and descriptions to help the students draw connections between theoretical and practical
Example of connecting the CLO and PLO to assignments including in the rubric and descriptions
Screenshot showing how CLOs are connected to PLOs in assignments. Example courtesy of Amanda Cannon.
Screenshot showing how CLOs are connected to PLOs in assignments. Example courtesy of Amanda Cannon.

Have regular check-ins to ensure that the students are connecting with and understanding the content (Q4; Q5)

This can be accomplished through face-to-face meetings, or completed using many of the EdTech Tools that are available through the CTL, including Kahoot, Mentimeter and Padlet, and can be done at multiple points throughout the semester. This provides the instructor the opportunity to connect with the students to ensure that the content is being delivered clearly and at a reasonable pace and make adjustments as needed (Q4; Q5).

For example:

Using Padlet as a parking lot

Kahoot for a diagnostic assessment

Mentimeter for a diagnostic assessment