Want to create a course where every activity and assessment supports exactly what you intend to teach? In this workshop, participants will explore backward design, a proven approach to course planning that begins with learning goals and works backward to craft meaningful assessments and effective instructional strategies. Even if you won’t be designing a course yourself, experimenting with backward design as a TA is a practical way to strengthen your teaching skills, create portfolio-ready examples, and prepare for future opportunities in academia or other education-focused careers. In this workshop, participants will learn backward design step by step, from defining clear course goals to creating measurable learning outcomes and aligned assessments. By the end, participants will have a practical framework and resources, as well as portfolio-ready examples to demonstrate how to align teaching, activities, and assessments.
Lunch will be provided.
After this workshop participants will be able to:
- describe the steps of the backward design process and its rationale
- identify how backward design can improve clarity, alignment, and effectiveness in teaching and learning
- practice designing course goals, learning outcomes, and assessment plans using backward design principles
If you have registered for this event, or are on the waitlist and require an accommodation such as live captioning or interpretation to participate, please contact drakeinstitute@osu.edu. Requests should be made at least two weeks prior to the event, but the university will make every effort to meet requests made after this date.