The introductory paragraph is often the most challenging part of an essay. It motivates the topic and conveys your point of view.
Course: A learning experience that starts with assumed knowledge and ends with a measurable set of skills or talents. Most of these courses have specific learning materials like study guides, practice exams, and videos.
What do you want to learn?
Identifying what you want to learn can help you define course goals and decide on course content, assignments, and tests. For example, if you are taking an introductory course, your goal might be to gain a basic understanding of the discipline. If you are taking an advanced course, your plan might be to develop a deeper understanding of the subject.
For skills-based courses, consider how proficient you want to become. For example, if you are learning to bake, your goal could be to bake three types of cookies from scratch. Keeping your goals in mind can help you determine how much time to dedicate to practice and which techniques will be most effective.
Think about the study habits that work best for you. For instance, if you are a visual learner, consider printing out transcripts of video lectures and reviewing them as you go. You might also consider using an online resource like Quizlet to convert notes into flashcards and generate essay questions for regular testing.
What do you need to learn?
A great way to start the course design process is by defining the course goals. This will help you to determine what content to include, what teaching methods are appropriate, and how to assess student learning. For a helpful introduction to curriculum planning that starts with defining goals for student learning, see Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe’s Understanding by Design (1998).
The next step is to identify the necessary skills and knowledge that students should acquire. This can be done through a needs assessment, which can be a formal survey or an informal conversation with stakeholders. The results of the needs assessment will guide the content selection and development.
Once you have identified the essential skills and knowledge, you can begin to organize the content into a logical sequence. Then, you can decide what type of media to use to present the material. This will depend on the learning styles of your audience (visual, auditory, kinesthetic), and what will best meet their needs. For example, you might create a video to demonstrate a technique or screen recording with voiceovers to walk students through a digital activity.
What do you want to get out of the course?
When crafting course expectations, it’s essential to communicate both academic and behavioral standards. For example, students should know what type of format they can use when submitting assignments and projects, what kind of feedback to expect, and the consequences of missing deadlines or incomplete work.
Additionally, it’s essential to consider your students’ learning styles when designing course expectations. For example, if you’re teaching a course on computer programming, try to offer alternative ways for students to learn the material. For example, instead of simply reading a textbook, you could create an online tutorial or have students code a small program themselves.
Lastly, it’s essential to make your course expectations clear and concise. This will help students understand what to expect from the course and how they can succeed in it.
What do you want to do with the course?
You can answer this question in different ways, but make sure that you are genuinely enthusiastic about your course choice. The interviewers want to hear that you would study a particular subject because you are interested in it and not just because it will help you get a job or achieve some other goal.
Everyone has a skill or a subject they know more about than anyone else in their circle of friends. It could be anything from financial planning to computer skills to cooking or fitness knowledge. Think about what areas you are experts in and why you are so good at them.