Course Development Institute
The Course Development Institute (CDI) is a professional development opportunity consisting of multiple “short courses” that faculty take asynchronously and may "stack" together to create a unique CDI pathway. The short course topics focus on helping faculty create profound, meaningful, student-focused learning experiences in their courses.
Faculty also have an opportunity to collaborate one-on-one with members of our TIPS team during the CDI to discuss ideas, share resources and projects, and get feedback.
Provides an opportunity to grow in these areas:
- Course Design. Apply the foundations of course design principles (learner-centered outcomes, backward design, aligned assessments, etc.) to your course.
- Course Development. Create and develop your course for a variety of modalities, utilizing a variety of tools and technologies.
- Learner-Centered Pedagogy. Engage in reflective practice for your teaching and implement meaningful, learner-centered pedagogical practices.
- Inclusive Teaching. Create more equitable and accessible student learning experiences by integrating inclusive approaches into your teaching.
- Teaching with Technology. Evaluate the efficacy and benefits/challenges of academic technologies used for teaching across all modalities.
Short Courses + Meaningful Interactions
The CDI is comprised of two-week-long ‘short courses’ in Canvas. You first explore content materials independently, followed by meaningful synchronous sessions and consultations. We will have short courses running at different two-week periods throughout each semester. It takes about one hour to work through the materials of a short course--you can complete it all at once or take your time.
- Flexible
Choose the courses that most resonate with you, and work at your own pace. - Personalized
Get one-on-one feedback on your short course progress and projects from a member of the TIPS team. - Collaborative
With the Course Development Institute Community (CDI-C), you can connect with instructional designers, educational technologists, and fellow faculty to share resources, ask for feedback, and engage with Course Development Institute content. - Resourceful
Access to CDI content and the CDI-C for as long as you are affiliated with CU Denver!
Fall 2023 CDI Short Courses
These courses use a combination of self-paced learning and synchronous experiences.
View and register on our full workshop calendar or register below!
Backward Course Design
Conceptualizing your course from a Backward Design perspective creates a more focused and meaningful experience for your students. The process is learner-centered, and helps ensure that your course content and assessments are aligned with the overall goals and objectives of the course (and your program!) This short course walks through the process's key elements and helps you take intentional design and development steps to prepare for your next course.
Designing for Collaboration: Group Projects in the Classroom and Online
This short course will cover the potential rewards of taking on this challenge even if your past experience with such an endeavor hasn't been the best. We’ll work to steer you clear of potential pitfalls, share strategies you can incorporate in different settings and provide you with practical ideas for effective and rewarding course group work.
Using Student Feedback to Deepen and Document Quality Teaching
For any instructor interested in exploring how to extend or refine your use of student feedback to achieve a variety of goals, including improving teaching and learning, improving the class climate/student sense of belonging and wellbeing, to inform your course design or curriculum planning, and/or to document your growth as a teacher better.
We want you to be partners with us as we continue to develop the structure of the CDI; We want to hear from you! What do you think of this format? What platform do you prefer for our CDI Community (CDI-C)? What short course topics do you want to see?
Let us know by emailing TIPS@ucdenver.edu