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Begin Designing a Blended Course

Regardless of the method of delivery, developing the course learning outcomes is a necessary first step (Joosten et al., 2021; McGee & Reis, 2012). Visit the Going Online Together Brightspace site for .

Similar to re-designing an in-person course into an asynchronous online course, a blended course requires revisiting your intended student learning outcomes, identifying the best-suited learning activities and assessments and then making determinations about which delivery mode — online or in-person — will best support student engagement with activities and achievement of those outcomes.

Typically, those who adopt a blended model require students to engage in preparation prior to in-person meetings. This can take the form of readings, short lecture videos, pre-class reflection activities, or pre-class asynchronous online discussion. The in-person sessions tend to include active learning strategies that help students analyze and integrate the asynchronous learning materials. Some of these active learning strategies include: case studies, problem-based learning, small group discussion, student polling.

When designing blended learning, consistent course structure and a sustained pace are integral to fostering student engagement (Heilporn, et al., 2021). Blended course design requires thoughtful strategies to connect asynchronous online activities with the synchronous in-person learning methods. Without careful planning the course will lack cohesion and activities will feel fragmented or irrelevant from the students’ perspective (see Integrating Online and In-person Activities for a deeper dive into this aspect of blended course design).

Resources to help with your initial course creation

1. (U of Waterloo)
2. (Concordia)
3. (U of Waterloo)

In addition to the prompts in the above articles, you may also want to consider the needs and contexts of the students in your course. Though class lists change frequently, it may be very helpful to know how many students are place-bound, how many might struggle to achieve consistent internet connectivity and sufficient bandwidth, or who might lack access to necessary technology. Consider this  that was developed for online courses in fall and winter 2020/2021. You could modify this form for your own purposes, or create something similar and distribute in the few weeks to few days before term begins. 

Finally, after deciding on your course design, it will be important to carefully plan how you will inform students about the expectations you have for their participation in the course. Blended courses tend to have more components than fully online or in-person courses, so students need to be carefully oriented to the course. See the Sample Syllabus section for more information on what information to include to facilitate student orientation to your course.