Backward Design from . . .
I find it helpful to backward design the learning activities in my classes by listening to:
- Your experiences and knowledge
- What has been working with students
- Program learning outcomes
- Job postings for your field (and a little beyond)
- College learning outcomes and soft skills (Successabilities)
Program Learning outcomes are best built from
- Job postings and employers’ needs
- Advisory Committee
- Your experiences as a professional
(What you feel they need to know to be valuable and competitive in their careers)
Listen
- To your own gut instincts (I feel students really need to know this…)
- Challenge your own gut instincts, too (I love teaching this, but it’s no longer relevant)
- To the people and organizations hiring your graduates (job posting, advisory committee, tours, visits, etc.)
- Other instructors (in or out of your field)
- Research into the labor stats of your field (AI can help; ask for hard URL source links)