Four steps to design a course that motivates students and consolidates learning

One of the key challenges teachers face in helping students achieve their learning goals is creating course content that motivates them to acquire lasting experiences and knowledge. In this article, we share the four steps that will help you design a course that promotes and consolidates students’ learning.

To achieve true and lasting learning, it is important to instil motivation. Neuroscience has taught us about the composition of our brains and how electromagnetic impulses interconnect to create neural pathways to acquire new learning. And this learning is based on three interrelated processes – motivation, attention and memory – which allow for consolidation of what has been learned.

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This is the great challenge that neuroscience presents to teachers: how can we motivate students to learn, how do we engage them and what didactic strategies can we implement or improve to achieve lasting learning?

Below, we recommend a series of steps that will help your course design process:

1. Analyse the course and student profile

For the first step, it is crucial that you analyse the course’s syllabus and that you are clear on the learning goals you are trying to achieve. Remember that your course design must also align with the academic programme’s requirements. Pick the appropriate bibliography and software, then build a didactic sequence guided by relevant activities and content. You must also identify the students’ prior knowledge, their profile or current study programme and which semester they are in.

2. Design and development of the course

Once you have carried out a preliminary analysis, it is time to determine how you can design a course that engages students and inspires them to learn. And since the heart follows the eyes, consider the following when designing and developing your course.

Course structure: First, you must design your course’s structure. It must be clear and organised and follow a logical sequence so students can learn progressively. Organise the contents into modules or units.

Use different ways of presenting the content to engage students and motivate them to learn. Use readings, videos, charts, audio and interactive activities in which students can apply knowledge in an experiential and immersive way. Some content creation tools are Genially, Canva, Flipgrid, Piktochart, PowToon and Sway. To organise ideas, use Miro, Padlet and Mentimeter. For active learning, you can try Jeopardy, Quizizz, Socrative, Edpuzzle, Kahoot, Roulette (Wheel decide) and Nearpod, among others.

Don’t forget to make use of attractive design throughout the course. Use images and graphics that reinforce the learning that has taken place. You can integrate storytelling into the course or use a graphic timeline (using colours and typography appropriate to the course’s topics) to make the presentation of information more appealing so the students can enjoy the course’s journey. Many useful tools come with predetermined templates that you can use, such as Google Slides, Canva, Genially, PowToon, Prezi and Thinglink.

Build deep and lasting knowledge: Encourage active learning and student autonomy. Your course must be a stepping stone to guide students in learning how to learn, which is why engaging them with innovative pedagogical strategies such as gamification or other recreational activities, micro-learning, personalised learning and flipped classrooms is essential. You can also incorporate immersive learning experiences through augmented reality, virtual reality and 360-degree video, which will help transform how students learn and achieve their goals. Review the various tools you can use to create these resources, such as Sketchfab.

Do you have an inclusive course? Verify that your course is accessible and inclusive. You must ensure that every student enrolled in the course can easily access and interact with all its components, thus ensuring accessibility and usability.

Review and improve: Carry out a final review of your course. Its success will depend on its quality; that’s why, when all components are complete, you must perform a thorough final review to adjust, improve and confirm that it includes everything defined in its planning stages.

3. Impart

Teach your course and listen to students’ feedback. Students are the best reviewers and allies you can have. Ensure a positive emotional environment in the class, connect with your students and show empathy; this will allow you to be close enough to them to enhance their learning and make them feel empowered to offer honest feedback.

4. Review

In this fourth and final step, you must determine if the learning process works as you intended and revise/improve as necessary. As mentioned above, this is why it’s essential to pay attention to students’ experiences and verify that they have attained the required learning.

Create, design and review your course, keeping it constantly updated, and you will motivate your students to gain significant and lasting learning. The most important thing? Never stop learning. Remember that everything can be improved, and the only constant in life is change, so it is essential to keep yourself updated with the latest pedagogical and technological trends to support your students’ learning.

Yolanda Domínguez Medina is director of design and development of digital experiences, Mayela Beatriz Rodríguez Romo is digital experience project leader and Martha Fabiola Espinosa Mata is digital experience project leader, all at Monterrey Institute of Technology, Mexico.

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