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Center for Teaching & Learning

Craft My Course Purpose

Every course should have a clear, well-defined purpose to let students know what to expect of the course and of themselves.

If one does not know to which port one is sailing, no wind is favorable.
Seneca

Good discourse centers on a well-crafted thesis. Good research focuses on a clear, concise research question. Your course is a form of discourse. Your course is also an experiment in teaching and learning. Thus, your course should revolve around a well-crafted course purpose. Like a good thesis or research question, your course purpose should be a single statement that encapsulates the goals of the course.

A well-crafted course purpose serves as a touchstone for every decision you make regarding teaching, learning, and assessment in your course.

Craft My Course Purpose

Brainstorm. Find a timer or some other way to give yourself five minutes to write. Take the full five minutes. Write down all the things that come to mind around the following questions—

  • How will students be different after taking my course?
  • What do I hope my students will become by virtue of taking my course?
  • What will they be able to do? How will they reason? How will they talk? How will they behave?

Again, take the full five minutes and write.

Synthesize. Think about what you have written. How can you condense, consolidate, restate in order to express your hopes and goals into a single statement that encapsulates your course purpose? The result may be a complex sentence; nonetheless, it should be a single sentence.

Consult. Share your course purpose with your Teaching & Learning Consultant. Show it to your students; see if it communicates clearly and succinctly. Revise as necessary.

Keep an Open Mind. As you continue the course design process, and as you teach semester to semester, you will probably encounter challenges and make observations that may require you to revisit the course purpose. Revise and refine as necessary.

The question on almost every student’s mind is: “Why does this course matter to me?” A clear course purpose helps you articulate an answer to that question. It helps students see how the parts fit together into a cohesive whole. Used well, it will serve as a guide to you and your students throughout the course.