Instructional Design

The Instructional Design team within the Center for Faculty Excellence provides comprehensive, evidence-based support for the creation of programs and courses across Simmons, with a particular focus on Simmons' online programs. Our team stays current with best practices, emerging research, and innovative technologies in teaching and learning to ensure that the programs and courses that we support are the best possible learning experiences for Simmons students.

Our team's services include:

• Program-level design support for Program Directors, Department Chairs, or other faculty or academic leaders who are creating new degrees or updating existing programs for Simmons students. This can include support for curriculum mapping and creating a sustainable student learning outcomes assessment plan.
• Creating an excellent student experience across courses in a program, from ensuring consistent navigation and accessible design to building alignment and cohesion within a program.
• Supporting the design of individual courses, from the broader course and syllabus design to the creation of weekly materials, in partnership with the faculty course designer. We lead faculty through the backwards design process and help them develop engaging assignments and course materials. Our designs are driven by the learning objectives, informed by best practices, and thoughtfully incorporate innovative technologies to enhance learning.
• Creating professional videos and other media for courses with faculty course designers, whether in our on-campus studio or remotely.
• Providing faculty training to support excellence in teaching and the design process, including learning management system training, online workshops, and in-person course design institutes. Please visit our Resources for Online Teaching Google site or access our CFE LiveBinders to access CFE's asynchronous resources.
• Ensuring on-time, quality designs that meet internal and disciplinary requirements, are accessible, and evaluated for adherence to best practices.

Most programs and courses that we support are prioritized by the Provost's office or are part of a formal program development process, but our team can also support individual faculty through one-time consultations or smaller projects as our bandwidth allows. Please contact [email protected] with any questions or requests.