As an instructional designer working with subject-matter experts (SMEs) in higher education, my SMEs have usually created an abbreviated syllabus when they start developing courses with me. With that document as a starting point, we establish course learning outcomes, develop assessments, and plan course activities. Since I’m not able to share the courses I develop at work, I am creating some sample course development materials based on a medical terminology course schedule.

My goal is to create a log of my analysis, design, and development process for the course, as well as a sample of course content on the Canvas LMS.

Starting Documents

I am starting my course design process with a course schedule that was developed for AH100 at Rogue Community College. The course document includes learning objectives for each week, plus links to the course textbook and the student textbook companion. This is not dissimilar to the reading lists and learning outcome lists my SMEs typically start the development process with - they have a sense of the content that they want students to learn in the course, but not as much of a sense of the specific learning activities.

Course Goals & Description

The course goals and course description provided by the institution are:

Course Description: 

Provides a basic understanding of medical terminology using a word-building approach based on the systems of the human body. Prefixes, suffixes, word roots, combining forms, special endings, plural forms, abbreviations, and symbols are included in the content. Emphasis is placed on spelling, definition and usage.

Course Learning Outcomes:

• Define and spell medical terms.

• Construct and analyze medical terms (linked to an institutional learning outcome about Critical Thinking).

• Describe basic anatomical terms and functions.

• Explain the meaning of various medical abbreviations.

Sometimes, course descriptions and course-wide learning outcomes are already established when the SME starts working with me. This can be due to departmental rules or accreditation requirements. In that case, I encourage the instructor to get as specific as possible in the weekly learning outcomes in case the course learning outcomes are too broad or not measurable. I also keep the course learning outcomes on hand when reviewing the weekly learning outcomes to ensure that each one is aligned to a broader outcome.

Other times, SMEs start working with me when they have weekly learning outcomes but not coursewide learning outcomes or course descriptions. This can happen if they’ve taught a more modularized version of the course before, or if they are starting from scratch. To consolidate information, a large language model (LLM) might be helpful. An instructional designer might feed an LLM the list of weekly learning outcomes, the description from the university’s course catalog, and any industry-specific or department-specific standards for the course (if applicable), then prompt the LLM to generate a list of broad goals for the course. The instructional designer could review and edit the recommended goals with an SME or a department administrator to make sure the goals are accurate and there are no missing focus areas.

Learner Background

The introduction of the textbook linked in our starting document was created for “medical terminology students in a technical college system,” and was aligned with the standards set by the Wisconsin Technical College System course competencies for Medical Terminology.  An earlier version of that textbook was designed for “health office administration and health services students in the first year of their college programs.”

The course is a requirement for several programs in the health professions and public safety pathway at the community college, such as Medical Assistant, Emergency Medical Services (EMT), Phlebotomy, Dental Assistant, Massage Therapy, Medical Assistant, Pharmacy Technician, Practical Nursing, Medical Assisting Administrator, and Paramedicine. The course is also a requirement for bachelor’s degree programs in Healthcare Administration, Health Informatics, and Exercise Science that students can transfer into after completing the associate’s degree program at the community college. 

Broadly, students take this course early in their studies in the healthcare field, in preparation for specific careers.

Sources of Feedback

Ideally, I would speak to more people at the institution about what the goals of the course should be and who the learners in the course are. For example:

• Academic advisors might know the courses students take after they take this medical terminology course, and what the specific prerequisites are for those courses.

• Career services staff might know the careers that students who take this course go on to pursue, and how the content of this course is applied in those career contexts.

• Department coordinators might know broad information about the backgrounds of students who enroll in this course (previous academic history, level of family and career responsibilities outside of class, membership in communities underrepresented in medicine, etc).

• Faculty who have taught this course (or related courses) before may have feedback on how students responded to course content, perceptions of student motivation in the course, and challenges or pain points that came up during the course.

• Students and alumni who have taken the course before, or who plan to take the course in the future, can offer input on all of the above areas, plus information on the student experience at this institution. Course evaluations are also a valuable source of feedback here.