Bridget Brooks, Instructional Designer at the University of North Dakota, presented at the Quality in Action conference. The title of the session was “Breaking it Down to Build it Better: Deconstruction for Quality Implementation.” Dr. Brooks is also a Curriculum Coordinator II at the University of South Carolina. Brooks also did the Teaching Online Certificate in 2020. Brooks has helped with the transition to Blackboard Ultra through quality course design, accessibility training, and support. They spoke about breaking it down to build a strong foundation and starting with module outcomes. Brooks has an awesome version of the QM foundation with outcomes, activities, and assessment. Were the learners able to achieve the outcomes? Did you provide an opportunity for self reflection? Brooks does an activity with instructors to begin course mapping and focusing on alignment. Brooks spoke about building trust so that instructors welcome improvement of their courses. When it comes to instructional materials, Brooks highlighted providing accessible and usable options. Do the materials in the course help? Do the materials align with the outcomes? Instructional tools can be powerful, yet they can also lead to an instructor fumbling and coming across as insecure/not confident, noted Brooks. Gradual and consistent impact! Brooks has implemented a worksheet for course reviews using the Quality Matters (QM) standards on their campus. Five instructional designers are trained to implement the QM rubric. Brooks has created a “Course Alignment Verification Mark” for faculty to show students that “absolutely nothing in this course is busywork.” Brooks and team created a course alignment worksheet using the QM process and a Qualtrics form. Brooks asked the audience: what are some things that you can ask instructors to do to build better courses?
