Course (re)Design Labs
Your course. Built better. Together.
About
Grounded in the University of Alberta’s Framework for Effective Teaching, the Course (re)Design Labs provide structured work sessions, feedback from colleagues, and support from Centre for Teaching and Learning (CTL) pedagogical experts to help you design inclusive, future-ready courses. You will consider your course as a whole in relation to students’ learning paths in your discipline.
Whether you are planning to newly build, refresh, or redesign your entire course or specifically look at polishing up your learning outcomes, assessments, or activities for the upcoming term, we have a lab format tailored to your needs.
Best for: Starting fresh, reviewing the fundamentals, building a new course, or redesigning an existing course.
Date: Typically offered in the spring
Location: U of A North Campus
Join the 2027 Interest List to be notified when registration for our next multi-day foundational cohort opens.
Best for: Collaborative feedback, critical evaluation of your course, addressing specific needs, or fine-tuning select course components.
Date: Tuesday, August 25, 2026
Time: 9 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Location: U of A North Campus
has now closed.
Learn more about each lab format below to see which format best fits you and your needs.
Overview
Course (re)Design Lab 1 supports participants who are starting fresh, reviewing the fundamentals, building a new course, or redesigning an existing one through three mornings of structured work, collegial feedback, and one-on-one support. In the afternoons, CTL team members are available to provide additional guidance as you continue your work.
You will design learner-centred activities and assessments that align with your learning outcomes and explore wholistic approaches to course design informed by Indigenous knowledges, accessibility, your learners’ needs, disciplinary goals, and dynamic circumstances (such as larger class sizes and generative artificial intelligence). You’ll come away from each day with tangible progress, practical tools, and renewed confidence in your approach. The goal is to truly enhance student engagement and learning.
What you can expect to accomplish:
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Acquire foundational course design principles grounded in learner needs, teaching context, and disciplinary goals
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Align clear learning outcomes, assessments, and learning activities — following principles of “backward design”
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Apply strategies for accessibility, inclusivity, and decolonization
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Adapt to dynamic circumstances such as generative AI or larger class sizes
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Receive feedback and encouragement from peers and facilitators
- Prepare your course syllabus, learning outcomes, key assessments and learning activities.
Schedule
Each in-person day begins with short presentations and facilitated working sessions from 8:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. In the afternoon, participants are welcome to continue working and access one-on-one support from CTL facilitators between 1:00 and 3:00 p.m.
The lab program builds from one day to the next; participation in all 3 mornings is required.
Day 1
Learner-centred course design
8:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
- Welcome
- Lab module 1: Who are your learners? And what do they need?
- Lab module 2: What makes a learner-centred course? Principles of course design
- Lab module 3: What will learners achieve from your course? Developing course learning outcomes
12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m.
- Lunch break
1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
- Optional supported work time
Day 2
Effective assessment design
8:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
- Lab module 4: How to best assess your learners? Principles of assessment
- Lab module 5: How to apply principles of assessment? Design and get feedback on an assessment
12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m.
- Lunch break
1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
- Optional supported work time
Day 3
Designing engaging activities
8:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
- Lab module 6: How to design learning activities and plan your lessons?
- Lab module 7: Check your course alignment
- Lab module 8: Bringing it all together: toward completing course (re)design
12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m.
- Lunch break
1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
- Optional supported work time
Overview
Whether you’re looking to refine your course through collaborative feedback, explore specific aspects of your design, address targeted questions, or polish selected course components, Course (Re)Design Lab 2 is a high-impact, intensive day where you'll join other instructors in small, thematic circles who are also fine-tuning their courses. With support from CTL team members, you’ll have the opportunity to share your course design, ask questions, and exchange feedback with your peers.
What you can expect to accomplish:
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Review and refine a course that is nearly ready to launch, focusing on components such as course learning outcomes, assessments, AI use, decolonization, the weaving of Indigenous voices and perspectives, engaging learning activities, or the overall course structure represented in your syllabus.
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Work toward integrating wholistic approaches to course design informed by Indigenous knowledges and pedagogies, accessibility, your learners’ needs, disciplinary goals, and dynamic circumstances (such as larger class sizes and GenAI).
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Receive targeted feedback from peers and CTL pedagogical experts to help you feel confident launching your course in the 2026-27 academic year.
Who should attend?
This full-day lab is open to everyone. Participants who have attended one of our foundational Course (Re)Design Labs will be well positioned to build on that experience. Those joining for the first time will receive a brief set of asynchronous preparatory materials that introduce learner-centred backward design and constructive alignment to help establish a shared foundation for the day. Alternatively, when registering, you can briefly indicate how you’ve already applied these course design principles through prior learning or experience.
Schedule
The day’s agenda will be shaped by participants’ goals and questions, with dedicated time for small peer feedback circles, facilitated discussions, and one-on-one support from CTL team members. Together, these activities provide opportunities to receive focused feedback, explore solutions to specific course design challenges, and refine the elements of your course that matter most.
Eligibility + Committment
Course (re)Design Labs are open to all University of Alberta instructors. Because these labs rely heavily on peer feedback and collaborative cohorts, we ask that you commit to the full duration of your chosen session.
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For the 3-day Foundational Lab (Lab 1): Participation is in-person, and instructors are asked to commit to all three morning sessions (afternoon co-working sessions are highly encouraged but optional).
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For the 1-day Refinement Lab (Lab 2): Participation is in-person, and instructors are asked to commit to the full-day session (9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.).
Schedule too tight? If you cannot commit to the full duration of either lab, we hope you will join us for an upcoming CTL workshop that better fits your schedule!
What to Bring
To make the most of the Course (re)Design Lab, please bring a laptop, as well as any existing course materials you’d like to work with, such as a syllabus, course description, learning outcomes, assessment instructions, and activity prompts. Whether you are starting fresh or refining an existing course, having these resources on hand will help you make meaningful progress.
Facilitators
Course (re)Design Labs are facilitated by CTL at the University of Alberta. CTL team members hold advanced degrees in a range of disciplines and bring decades of hands-on experience in post-secondary teaching. They offer deep expertise in instructional and curriculum design, with a strong focus on inclusive, accessible, and evidence-informed pedagogy.
The team works collaboratively with instructors, using a reflective approach that centres learner needs, disciplinary goals, and teaching context. Their work is grounded in the Framework for Effective Teaching and committed to advancing access, equity, and meaningful student learning across the university. Meet the CTL team!