Redesigning a course that failed to deliver

After a frustrating experience with a writing course, I decided to revamp it myself.

Aug 02, 2024

"The best way to criticize something is to make something better." - Kevin Kelly, renowned futurist and co-founder of Wired magazine.

This advice by Kevin Kelly hit home for me recently after signing up for a writing course that turned out to be a big letdown.

Having designed numerous online courses and completed even more, my expectations were high.

This course, however, was the worst. By the fourth session (out of ten), I was extremely frustrated with how poorly everything was delivered.

As a learning designer, I couldn’t just walk away disgruntled. I decided to take Kevin Kelly’s advice “I’m going to redesign this course.”

I’ll start by laying out exactly why it was so disappointing, and then I’ll show you how it can be done better. And maybe, just maybe, I’ll drop the name of the institute so you know to steer clear.

Why did I sign up for a writing course?

I've always been chasing the habit of writing regularly, but it just never clicked. Sure, I've toyed with blogging and even started this newsletter, but eventually I would either get bored or forget about them.

Then there’s the nagging feeling of not having anything worthwhile to say.

And after ChatGPT, for a while, writing felt even more pointless and frustrating. It’s a useful tool, but it’s no match for human nuance and depth, the kind you find in pieces like this or this.

I want to write better and more often. I tend to make bold statements based on mental models or snap judgments and just leave them hanging without further explanation.

This course on logical writing seemed like a golden ticket—a chance to learn writing with a group, commit to four hours of learning per week, and maybe even make some writer friends.

And when a course is over $100, I usually seek a second opinion. Two of my friends said it looked promising. Plus, compared to David Perrell’s $5K course, $135 seemed like a steal (note to self: that’s a pretty bad comparison).

I procrastinated until the last minute, then signed up, telling myself it was an investment in becoming a better writer.

Why I disliked it

Lack of Communication: Right after signing up, there was a glaring lack of communication. I had to email them twice just to confirm my payment, and only got the Zoom links at the very last minute.

The first session was promising; the instructor covered the structure of a paragraph, the rules of logical writing, and how to construct a point. We dissected three non-fiction paragraphs, applying the framework we learned and discussing it together. The teacher hinted that this would eventually expand to essays, blogs, and even books. Despite its simplicity, the discussion was engaging and the two hours flew by.
Imbalance Between Instruction and Discussion: My initial excitement waned quickly. Sessions two, three, and four were just more of the same. Nearly all the class time—about 95%—was spent on group discussions, and analyzing essays without much input from the instructor. I was there to learn from an expert, not just peer discussions.
No Practical Application: It's a writing course, so when do we write? There were no assignments, no writing, no feedback. After four sessions with no practical writing, I stopped attending.
No Clear Curriculum or Agenda: I was left unclear about the course's structure and objectives. This should have been a red flag from the start, considering the poor quality of their landing page, but I took a gamble. I assumed a place running numerous courses would manage expectations better.

I wondered if my expectations were too high as a learning designer. I missed sessions five through seven, then tried to reconnect for the final sessions, only to find them postponed or canceled without proper notice. Turns out only 2 students attended the last few sessions, it’s not hard to wonder why.

Frustrated, I had also requested a refund after the third session, only to receive a curt one-word reply.

The instructor's casual demeanor, including smoking during live sessions, did little to salvage my opinion of the course. This lack of professionalism was the last straw, pushing me to write this post.

Write: Logic Redesigned

Designing an online course can be a lengthy process involving many stakeholders. For this post, I’ll focus on the initial curriculum design. Designing is one thing, and actually running a live workshop over 10 sessions requires careful and thoughtful planning.

All that is beyond the scope of this post. My focus is on addressing the deficiencies of the original course and creating a solid curriculum with assessments and a communication plan.

Course Persona: Meet Arjun Patel

Before we dive into the redesign, let's define our user persona.

Since I am the target market for this course, I’ve modeled the persona on myself. Yes, this is also a case of designing for yourself, which is the theme of this newsletter: Design Your Learning.

For course design, I add key learning attributes to a persona. This helps me understand how the user likes to learn and the opportunities section makes it easy to visualize how to provide that environment to the learner.

Now that we have our persona, let’s jump into the curriculum design by:

Creating the course objectives.
Using backward design to create assessments and the curriculum outline.
Creating a simple email communication plan.

But what exactly is backward design?

Backward Design starts with the end in mind, identifying what students should understand and be able to do at the course's conclusion. This method increases learning retention and success. We’ll dive deeper into backward design in a different post, but for now, know it involves setting goals, designing assessments, and planning instructional strategies.

Course Outcomes:

At the end of this course, what should students have achieved?

Analyze and Construct Logical Arguments: Students will be able to critically analyze texts to identify logical structures and fallacies, and construct well-founded arguments to enhance the clarity and persuasiveness of their writing.
Apply Persuasive Techniques: Students will apply advanced persuasive techniques, adjusting writing styles and strategically placing arguments to effectively persuade and engage their audience.
Evaluate and Synthesize Peer Feedback: Students will actively engage in peer review processes, evaluate feedback, and synthesize this information to refine their writing skills.

Transitioning from outcomes to ensuring they are achieved, let’s detail the assessments tailored to these objectives.

Formative Assessments for Each Outcome:

The following table outlines specific activities designed to assess the direct application of course learning outcomes:

Summative Assessment:

Task: Complete a final writing project that integrates logical argumentation and persuasive techniques.
Options: Choose any writing project of personal or professional interest, or select from a provided list of topics.
Constraints: The final piece should not exceed 2000 words and must be submitted before the final session.
Evaluation: The project will be assessed on the integration of course concepts, the effectiveness of the argument, and the quality of persuasive techniques used.

Curriculum

How can we structure content in a way that helps students complete their assessments? The below is made with help from ChatGPT.

With our outcomes, assessments, and curriculum defined, the next logical step is the creation of learning materials.

We’re not doing that here. Instead, we need to address a common issue in many courses—communication.

Email Communications Plan

Here’s the planned email flow for the Write: Logic course to ensure students are well-prepared and engaged throughout their learning journey:

And that’s it.

We’ve got a much better course ready, and it only took a few hours to sketch out. With a good instructor, we could refine and enhance it further.

But, we're not done yet. While laying the foundation can be quick, fully prepping a course for launch can take weeks.

I wrote this post to highlight how easily educational institutes could fail to deliver value—and how a few thoughtful changes can vastly improve the student experience.

The next steps to launch this course could be:

Design a new course landing page.
Compile reading materials and prepare session content, including slides and supplementary resources.
Write and automate the email communications.
Outline a detailed agenda for each workshop to ensure structured delivery.
Create a feedback form for post-workshop reflections.
Develop a rubric to standardize peer reviews and evaluate final submissions.
Set up a learning management system (LMS) for easy access to course materials and discussions.
And much more.

Thank you for sticking with me to the end of this post! As a reward for reading, here’s the institute I took the course with ;)

Whether you're designing a course or choosing one to enroll in, remember the importance of scrutinizing and understanding what truly adds value to your educational journey.

If you enjoyed reading this or have any feedback, I'd love to hear from you. Drop a comment below, share your thoughts, or subscribe to stay updated with more content like this.

Design Your Learning