Applying Backward Design Principles to Online Continuing Education Course Design and Development for Working Professionals

-This paper describes the design and development of professional development courses using backward design principles. Backward design means first identifying desired outcomes and the acceptable evidence for those outcomes before designing the learning experience. Detailed steps of the framework can be applied to any online continuing education course to achieve course outcomes, to ensure efficacy through design and development, and to maximize the impact of the online courses in engineering education. Paper describes the framework to design and develop of an online continuing education course on Cost Engineering. First, it outlines the analysis of the learners’ needs in the field of Cost Engineering. Second, the paper provides details on the steps taken to design the course. It specifically describes (1) how the course outcomes and objectives were written based on the analysis of learners’ needs; (2) how course learning activities and assessments were determined to achieve the intended learning outcomes and objectives; and (3) how the course content was constructed to successfully complete the learning activities and assessments in the course. Third, the paper describes the development and implementation of the course in the learning management system. Particularly, it explains (1) how the course activities and assessments were created and implemented; (2) how the course materials were prepared with stakeholders; and (3) how the visual identity of the course was designed with Universal Design Principles. The paper concludes by providing lessons learned from user feedback and directions for future development of the online continuing education courses using backward design principles.