»Designing High Structure Courses

What is High-Structure Course Design?

In the scholarship of teaching and learning, structure refers to aligning learning outcomes with practice throughout the semester. High-structure courses involve thinking deliberately about what instructors want students to accomplish through structured and required activities. This approach creates scaffolded student practice with continual feedback, establishing clear understandings of how students can meet course expectations.

The Foundation: Deliberate Practice

High-structure courses are built on principles of deliberate practice, which includes:

• Focused effort towards improving performance
• Scaffolded exercises aimed specifically toward deficits in understanding and skills
• Immediate feedback on student work
• Recurring cycles of these activities throughout the course

Characteristics of High-Structure Courses

Before Class

• Syllabus includes specific pages most relevant to upcoming class sessions and specific goals for what students should take away from readings
• Students respond to and submit guided reading questions before class
• Required pre-class work includes online discussion posts or quizzes related to readings and videos

During Class

• Instructor highlights the day's objectives
• All students are required to answer questions via polls, online discussions, individual writing, or other active participation methods
• Clear directions for activities are presented both verbally and in writing (slides, handouts, Canvas)

After Class

• Students provide brief responses to prompts or exam-style questions to reflect on their learning of the day's objectives

Benefits and Educational Equity

Research by Hogan and Sathy (2022) demonstrates that high-structure courses provide significant benefits, particularly as a mechanism for promoting equity in higher education:

Equity Outcomes:

• Reduces inequities in achievement when structured deliberate practice is paired with a culture of inclusion
• Closes gaps between first-generation and non-first-generation students
• Closes achievement gaps between Black and white students

Additional Benefits:

• Increases the perceived value of the course to students
• Provides constant practice and frequent feedback through daily and weekly active learning exercises
• Benefits students who have not yet developed strong academic skills without harming students who already possess these skills

Implementation Guidelines

Establishing Course Structure

• Create required work routines before, during, and after each class session
• Include accountability and guidance for pre-work activities (reading, videos, etc.)
• Keep difficulty level manageable as students are introduced to new concepts
• Structure assignments to highlight key concepts
• Set clear objectives for each class session that align with assessment strategies and expectations

Supporting Student Learning

• Implement required activities or participation to support deeper learning and ensure understanding
• Structure pre-work assignments with guided reading questions and required completion components
• Provide guided reading or viewing questions for assigned materials
• Offer students options for demonstrating learning (short quizzes, discussion posts, reflection videos)
• Supply skeletal outlines for lectures accompanied by recordings or mini-lecture videos in Canvas
• Present activity directions clearly in multiple formats

Teaching Students About Learning

Helping students understand your course design reduces confusion and increases engagement from the beginning of the semester. Key strategies include:

• Laying out assignments clearly with provided rationale
• Linking course objectives explicitly to activities and assessments
• Providing frequent reminders about course expectations and goals
• Creating opportunities for students to learn and practice independently

Remember: students don't retain information simply because an instructor presented it—they need structured opportunities to engage with, practice, and apply course material throughout the term.

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This approach recognizes that whatever we want students to accomplish at the end of the course must be practiced deliberately throughout the term, creating an inclusive learning environment that supports all students' academic success.