Re-designing a Large Enrollment Online Course Using a Learner-Centered Approach

We, instructors, are working on creating active learning environments that can engage students and make them responsible for their learning. Therefore, we always look for learning experiences to have them involved in active learning. Unfortunately, sometimes such strategies fail due to our failure in designing them considering the number of students, their various possible interests, their background, and interest. Additionally, we may also fail when the learning environment has a design that does not facilitate students' engagement and success. Succeeding in developing such learning experiences is challenging in a face-to-face setting, but for online environments with a high number of students, the success is tied to the design of the web environment, and the support of a course that is developed using a learner-centered approach in which they become the center of the instruction. In this regard, it is relevant to start from the re-definition of the Course Goals, develop different kinds of assessment strategies, and the design of delivery that is suitable for online environments. In this paper, we are sharing our experience of re-designing the online course in problem-solving, the active learning strategies for this large-enrollment course that has made it possible to engage students in the course across the semester. Additionally, we are sharing the teaching strategies that have been key to the course success. As evidence of the change in students' perception and acceptance of the course and teaching strategies, we will also share quantitative results from the teaching evaluations, and students' comments before and after the course re-design.