Course design, learning and quality development
The project involves developing a research-based scalable course design model in Canvas with quizzes, cases and measurable elements. Focus is on cognitive psychology, clear structure, quality development and student-active learning. The administrative burden on the teacher is also reduced.
Project context
At KTH, there is currently a great deal of variation in how courses are structured and presented in Canvas. This is despite the fact that KTH's course in digital accessibility and the students themselves highlight the importance of a uniform and predictable course structure. In addition, there are legal requirements for accessibility in the private and public sectors, which include structure. The variation in course structure risks creating unnecessary cognitive load for students and reducing accessibility in the digital learning environment. This not only makes learning more difficult but also limits teachers' opportunities to design pedagogically effective courses. Developing and implementing a more uniformly presented course structure would therefore benefit students and teachers at KTH overall.
The model is based on general principles from cognitive psychology and digital accessibility, which makes it easy to adapt to different subjects and schools within KTH. It is rooted in current research and has already been tested on a smaller scale with good results.
Purpose (outcome)
The aim is to, through a better structure in Canvas, influence students' learning, completion and experience. With a clear and accessible course structure, unnecessary cognitive load for students is reduced while the administrative load for teachers is reduced.
The impact objectives are: Increased student completion by 5%, improved course evaluations by 25%, and 50% fewer questions about Canvas layout.
Project results (output)
The project will result in a practically usable, scalable and research-based model for course design in Canvas. The model includes:
- A structured welcome module according to a template (incl. welcome letter and start guide).
- Content modules with clearly “chunked” material in progression order, reading instructions and task descriptions with step-by-step instructions and assessment matrices.
- Quizzes with varied question types and automatic feedback for student self-checks.
- Guidelines for interfaces and the use of visual elements for clear and effective presentation of course content in line with current principles from cognitive psychology and in accordance with KTH's graphic profile.
- Published templates in Canvas Commons that can be reused across KTH.
As a complement to the design model, an analysis tool is also being developed: a script in R statistics that enables teachers to compare and interpret student data themselves before and after improvement work has been carried out in the course design. The aim is to facilitate a systematic and data-driven approach to pedagogical development, in line with the principle of a management system for quality development.
Time plan
Start date: 2025-06-01
End date: 2026-06-01
Project documentation
If you have a KTH ID, you can read the latest project documents when logged in.
- Poster: The project’s first poster (in Swedish) will be available at the ”Storträffen” meetup on 2025-12-01
- Project initiation document: Projektdirektiv_FrU25_2512-ITM_Kursdesign_250522 (Swedish)