Building

Blocks
of Course
Development
A How-to guide for building
strong training outlines
Introduction

With powerful new tools like learning management systems, building training courses
is easy. However, the first step to developing an online course is building a strong
course outline and instructional design process. Sometimes that’s easier said than
done. This guide provides a few steps you can to take to simplify the instructional
design process so you can get started on your training program right away.

Inside this Guide

You’ll learn:
• Steps to build effective learning objectives
• Components a strong training outline
• How to engage subject matter experts to build content
Building Blocks of Course Development

1 Write Learning Objectives

Start by write down all the learning objectives or intended outcomes for the course. This doesn’t
have to be perfect, just create a draft of all the learning objectives you can think of. Begin your list with
“At the end of this course, you will be able to:” Then, write down a list of goals that use action phrases
like calculate, apply, list, call, negotiate, etc. Be sure to incorporate metrics that you are tracking for
your courses as well.

Your learning objectives should answer the following questions:

• What do you want your learner to be able to do after they have completed your course?
• What does this person need to be able to do when they are done with this course?
 2 Group Learning Objectives into Subject
and Create an Outline

Group similar learning objectives by subject or topic. These subject areas will become the sections in
your course whether it is for the classroom or for online learning. For each subject area, create a
section in your outline.

3 Place Learning Objectives into Each Section

When a learner gets to a new section or topic in your course, make it very clear that it is a new section.
A great way to do this is to state explicitly in your script that this is a new topic and explain the
learning objectives for that particular topic.
 4 Leverage Existing Content for Each
Learning Objective into Each Section

Repurpose existing content for your each section of your training course. Useful resources for your
content include articles, books, web sites, internal company presentations, requirements documents, and
subject matter experts. Get all your content on a page, but don’t get bogged down in method yet.

5 Create an Activity for Each Section

Come up with interactive activities to engage learners. For online courses, interactive course content
like videos, quizzes, and tests can be a great way to deliver content without boring learners with
more lectures.
 6 Create a Review or Assessment for Each Section

I like the idea of creating a short assessment for each section and then a review activity for each
section. However, the assessment can be the review. There is not a rule here. Be creative. The point is to
pause at the end of a section, and get the learner to think about what they just learned. Assessments
are also important to reinforce course materials that were covered in the training.

7 Write Assessment Questions

Writing assessment questions to support each learning objective that you outlined at the beginning of
the process. This ensures learners are assessed on each learning objective. Remember, your learning
objectives should map back to your business goals and outcomes for training participants. Therefore,
it’s imperative that you ensure that learners are assessed on each learning objective. Many people find
it difficult to write the assessment questions before the content has been drafted. No matter which
way you do it, make sure you have some form of an assessment for each learning objective.
 8 Go Back, Get Feedback, and Polish

Now that you have everything, it is time to review and edit the materials. This is when you decide how to
present the content, have stakeholders review the content, and when you go back to fix typos and other
errors. Once you receive feedback from stakeholders, update the materials accordingly.

Use the steps outlined above to jump start your training plan or as a quick reference when you begin
building your course outlines.
Do Business Better with On-Demand Training

Finding the right Learning

Management Solution is
key to building a successful
online training program.
Schedule your customized
demo to find out if Mindflash
could be the right solution to
help you take your business
to the next level. Our
solutions team will design a
customized demo tailored for
your unique training needs
and to meet your greater
business objectives.

Schedule a Custom Demo

 Scale Your Training Program to Achieve
Maximum Results

Companies like Uber, Dyson, and Apple have scaled their training programs
with Mindflash to:
• Enhance sales and business performance

• Save up to 80% in training costs

• Improve customer, partner and employee engagement

• Increase customer retention and satisfaction

• Streamline reporting on program KPIs

• Reduce service tickets and support calls

• Deliver consistent customer experience

• Deploy multilingual trainings across time zones

Contact us: 1.877.771.1900 mindflash.com