Instructor Planning Worksheet

Scaling an 18-Week Course to an 8-Week Course

Use this worksheet to identify the essential course outcomes, determine what content can be combined or simplified, and build a focused 8-week course map.

How to Use This Worksheet

Work through each section in order. Focus first on what students must learn, then decide what can be kept, combined, or cut. The goal is not to simply compress the course, but to redesign it around the most important learning outcomes.

1. Opening Reflection: What Is the Real Challenge?

Before redesigning the course, identify the biggest challenge you anticipate when moving from 18 weeks to 8 weeks.

Write your response here:

2. Keep, Combine, Cut

Review your current course content and sort major topics, activities, readings, and assignments into the categories below.

Keep

Essential to outcomes

List required content, activities, or assessments here.

Combine

Can merge or simplify

List content that can be grouped, condensed, or taught together.

Cut

Helpful, but not necessary

List content that may be removed, made optional, or moved to supplemental resources.

3. Essential Course Outcomes

Identify the outcomes students must meet by the end of the 8-week course. Focus on the outcomes that are most important for student success, transfer, workforce preparation, or program alignment.

List essential outcomes here:

4. Major Assessments That Prove Learning

Determine which assessments provide the strongest evidence that students have achieved the course outcomes.

List major assessments here:

5. Draft 8-Week Course Map

Use the structure below to sketch the weekly flow of the redesigned course.

Eight-Week Course Planning Table
Week	Main Topic or Focus	Learn	Practice	Apply or Major Task
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8

Accessibility and Design Note

This worksheet uses semantic headings, readable text, high-contrast colors, descriptive section labels, and a simple table for structured planning. When adding this to Canvas, avoid using screenshots of the worksheet as the only version because students and faculty using assistive technology may not be able to access the content.

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Instructor_Worksheet_18_to_8_Week_Course_Redesign.docx