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Explore and Engage

Professional Development and Staff Support

Developing Designers: Lessons in guiding teachers to build online courses

SESSION DATES & TIMES COMING IN AUGUST 2026
Audience Classification: Online Learning
Audience Expertise: Strategic Growth - Experienced leaders focused on optimizing established programs and solving persistent challenges.
Grade Level Focus: High Schools
Does this session focus on a specific product? No – This session is focused on ideas, strategies, or practices, not a specific product or service.
Abstract Description : Can your online courses survive teacher turnover? Are they consistent across sections? Could a substitute pick them up tomorrow? We faced these questions when demand outpaced our single instructional designer's capacity. Rather than compromise quality, we developed an asynchronous teacher training program that teaches the science of course design—transforming classroom teachers into strategic course developers.
This session shares our complete training model, showing how we maintained the quality and consistency of professionally designed courses while expanding rapidly. Participants will explore the evidence-based online learning practices we teach, the frameworks that guide teacher-designers, and the quality assurance systems that ensure every course is complete, facilitator-ready, and defendable to stakeholders.
Leave with a replicable training outline, course development templates, and strategies for scaling your online program without sacrificing the professional-grade design that sets successful online schools apart.

Learning Objectives:

  • Evaluate the advantages and challenges of developing teachers to build quality online courses.
  • Identify ways to improve their course design process.