Simplifying The Creative Process Of Your Course

Creating a course is like being a sculptor. The information you want to share is like a big block of clay that you’ll need to take from and add to until it looks like a piece of art.

To do this you may need to dump out everything that you know related to the learning objectives. Then you can add to gaps, remove what is not needed, and reorder to make it flow.

When you do this you’ll want to focus on the details but see the big picture at the same time.

Now just like a half completed sculpture your course will look “messy in the middle”, so don’t worry about this as it’s a normal part of the creative process.

At times you’ll need to walk away and come back with fresh eye so you can see it for what it actually is and what needs to be done to shape it. As you refine it will start looking like a piece of art.

Refining is the process of “only” including what meets the learning objectives, so your students can stay on the shortest path to their learning destination.

This does not mean removing content to dumb it down or to dilute it. It also doesn’t mean that you can’t have repetition for continuity or reinforcement. The intent is more about doing the job with less.

This might for example involve replacing a whole bunch of text with a graphic or choosing your
wording carefully so that you can say the same thing in a sentence rather than a paragraph.

It will take you more time to create less, and still meet the learning objectives but this will mean your students need to spend less time to get more. There is real value in that.

And although it may take more time for you upfront, refining early will actually save you time as you go through the creative process. For example if you take the time to refine your script, it will save you time in filming and editing.