We all have memories of fantastic family meal gatherings. Whether it’s Mom’s turkey, mashed potatoes, and pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving; Mami’s savory samosa on Diwali; or Bubbeh’s pillowy sufganiyot for Hanukkah,
this is the time of year for great meals. But one thing’s true of all these feasts — the best ones take planning. Imagine if you tried to just throw one of these big meals together at the last minute. While attempting that might result in a “we’ll laugh about this someday” kind of moment; you probably won’t end up with the best-tasting food. Organization and preparation are crucial.
Mise en Place helps cooks and instructional designers
A trained chef takes this planning to the next level. The term chefs use is Mise en Place. The phrase translates to English as “to put in place.” But what does that mean? Here’s how the National Restaurant Association defines it:
“[Mise en Place] is the method used by professional chefs to stay organized. It is more than just the steps in the recipe. It is a way to manage your time, tools, resources, and even yourself.
Mise (as it is often shortened to in the professional kitchen) is everything. It refers to the preparation and assembly of ingredients, pans, utensils, equipment, and serving pieces needed for a particular dish. It includes not only the production of a dish, but also the setting up, breaking down, and cleaning while you work. It also includes making lists and detailed timelines to keep yourself organized.”
A good curriculum mapping practice isn’t far removed from a good cooking process. Get the right ingredients and people to the table, put everything together in an organized way, and you’ll better enjoy the outcome.
Our “family” shares how organized instructional design makes things more palatable
Here’s what a few of our Coursetune customer family members have to say about organizing their curriculum and instructional design practices.
“One of the things that we have to remember when designing online content or content for any course, but especially in an online environment, is students who engage in online learning can readily pick out a course that has not been carefully designed or systematically planned. It’s because the logical flow of the course is paramount in online learning. And when that logical flow is disrupted in any manner, it greatly affects the ability for a student to be successful in an online course.” — Barbara.
“Coursetune provided me the framework that I needed. I don’t think I would have been able to accomplish would have accomplished what I did had I not been introduced to this product. It liberated me from a set mindset. Coursetune introduced a new way of thinking about education. It helped me visualize how to design a course. And it also gave me the structure and the framework to do it. It was life-changing!”- Michele and Erinn.
“It enables us to come to the same table. To dialogue and have a shared understanding. Coursetune gives us a very apparent and visualized understanding of what everybody else is doing. We can figure it out from there. We can see what’s going to be the most impactful and most needed for our students.” — Doug.
Being prepared can bring joy to your work
When was the last time you said, “This is fun!” at work? We get to hear it from our clients every day. By organizing your curriculum in Coursetune, you’ll be able to focus on the parts of your job that bring you joy.
Here are some more thoughts from our customer partners:
“It was retraining my brain to think differently– I was like ‘why did I
write that as a course outcome? I didn’t have any learning objectives that matched with it!’ and so, I could see the mind of the student why there was a disconnect with some of the things I was asking them to do because I didn’t have appropriate learning objectives to match up with that competency. It’s a fun new way to think.” — Colleen
“Coursetune is the single greatest piece of software invented in the last 20 years. If they ever do a commercial like I will be the face of the product. I love it that much.” — David
Preparation pays off: Getting Everything in its place for aligned Curriculum
We all want to save time in the kitchen. The same goes for curriculum design.
“Spending 10 hours in Coursetune saves you 10 weeks down the road!” — Andrew.
By putting time into the preparation, you’ll be able to achieve more in less time.
When you “boil it down,” there are several benefits that Coursetune can help bring to your curriculum mapping practice. Here they are:
5 Benefits to Preparation and Planning in Coursetune
1. Coursetune makes it easier to see what’s missing… Or what you might have too much of. From a cooking perspective, it’s like figuring out that you forgot to buy the onions for the stuffing or realizing you have four bags of apples for a single pie
2. It Increases the opportunity for creativity. Think of it as a way to create tasty new recipes or even remix things to create unique flavor combinations.
3. Coursetune saves you time evaluating entire programs and disciplines. Ever look for a recipe online and have to read a loooong story before getting to the ingredients (Sorry, food-bloggers)? Wouldn’t it be quicker to see all ingredients for a menu organized in the same space? We can help with that.
4. It brings teams together with a clear, focused goal. Just like a holiday dinner, you can gather everyone around the same table to collaborate and maybe even innovate.
5. Coursetune promotes joy and fun in course design! Are you a list-makers, note-takers, or the type-Aer? If so, admit it – you love the feeling of having everything sorted, everything organized, and everything in its place. It’s a lot like removing clutter from the kitchen, pulling out the dishes you’ll need, or counting how many table settings, and figuring out where everyone will sit. Even if you’re not a planner, you’ll benefit from having that focus on your team.
Ready to cook up some delicious curriculum design?
Coursetune provides one place to design, manage, and plan your curriculum. Our unique, patented, visual curriculum maps equip you with a common platform. One that helps faculty, staff, and leadership focus on the big picture while revealing how learning objectives, competencies, and standards impact student outcomes. Coursetune supplies you with the communication and workflow tools that promote collaboration and unlock innovation across your institution.
Set up some time for a demo or discussion. Or click the help button on the lower-left, and chat with us.
