Linking online course design and implementation to learning outcomes: A design experiment

This paper reports on preliminary findings from ongoing design-based research being conducted in the fully online Master of Arts in Teacher Leadership (MTL) program at a small, Midwest public university. Researchers are using the Quality Matters (QM) and Community of Inquiry (CoI) frameworks to guide the iterative redesign of core courses in the program. Preliminary results from the redesign of one course suggest that such approach can improve student learning outcomes. Results also support the efficacy of the QM and CoI theoretical frames, and the usefulness of design-based approaches in online learning.

► The QM and CoI frameworks address different aspects of online course design and implementation.
► Combined QM review and revision and ongoing CoI revisions resulted in improved student learning outcomes in an online masters level course in education.
► The design-based approach used in this study proved very useful and might be used in other contexts.