Campus
Instructors routinely use backwards course design to map out their courses. They begin by considering their goals for the course. Then, they schedule due dates for the major assignments that will help them to assess whether students have met these goals. Next, they plan weekly activities and readings that will help students work towards completing each assignment.
Students should also consider taking this approach to scheduling their time. First, they should collect all their syllabi and record the due dates of assignments. While entering dates into a phone app is useful, often it is a good strategy to keep a monthly calendar as well. Some people post large calendars on their walls as reminders, and a monthly calendar posted on a computer desktop is also very useful.
Next, work backwards from each assignment, scheduling in time to plan, write, study, etc. This process takes time, but when you are done, you will have a great sense of how busy your months and weeks will be throughout the semester.
LOOK at this resource for backward planning from the University of Colorado and share it with students:
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