ABSTRACT
There is regretfully little research on how exactly faculty go about designing their courses. As long as the focus of instruction is concentrated on the content, the decision on what to address in a course has little guidance other than the personal preferences of the instructor or the textbook author. If the focus is on learning outcomes, the instructional process concentrates on student learning rather than faculty performance. The reality of teaching in an academic program oftentimes consists of multiple faculty and part-time instructors teaching multiple sections of the same course to satisfy student demand, especially at the undergraduate level. Having a curriculum means more than accumulating a body of knowledge; it assumes the development of skills and insights that cut across individual courses. These skills and insights are introduced in some courses, elaborated on in others, and used creatively in yet a third set of courses.
