Welcome to The Design–Align Process
A flexible toolkit for aligning what you teach with what students actually do.
What this is
The Design–Align Process is a practical, non-linear resource for postsecondary instructors who want to create clearer, more connected, and more meaningful learning experiences. It’s not a step-by-step course or a list of rules—it’s a toolkit you can dip into whenever you’re planning, redesigning, or wondering if a lesson is really working.
This resource offers four Tool Packs, each focused on a specific design challenge. You can explore them in any order, based on your teaching needs, goals, or curiosity.
Everything in here is designed to be:
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Modular – no start or end point; you choose what matters now
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Actionable – with ready-to-use templates, planners, and prompts
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Theory-light – grounded in research but built for everyday teaching
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Open – licensed under CC0, so you can use, adapt, and share freely
Who it’s for
This toolkit was designed for:
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Postsecondary instructors (full-time, part-time, or new to teaching)
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Instructional designers or teaching developers
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Anyone looking to make teaching more intentional and more aligned with how students actually learn, do, and apply
How to use it
You don’t need to complete anything from start to finish. Just choose the question you’re wrestling with right now, and head to the Tool Pack that matches.
Each Tool Pack includes:
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A short introduction to the design problem
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A plain-language explanation of why it matters
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3–5 practical tools you can use right away
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Prompts to help you make design decisions or reflect on next steps
Not sure where to begin?
| Tool Pack | Instructor Prompt | What You’ll Find |
|---|---|---|
| Learning Domains | “I want to make sure I’m designing for more than just thinking tasks.” | Helps you balance thinking, feeling, doing, and collaborating in your lessons using Dettmer’s Four Domains. |
| Learning Targets | “I need to write crisp targets that guide both my design and my students’ attention.” | Helps you write clear, measurable instructional targets and translate them into student-facing focusing targets. |
| Design Thinking | “What if learning felt more tangible, memorable, connected, and engaging—something students can see, touch, explore, and shape together?” | Helps you design tasks using how students actually learn—through action, tools, space, and perception (the 4Es). |
| Coherence Over Time | “I want my activities to feel connected and reinforce the bigger picture.” | Helps you create alignment across weeks and units, so that every task builds toward your course’s bigger purpose. |
