Discover how a simple shift in course organization can transform student frustration into meaningful engagement. 

A Well-Designed Course and a Surprising Problem 

Professor Collins believed she created the perfect online course. She spent months developing rich video lectures, interactive simulations, and carefully crafted assessments. Her content was academically rigorous, her examples were relevant, and her passion for the subject matter shone through every module. 

But then the student emails started arriving. 

“I can’t find the assignment rubric,” wrote Sarah, a typically organized student. 

“Where exactly is the reading for Week 3?” asked Michael, who had been searching for twenty minutes. 

“I submitted my paper, but I’m not sure if it went to the right place,” worried Jennifer. 

Dr. Collins was puzzled. Everything was there in the course; she had double- and triple-checked. But as more students reached out with similar navigation issues, she realized something was fundamentally wrong with how her online classroom was organized. 

Stepping Into the Student Experience 

I volunteered to review the course as a colleague, drawing on my experiences as an instructional consultant and Quality Matters (QM) coordinator, work that regularly involves looking at courses through both a faculty and student lens. I approached the course the way I typically do during quality assurance reviews: moving through it step by step, clicking through every link, following every pathway, and attempting to locate and submit every assignment as a student would. 

The experience was eye-opening.  

It felt like being invited to a beautifully appointed dinner party where the host forgot to mention that the appetizers were in the garage, the main course was upstairs in the bedroom, and dessert required a treasure map to locate. All the elements of a wonderful evening were present, but the journey between them was unnecessarily bewildering. 

When Content Order Works Against Learning 

In Module 2, for instance, students encountered a video lecture on music notation, followed immediately by a discussion prompt on musical genre, and then a reading assignment about the families of instruments in the orchestra. It was like trying to bake a cake by mixing ingredients in random order. The issue was not the content’s quality, but the sequence and structure. 

Mapping the Learning Journey 

The breakthrough came when I created a simple flowchart of the student learning pass. What should a student know first? What builds upon that knowledge? What tools do they need to complete the task? By mapping this logical sequence, the solution became clear. 

We didn’t change Dr. Collins’s excellent content. Instead, we simply rearranged it so students could find their way through the course without getting lost. Foundational concepts were placed first, related materials grouped together, and clear signposts were added to guide students through each step of the learning process.  

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Small Changes, Big Impact 

Three weeks after our reorganization, Dr. Collins sent me a message: “I haven’t received a single ‘I can’t find…’ email this week. My students are actually discussing the course content instead of asking for directions.” 

Dr. Collins’s story illustrates the truth that many dedicated faculty members discover: exceptional content does not guarantee effective learning if students cannot navigate the course with confidence. When students spend their cognitive energy searching for materials rather than engaging with them, even the most brilliant course design falls short of its potential. 

Practical Steps You Can Take 

As instructional consultants, we often see faculty dedicating time and expertise to developing course content, only for organizational issues to create obstacles. The solution doesn’t require a complete overhaul or sacrificing academic rigor. Instead, it means seeing things from a novice perspective and asking: What does the learning path look like from where the student stands? 

Here are three practical steps you can take to ensure your course organization supports student success: 

  • Walk through your course as a student would. Click every link, locate each assignment, and note any confusion. Better yet, ask a colleague unfamiliar with your content do the same and share their feedback. 
  • Identify and map prerequisite knowledge for student tasks. Create a simple flowchart to show how concepts build upon one another. Then, organize your course materials to follow that logical progression. 

If you would like support with this process, you can request a Canvas DEV site to experiment with reorganizing your course materials. A DEV site lets you copy your course content into a private space and add collaborators without affecting your live course. 

Removing the “Treasure Hunt” 

When we remove navigational obstacles, we free students to do what we want them to do most: think deeply, engage meaningfully, and learn effectively. The treasure in your course should not require a hunt to find it. Often, even small organizational changes can dramatically improve your students’ learning experience and lighten your own teaching workload in the process.  

What small course organizational change has made the biggest difference for your students? 

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  • Oksana Komarenko

    Oksana Komarenko, DA (she/her), is an Instructional Consultant and Quality Matters Coordinator in Ball State University’s Division of Online and Strategic Learning, but her path to instructional design began long before Canvas dashboards and course maps. Trained as a classical singer and educator, Oksana spent years performing on international stages, teaching students from all over the world, and studying how people learn and thrive under pressure.

    That journey sparked a question that continues to guide her work today: How can structured rituals, clear design, and supportive environments help learners feel confident, focused, and emotionally grounded? Oksana pursued that question through her doctoral research on pre-performance rituals and emotional regulation. Her findings, now published in Psychology of Music and the International Journal of Music Education, offer one of the first research-driven frameworks for understanding how routines and intentional practices reduce anxiety and enhance resilience in learning environments. Her work has been supported by SEMPRE and the Indiana Arts Commission and shared at conferences across the world.

    In DOSL, she brings this blend of artistry, research, and instructional design to her collaborations with faculty—helping them create courses that are structurally clear, mentally supportive, and rooted in student success. Known for her innovative problem-solving and her talent for translating complex standards into actionable practices, she supports faculty through Quality Matters reviews, course design partnerships, and strategic teaching consultations.

    Beyond her work with faculty, Oksana is an award-winning performer who has sung leading operatic roles in Europe and the United States and appeared at venues such as the Dubai Jazz Festival and the Ukrainian Embassy in the UAE. Her teaching philosophy reflects her artistic life: holistic, emotionally aware, culturally responsive, and grounded in the belief that education—like music—builds community and empowers human connection.

    Whether on stage or in the classroom, Oksana is driven by the same mission: to help people learn, express themselves authentically, and succeed with confidence.

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