Collaborative course development is a course design model where “students are asked to play more formative, active roles than in traditional models, with the intent of vesting students in their educational processes” (Aiken, Heinze, Meuter, & Chapman, 2016, p. 57). The theoretical foundation for the approach rests on ideas of collaboration, empowerment, and choice, all of which have been shown to increase student engagement. The goals of the model are achieved through six specific practices that offer some unique ways to develop shared ownership for the course. Not all can be used with every kind of content, but most can be adapted and all stand to make experiences in the course unique.
