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Abstract
This study explores the impact of course design on student flourishing in higher education using Self-Determination Theory (SDT) (Ryan & Deci, 2017) as a framework. In addition to research-based practices around student learning, this framework includes research-based strategies that have been shown to improve a sense of autonomy, competence, and relatedness in the classroom supporting both learning outcomes and flourishing outcomes. This research studies what is learned about students, faculty, and the institution in the implementation of the new course design model that emphasizes both learning and flourishing. This model is illustrated in Appendix A, the Purposeful Course Design Handbook. Using an action research approach, the study includes faculty from different departments and central administrative units highlighting the interdisciplinary and systemic approach of the research. Once the Purposeful Course Design model was created, the study investigates how intentional course design supports students’ basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness, thereby improving their experience in the class. The findings indicate that courses designed with SDT principles significantly improve students' sense of autonomy, competence, and relatedness ranging from 13% to 22%. Equally important, the research highlights the critical role of faculty flourishing in achieving student flourishing, emphasizing the need for institutional support, time, and recognition for faculty efforts in course design and teaching. Fostering a supportive environment that prioritizes autonomy, competence, and relatedness for both students and faculty is essential for holistic educational success. The findings in this research are important because efforts to increase students’ success, well-being, engagement, flourishing etc. often focus on the technical support – the money, the programming, the structure – but not the adaptive work of support for the implementers, collaboration, and enrollment in the change. This clearly illustrates that if a college or university wants to have the downstream results of student flourishing, it needs to do the upstream work of creating an environment that supports the people doing that work.