An online course outline from an expert interview: goals and practice

Experts tell stories from experience; learners need a sequence of actions

Experts may jump between exceptions, stories and terminology. That feels natural in conversation but can confuse newcomers. Reconstruct the basic steps and show what depends on what.

An effective course is more than a long video collection. Every module links a learning outcome, explanation, example, practice and assessment. Put material that doesn’t support the outcome in a reference section.

Reorganize the expert’s account around what learners do

1. Describe the learning outcome

   Use an observable action: draft, compare, verify or complete. “Understand the topic” gives you no way to measure success. Specify the audience and starting level.

2. Extract decisions and cases

   Mark tasks, decision cues, common mistakes, exceptions and examples in the transcript. Ask what newcomers should notice and why they would choose one option over another.

3. Build the sequence

   Move from basic situations to harder ones. Teach the general rule before introducing an exception, and show a worked example before independent practice. Don’t automatically follow the order of the interview.

4. Add practice and assessment

   Create a realistic task and clear criteria for each outcome. Test the outline with someone from the intended audience. Go back to the expert with questions about anything disputed or unclear.

Fictional course on checking transcripts

This is a fictional training example. The names, circumstances and outcomes are included solely to explain the method.

A basic module can give a general process for checking names, numbers and negations. Using a medical example requires a separate expert review and requirements check. Here it illustrates an exception without serving as a ready-to-use case.

Give learners a short excerpt with several kinds of errors. Success means they spot the critical issues and check them against the source, rather than simply editing the text.

Learning module card

Fill out a card for each distinct outcome, then check how the modules fit together.

Audience and starting level:
Learning outcome:
Work situation:
Key actions:
Signs of a sound decision:
Expert explanation / timestamp:
Worked example:
Practice task:
Success criteria:
Common error and feedback:
Exceptions and limitations:
What the expert needs to check:
Results of learner testing:

Check the result before using it

• Outcomes describe actions.
• Each module has practice and criteria.
• The general rule comes before exceptions.
• An expert checked the meaning and a learner checked clarity.