Course Submission Form

On behalf of the Board and the Programming Committee of AIA East Tennessee, we thank you for your interest in wanting to present to our members.

Our Chapter has a very active and vibrant membership of architects as well as academics from the University of Tennessee College of Architecture and Design along with allied professionals. Our two main presentation events are Design Feeds, in Knoxville, and Tech Sessions, in the Tri-Cities. Both events are roughly 8 months each year and include lunch starting at 11:40, with the main presentations running from Noon to 1:00, with some time for Q&A. We are generally able to accommodate any food allergies/preferences in advance.

For Design Feeds, we offer an honorarium of $1,500.00 for presenting an approximately 50‐minute AIA-approved HSW presentation in person. The bottom of this page has helpful tips on how to achieve an HSW, and will work with you regarding the submission materials for the necessary AIA credit approval process. We will need this information two months before your presentation to process it through AIA Continuing Education Services. We hope you will join us in person, take the opportunity to get to know our area of the country and meet local design leaders in both practice and academia. Thank you for considering this invitation and we look forward to hearing back from you

Sincerely,

The AIA East Tennessee Programing Committee,
John Lynch Sanders, FAIA – 2026 Chair

Course titles should be concise, but descriptive!

The program description should provide enough information for potential learners to evaluate whether the program suits their learning needs. There is a fine balance between providing too little and too much information, however. Approach the description as the “elevator pitch” for the program so learners can gather the crucial information they need to make a decision about completing the program. The description should explain what the program is about, how it will be taught, who should attend, and what level of knowledge is necessary to get the most out of the program.

The HSW Justification is only necessary when a learning program is submitted for HSW credit. While the field is optional, we highly recommend taking the time to complete it. The HSW Justification is your opportunity to let the AIA reviewers understand how the program will address the health, safety, and welfare of the occupants of the built environment. Do not simply repeat parts of the HSW definition, your description, or learning objectives here. Use the justification to explain clearly which aspect(s) of HSW will be discussed, how it is relevant to the architect, and how it is connected to protecting or enhancing the public good.

Keep in mind that HSW is about protecting the health, safety and/or well-being of the occupants or users of the built environment. Additionally, 75% of the presented content must focus on this (or, 3 of the 4 Learning Objectives). In the HSW Justification, you should be able to show a direct connection between the topic of the learning program and protecting the health, safety, and welfare of the occupants of the built environment. Risk mitigation for the architectural firm does not apply. Practice management for a healthy firm does not apply.

For learning objectives, more is not often better. Learning objectives should be a single, concise sentence that states a single learning outcome. Well-written and thought-out learning objectives are critical in our review of the learning program. Best practices in instructional design dictate that the learning objectives should be written before the learning program is developed as they define what the program will cover and how learner success will be evaluated. You begin the learning program development with the end in mind.

Effective learning objectives use active verbs to describe what you want learners to be able to do by the end of the learning program. Learning objectives should define measurable outcomes and results.

Follow these steps to write effective learning objectives:

1. Identify what you want students to learn. Ask yourself, “At the end of the learning program, what do I want the audience to do or know?”
   • Example: Steps to writing effective learning objectives
2. Identify what level of knowledge you expect. Bloom’s taxonomy* can come in handy here. Under Bloom’s Taxonomy, there a six levels of learning. It’s important to choose the appropriate level of learning because this will drive the level of the learning program and help set any expectations for prerequisite knowledge.
   • Example: To use the steps to writing effective learning objectives (Application level)
3. Select the right verb. This should be an observable, measurable behavior that aligns with the level of learning selected.
   • Example: Demonstrate these steps
4. Add the criteria or conditions that constrain how, when, or where the outcome will be observable to add context for the learning
   • Example: Demonstrate the steps to writing effective learning objectives when submitting a learning program for AIA continuing education.