Learn about the four types of courses that anyone with fashion expertise can teach online to earn an extra income and help others to progress and develop their skills working in the fashion sector.

1. You Can Teach Any Fashion Subject Online
weteachfashion.com /blog/you-can-teach-any-fashion-subject-online
course creation tutors Jun 07, 2017
If you're reading this post the chances are you have some knowledge, skill and experience working in the
fashion sector. In this post, we're going to show you that no matter what that experience is, there's a course style
that you can adopt to teach your subject online.
There are four principle course styles which we can identify. We’ll look at each one in more detail below but the
four are:
Reflection-based courses
Problem-based courses
Skills-based courses
Project-based courses
Courses can be designed based on an entire style so that everything within the course is based on that style, or
alternatively different sections of the course, whether complete modules or individual lessons can have their own
style.
Let’s have a look at each one and see how they differ.
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2. A Reflection-based course has a primary objective to teach new concepts and ideas and to introduce students to
new material so they can think deeply and critically about the subject. As tutors, we are aiming to broaden our
student’s understanding of a particular subject, give them some new concepts and ideas to think about as well
as to satisfy their curiosity about the topics in the course.
Basically, reflection-based courses are offering theory input so our role as a tutor in designing courses, modules
or lessons in this style is to broaden our student’s understanding of a particular subject, give them some new
concepts and ideas to think about as well as to satisfy their curiosity about the topics in the course.
Obviously then we’re not going to be teaching any skills but the student ends having a much broader
understanding of the subject, can think and reflect about the subject and make judgments about how the subject
applies to them in their role and what they need to do next with what they have learned. We often see this being
taught in the history of art or when a student is learning about a particular designer for example.
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3. Problem-based courses on the other hand help students to overcome specific issues they are facing in their
workplace or lives. When you build a course that is Problem-based you are going to answer the specifics of how
to do XYZ. You've identified a real challenge the student is facing or a difficult with a particular skill or application
of knowledge and then you show them how to overcome this problem.
You’ll integrate best practices, any latest tools, personal techniques and tips that are relevant that from your own
experience will overcome the problem the student faces.
So for students that struggle with a particular problem in their workplace, on a university course, or in running
their fashion business, or working in the industry, this course is ideal. The tutor teaches the student how to solve
it in the best way with the objective that after having taken the course the student no longer struggles with the
issue again in the future.
For example, you have found through your research that many young designers find it difficult to set up
appointments with large retail stores. They find it difficult to make the cold calls and to set up appointments to
meet the buyers. Consequently, the process of selling their products is difficult. So...you design a course that
teaches them how to overcome the problem and specifically of not achieving a high enough cold -calling success
rate. A Problem-based course is an ideal style.
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4. The third style is Skill-based courses which focus on developing a specific skill or competency. You take the
student through a series of lessons that help develop a particular skill and raises the student's game or their level
of mastery of that skill. If the student successfully completes the course there will be a real shift in their ability
compared to where it was before they started the course. It might help to think of skills courses as helping
students to go from one level to another.
For example, you create a course that shows how to create a fashion flat of a shoe in Adobe Illustrator and by
repeatedly practising the techniques you show in your course, the student masters the skills in question.
And finally, there are Project-based courses.
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5. With project-based courses, the student is following along with you as you show them step by step how to create
something. You lay out all the steps required and each step of the process is documented in your course so that
if the student follows what you demonstrate they will be able to create it themselves too.
So they are learning by doing. For example, you create a short course on how to sew a beautifully mitered
corner with your foolproof method that you have used in practice for years. The course or lesson, takes the
student through the sewing, trimming and turning and pressing the mitred corner. So when the student follows
you step by step and repeats what you do to the letter they will have master the skill but they have done so within
the context of a discrete project.
The difference between a Skill-based course and a Project-based course is that the former may use many
different approaches to developing the skill whereas the later is developing the skills within a single project and
the project itself may address various techniques, skills, approaches, uses of materials and so on.
Summary
Understanding which is going to be the best course style for you is important so think about it before you start
creating the course outline. And don’t forget your course can consist of a combination of different styles by
module or even by lesson depending upon how long the course is or how detailed the material.
Each style, of course, will attract different types of students who bring their different needs and expectations
about what your course will do for them, so keep that in mind too.
If you'd like to know more about teaching fashion courses online then take our free series of four training videos.
Sign up below and get access to the first lesson immediately.
And remember the four styles you can adopt for either the entire course, a module or a lesson are:
Cheryl Gregory is the Founder of The Fashion Student Hub, a marketplace for selling online fashion courses,
and We Teach Fashion teaching fashion subject experts how to create and promote their own online courses,
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6. generate revenue and serve the growing need for online education in the fashion sector.
Sign Up For FREE Training to Get Started
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course for people setting out to sell their own online fashion course. It covers everything you need to know to
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