If you're like most instructors, you love your subject and the idea of sharing information gives you great satisfaction. However, you have probably noticed that it's easy to overload your students or to give them materials in a way that tends to confuse them. How can you avoid overloading and confusing your students?
One of the most effective ways to do so is to make sure that you base your selections of instructional materials on course outcomes and on the learning objectives for each unit. Keep in mind what you'd like your students to be able to do after they complete the course. What is the basic, enduring knowledge they will take with them after the course is over? What kind of fundamental change do you want to occur in terms of the students' abilities? What kind of new skills will they be able to perform?
Once you answer these questions, you will have a list of learning outcomes. Keep them in mind as you select the instructional material you wish...