PURPOSE Innovation from lecture based to learner centered formats in medical and health professions education requires faculty members to transform how they teach and develop curricula. This conceptual leap is challenging even for experienced educators, who may struggle to conceive engaging, active learning experiences for students. To address this challenge, we developed a three workshop series to arm faculty members with approaches and tools to design active learning experiences for courses or sessions using a three-step backward design framework. METHODS The six-hour series has been conducted in two consecutive years with faculty members from medicine, basic sciences and health professions engaged in curricular reform in their respective programs. The sessions introduce the design framework, which consists of (1) identifying transferable concepts and processes students need to understand; (2) developing student assessments aligned to learning goals; and (3) designing active learning experiences that follow a learning cycle. The workshops are conducted using active learning and enable participants to develop skills related to formulating outcomes and assessments, as well as creating learning experiences aligned with desired student outcomes that integrate across disciplines. RESULTS The annual program was delivered as three workshops and augmented with custom sessions for curricular design teams in the medical and graduate biomedical schools. The program was evaluated highly by all participants, with scores exceeding 4.5 on a 5-point scale on all evaluation items related to quality and relevance (N=177). The series provided a foundation for the development of two new integrated courses in the undergraduate medical curriculum and a unique cross-disciplinary course for first year biosciences PhD students. CONCLUSION Ongoing efforts to develop faculty skills in curricular design are contributing to incremental changes in teaching and learning within our institution, including the design and implementation of novel integrated courses that use active learning.