Introduction to Course Development

Learning design is an umbrella term that encapsulates the enhancement of the learning experience and answers the questions of what, when, where and how to learn. Key decisions within the learning design structure include the:

1. content layout and structure
2. sequence and scaffolding of learning
3. use and frequency of formative assessment
4. use of real-world examples
5. implementation of collaborative exercises

 

The application of learning experience design is a conscious process that requires you to think beyond "what content should I teach?" and carefully consider "what is the best way for learners to understand this concept?". This can be a mindset shift and pivots the focus of education from simple content delivery to shaping the experience for the learner and the learning process.

Additionally, learning design is also a method or way of approaching content dissemination that helps designers to consider all the necessary factors in designing an online activity or course. An effective online activity or course needs to consider:

• the learners and their needs;
• the learning outcomes, or what the learners need to achieve; and
• the learning environment, including tools and resources.

 

Why is Learning Experience Design Important?

Learning experience design is a mindset shift which focuses on the learner and the learner's journey first. While this sounds like a natural place to start, it is surprisingly common for developers to lose this focus to be heavily focused on the content itself rather than the way a student will experience it and develop the knowledge and skills over time. 

A learner experience design approach, along with the creation of learning outcomes, subtly shifts the focus from the content itself towards the content dissemination.

A course that has been developed with a learning experience design approach will result in:

1. Better student outcomes
2. High levels of student engagement
3. High levels of student retention
4. High levels of student satisfaction

 

Summary 

A focus on content dissemination and the knowledge transfer process over basic content curation. 

 

Now we have explored the concept of learning experience design, let's recap some critical learning theories that are important for online learning.

The rapid growth in technology has seen an evolution in learning design applied due to the nature of the tools available and a shift in how learners are viewed. The original theories and models that influenced early learning design originated in the mid to late 20th century and were heavily focused on content-knowledge acquisition and skills development.

More recent approaches to learning design, such as social constructivism, place a greater emphasis on the learner, their journey, and the context in which the learning is taking place.

The major milestones in the evolution of learning design.

Social constructivism

Social constructivism (also known as social learning theory) is a learning schema based on the foundations that new knowledge is:

1. constructed by the learner;
2. social in nature; and
3. built on prior knowledge.

 

Within the constructivist schema, learning should be authentic and should create conditions for the learner to acquire knowledge through real-world learning experiences and problem-solving opportunities. Through this, learning can be seen as an active process of engagement (Elliott et al., 2000).

Doolittle and Camp (1999, p. 9) propose that the following eight factors are essential to constructivist pedagogies:

1. Learning should involve social negotiation and mediation;
2. Content and skills should be relevant to the learner;
3. Teachers serve primarily as guides and facilitators of learning, not instructors;
4. Learning should take place in authentic and real-world environments;
5. Teachers should provide for and encourage multiple perspectives and representations of content;
6. Content and skills should be construed within the framework of the learner's prior knowledge;
7. Students should be measured formatively, serving to inform future learning experiences; and
8. Students should be encouraged to become self-regulatory, self-mediated, and self-aware.

 

With its focus heavily on the learner, constructivism has influenced the trajectory of the learning experience, particularly in online course development. Now we have a baseline model, let's consider how to expand upon this to present online learning content.

Gagne's nine learning events

Educational psychologist Robert Gagné proposed a two-step learning approach called "The Conditions of Learning", first published in 1965. Gagné’s approach focuses on the internal and external conditions that affect learning and the instruction events that must occur for learning to be effective.

Step 1: The conditions of learning

When creating a new learning piece, the first step is to identify the conditions that must be in place for knowledge absorption and retention.

Gagné’s "conditions of learning" are the internal and external cognitive factors that affect people during their learning journey.

• Internal conditions relate to the learner’s prior knowledge.
• External conditions include the learning environment, the method of instruction and the style of instruction.

For learning to be effective, both the internal and the external conditions need to be considered.

Step 2: The nine events of instruction

The nine "events of instruction" are the second step in Gagné’s learning approach. These nine actions can assist designers to create engaging, appropriate and effective learning.

1. Gain Attention The most important task of any learning piece is to gain the attention of learners and focus them on learning from start to finish. Make the introduction personal in order to connect to learners on an emotional level.
2. Inform the learner of the objective After their attention, be sure to clearly outline why learners need to know what they are about to be taught. If learners are unclear about the purpose of the learning they cannot engage with it.
3. Stimulate knowledge recall By connecting learning to what each learner already knows, they are more likely to train the new knowledge. Attach each activity to potential existing skills and/or knowledge.
4. Present targeted content
5. Provide learning guidance
6. Elicit performance
7. Provide feedback
8. Assess performance

Bloom's Taxonomy 

Originally conceived in 1956 as a way for universities to ensure that test items shared the same educational objectives, Benjamin Bloom (then an educational psychologist at the University of Chicago), along with collaborators Max Englehart, Edward Furst, Walter Hill and David Krathwohl devised a framework for categorising educational goals.

The "Taxonomy of Educational Objectives" is now more familiarly known as Bloom’s Taxonomy and many generations of teachers and instructors have applied this framework to learning at all levels from kindergarten through to university.

The framework outlines six categories for learning that represent a hierarchical order of steps in the learning journey from simple to concrete and from concrete to abstract which is known as the cognitive domain. Each category outlines a number of relevant actions that the learner is expected to gain at that point in their learning.

Original Taxonomy categories

The original Taxonomy provided definitions in six steps, or categories, with each step building from the previous one. Gaining the most from the learning relies on the learner properly grasping a category before moving to the next.

The six major categories were:

Revised Taxonomy categories

These categories have since been revised, renamed and simplified to form the Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy.

Click expand on each of the revised categories to understand more about each. 

Watch the video by Sprouts to get an idea of how Bloom's taxonomy can help when thinking about the learning process.

 

Bloom's Taxonomy in Practice

Below is an example of how the Revised Bloom's Taxonomy can be leveraged to assist in writing learning outcomes. The revision redefines the cognitive domain of the original taxonomy into the intersection of the Cognitive Process Dimension and the Knowledge Dimension.

_{Content adapted from Iowa State University (2012)}

Classifying what learners to require know or be able to do at the end of each module/unit/course using this taxonomy will also enable appropriate learning sequencing. 

Ok, we are nearly there but we also know that two students are the same and many have individual needs that need to be catered for.  That's why eddy is passionate about inclusivity through accessibility. Online learning has always broken down the barriers to education and developing online learning should consider this at all times. Let's then look at the concept of Universal Design.

 

Universal Design for Learning

 

As its name suggests, Universal Design for Learning (UDL) has its basis in ensuring that everyone is provided with an equal opportunity for learning and that multiple ways of learning are encouraged.

UDL provides guidance for the creation of learning outcomes, resources and assessments that are suitable for all people. It is particularly concerned with ensuring that people with disability, people from diverse cultural and socio-economic backgrounds, mature learners and international students have the same opportunities for learning.

Benefits of UDL

UDL recognises that there is no "one-size-fits-all" for learning, in the same way, that there is not just one type of learner. It embraces variability and uses a combination of approaches in order to fully engage students and encourage critical thinking.

For trainers, UDL is ideal for meeting the needs of diverse learners through a variety of instructional formats, tools and technologies.

There are three core principles of UDL that guide the design of learning outcomes, resources, formative and summative assessment and teaching methods.

UDL in practice

 

 

Watch the TEDx talk by Michael Allen Nesmith, who is a deaf and native American Sign Language speaker and works as a creative designer for Amazon. Select the play button to start.