Learning Design Fundamentals

 
Effective learning design is the goal of teachers and trainers, to optimise the learning experience, creating an engaging and rich learning environment.

There are many components that contribute to effective learning design and therefore, following a systematic process can ensure a coherent learning plan and outcome.

The following recommendations are my 8 top tips for effective learning design.

1. Purpose

In order to plan effective learning, it is important to have a clear understanding of the Purpose of the learning experience, programme or intervention being delivered. Clarity of this purpose is an often overlooked aspect.

For instance, it may seem obvious that you have some knowledge that you need your learners to obtain, and so construct a plan of how to transmit the knowledge from your head to theirs. However, having a clear understanding of how the learner will use and apply the knowledge, what its’ utility is and in what context it will be used, in addition to knowledge of how learning occurs, can inform how we design the learning experience and process.


2. Learner needs

A further preliminary step we should take is to clearly define what are the characteristics of the learners we are working with and what specific needs they have. Along with the clearly identified purpose of the provision (point 1 above), we can then tailor the learning such that it meets these needs, and thus can minimise any barriers to learning enhancing its effectiveness. Avoiding a one size fits all approach can enable us to provide a more inclusive learning experience.

Some examples of needs to consider:

• Prior knowledge, skills and experience of the content
• Motivation and confidence levels to engage in the learning
• Expectations that the learners have for the learning, shaped by prior experiences and information obtained about the intervention.
• Development and support needs related to transferable skills, IT skills, language or disabilities.

3. Content pyramid

Having established some parameters for the learning provision related to the purpose (1) and learner needs (2), we can turn out attention to planning and designing the learning. This can be considered as a linear procedure, however in reality it is an iterative process of back and forth between stages as refinements are made.

My starting point is to formulate a clear picture of the content (knowledge, skill, theories, ideas, beliefs and attitudes) that the learners will need to engage with, and then start to formulate and mould this into a coherent structure – a pyramid.

The tip of the pyramid are the non-negotiable items that must be included, if someone asked what are the things that I want the learners to take away above anything else, these would be them. It might be that these are 'Threshold Concepts' – key ideas that once understood have a transformative impact changing a learners perceptions and understanding of the topic, however simply the need to knows would suffice.

Beyond this the next tier is the core knowledge/concepts, these building blocks of content are foundational and support understanding of the discipline and can be learnt in isolation or are parts of the system of knowledge for the topic.

Finally the additional knowledge/concepts, these are good to know concepts and ideas, they add further depth to understand of the core and threshold concepts, however are not vital to our core goal for the provision, and so can be included or omitted dependent upon the time and resources we have available for the provision.


4. Constructive Alignment

An overview of the plan for the provision is my next step utilising the process of constructive alignment. This model proposed by Mayer and Land (2003), identifies that our provision should have three interrelated (aligned) components:

- Intended learning outcomes - brief statements of what the outcomes of the provision are for the learners

- Assessments – the tools or metrics that will be used to measure if the intended learning outcomes have been achieved.

- Learning activities – the learning & teaching activities that will be deployed to facilities learning and the achievement of the intended learning outcomes.

By identifying these three components and aligning them, it is hoped that the learning activities will create opportunities for learners to work towards achieving the intended learning outcomes, which will be measured by the assessments. 

Some considerations for the three components of constructive alignment:

- Intended learning outcomes – phrase these from the perspective of the learner, for instance: ‘By the end of this session learners will be able to……and apply this knowledge to……’

- Assessments – There are a broad range of assessment that can be used beyond exams & essays, for instance – presentations, reports, portfolios, creating artefacts, practical assessment (demonstrating a skill, running a session), etc. Select the ones that are most appropriate for the topic, for instance if the course is on barbering it would seem odd if the assessment was to write on essay on how to cut hair.

· Learning activities – a useful list of types of activities has been proposed by Diana Laurillard (2012) that include:

• Acquisition
• Investigation
• Practice
• Discussion
• Collaboration
• Production

5. Learner role

Within the taught learning experience there are clearly two main protagonists, the learners and the teachers. It is therefore important to consider what their roles entail and to optimise the experience for them.

The learner is and should be the lead character. As we have identified in step 2 we want to know as much as we can about the learners to cater for and meet their specific and general needs, and all of the actions of a teacher/instructor should start with the question – is this the correct approach for the learners and this situation?

Beyond our selection of appropriate strategies, I recommend seeking to develop the key attributes of autonomy and self-efficacy:

- Autonomy – relates to creating opportunities for learners to make decisions regarding how they respond to questions and challenges, and how they engage with assessments. The perception that a learner has control over their learning can be a powerful motivational driver, leading to feelings of intrinsic motivation that leads to long term commitment to learning.

- Self efficacy – is an individual’s perception of their ability to meet the demands of situation – their level of situation specific self-confidence. Self-efficacy can have a direct impact of engagement and performance in learning situations and so taking measures to enhance it in learners can be beneficial. Two examples of actions that can be taken to enhance self-efficacy include:

• Performance accomplishments – provide smaller steps toward completion/understanding of complex ideas or skills so that the learners can see regular progress and gain self-efficacy and motivation to continue.
• Vicarious experiences – observing others complete skills and display knowledge, especially individuals that are on the same level as the learners can be motivational and breakdown negative beliefs about accomplishment of goals and tasks.

6. Teacher role

It perhaps goes without saying that a teachers role is vital in the learning process, however it is useful to think of the role as a facilitator of learning rather than simply a communicator of knowledge. This nuanced change in focus, reminds us to ask the question - is this the correct approach for the learners and this situation?

However as a facilitator we should use all of the approaches available to us and one consideration is whether to utilise a direct instruction (DI) or discovery learning (DL) approach.

These approaches represent a continuum with radical direct instruction including didactic approaches such as passive lectures, while at the other end of the spectrum radical discovery learning involves unstructured learning with limited if any support from the teacher. Either of these extremes are less than optimal and therefore a simple rule of thumb can be applied that takes into account learners prior knowledge on a topic.

If learners are new to a topic or content a direct instruction approach would be more appropriate to provide the information and details they currently do not possess.

If learners have some or a lot of prior knowledge of a topic or content then a discovery learning approach can be useful as it allows them to draw on their prior knowledge to complete tasks that may have open ended solutions.

The decision of which approach we adopt will therefore feed back into the learning activities we use and the role we want the learner to adopt, and be informed by the learner needs identified at the outset of the learning design process.


7. Learning environment

The spaces and environment in which the learning takes place also plays a vital role in enhancing the effectiveness of the provision. Some considerations for the learning environment include whether it is a physical space (classroom) or digital space (online learning), for instance:

- Physical environment – how is the room structured (seating and tables), lighting and temperature, what resources are available (IT and multimedia, discipline specific resource and teaching resources)

- Digital environment – structure and user friendliness, access to resources, learner experience and confidence of engaging with digital learning, expectations of how and when to engage with learner and teachers.

Whether teaching in a physical or digital environment (or a combination of the both), making the environment welcoming and accessible are key considerations, as well as attempting to foster a community environment where learners feel connected to and supported in their learning goals.


8. Manage cognitive load

One of the most important concepts related to learning is the cognitive load theory. In essence this refers to the limitations within our working memory such that if we are overloaded with information to process (exceed our cognitive load) then learning is significantly impaired and thus optimising the load or challenge we present learners with is vital.

In its simplest from we want to remove any elements that use up capacity in our working memory but that aren’t focused on the learning we are trying to facilitate, this can therefore be achieved by ensuring that all communication, such as our verbal explanations and written material is clear, concise and unambiguous, and that we support learning with appropriate scaffolding so that learners are being presented opportunities to engage with tasks that are just beyond their current attainment levels, so that they are not overloaded, and can make progress.

Cognitive load can be managed across all different types of learning activities and teacher approaches (DI or DL), it therefore is a useful theory to consider as a lens to view the planning process through, such that we fine tune and ensure the learning experienced is optimised for the learners we are working with.

Adherence to these principles as a guide to effective learning design will support the delivery of effective and appropriate prevision that meets the responds to the learning needs and teaching context.