Designing Learning Experiences
Before we begin ...
As we start this module, consider keeping a learning log to track your progress through the material. We are covering important topics associated with the design of learning experiences. The following chart is offered as a means of keeping track of the topics as you progress through the module. Start by asking yourself what you know about the topics we are covering (see the left column). As you progress through the module, return back to this log to contemplate your progress. By the end of the module, you should be ready to integrate the skills and knowledge about designing learning experiences into your instruction.
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What do I know about this topic? |
What do I want to know about this topic? |
What have I learned about this topic? |
What are questions I have about this topic? |
How am I planning to integrate these skills and knowledge into my design? |
| Designing Learning Experiences |
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| Activation Phase Activities |
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| Demonstration Phase Activities |
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| Application Phase Activities |
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| Integration Phase Activities |
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| WIPPEA Lesson Framework |
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Our Goal: Effective, Efficient & Engaging Instruction
In his paper "Designing e3instruction", David Merrill Links to an external site. asserts that a well-designed instruction should possess three characteristics:
- Effective: Effective instruction produces the desired outcomes.
- Efficient: Efficient instruction uses available resources by considering the limitations.
- Engaging: Engaging instruction motivates the learners to be part of the instruction.
Important Design Considerations
To design effective, efficient, and engaging instruction, you need to ask yourself as the designer:
- What do I want my learners to be able to do once they complete the course?
- How can I make my instruction more effective to produce the desired outcomes?
- How can I use my resources and time to cover the entire topic?
- How can I motivate my learners to participate in the instruction?
To structure highly effective, efficient, and engaging learning experiences, you need to consider many factors, including learner goals, the context, practice opportunities, available time, resources, and memory processes:
- Learner goals: As a designer, you need to consider what your learners want to be able to do after completing the instruction. If your learners do not use the information, or aren't able to do anything different after the learning experience, is there value to the instruction?
- Context: Context makes the learning experience meaningful, and helps learners know how to apply new information. When designing instruction, it is important to consider different contexts for different learners.
- Practice: Practice reinforces learning. When your learners practice new skills, they develop a better understanding of the topic, and can perform new skills
- Time and Resources: The given amount of time and the availability of resources also affect your design. The efficacy of the instruction could be compromised if the instructor or learners do not have the right equipment or enough time to implement your instructional activities.
- Memory processes: Successful learning experiences can be facilitated by promoting efficient encoding and retrieval of information. While beyond the scope of this course, effective instructional experiences consider how sensory, short-term, and long-term memory processes affect learning, and:
- Use context so that your learners can retrieve information easily from their long-term memory.
- Incorporate practice (and more practice) is an effective way to encode information in long-term memory.
- Use examples to help your learners associate more information with each other.
- Consider the limitations of working memory. One way to optimize the capacity of working memory is to present information in chunks. Chunking also helps learners keep learners’ limited attention at any given point.