The Student Inclusion Model
Course design teams often rely too heavily on academic entry requirements, inadvertently building curricula for an idealised student cohort that […]
Learning Design
The case for personas: designing for students, not content
The article emphasizes the importance of developing student personas in learning design, arguing against generic archetypes. It advocates for tailored course creation that accommodates diverse student capabilities. This proactive approach enhances inclusion, reduces structural friction, and improves efficiency, ultimately benefiting institutions while contradicting the notion that personas reinforce biases.
Most universities are still designing courses the way they always have …
Many universities continue to design courses focused on lecturers rather than learners. The latest Substack discusses shifting to a collaborative and transparent model, addressing topics like academic autonomy, neuro-inclusive design, the importance of institutional memory, and the challenges posed by the AI divide. This ongoing series supports an 8-Stage Learning Design Framework.
From Panic to Practice: What Does an AI-Ready Curriculum Actually Look Like?
Following up on last week’s post about higher education focusing on the wrong AI emergency, my latest Substack shifts from
From Content Delivery to Learning Architecture: The New HE Paradigm.
Higher education is shifting from a traditional transmission model to intentional learning design, emphasizing active knowledge construction and mastery. Research supports the effectiveness of active learning, while Learning Design emerges as a critical discipline. The pandemic and Generative AI have accelerated this transformation, redefining educators as Learning Architects focused on curated, purposeful learning experiences.
Introduction to the 8-Stage Learning Development Framework
Many academics, while being subject-matter experts, lack training in course design, leading to ineffective curricula that reflect their own experiences rather than student needs. The 8-Stage Learning Design Framework (8-SLDF) addresses this issue, emphasizing Constructive Alignment and five development areas while encouraging honest engagement with AI in the design process.
Why do we design for reuse and renewal?
The article discusses evolving curriculum development trends, advocating for a shift from static models to dynamic, modular approaches. It highlights the importance of granular mapping, preventing loss of educational resources through standardized tagging, and fostering collaborative content curation. This framework supports institutional agility and continuous course renewal.
Why do we design to enable academic and learner analytics?
The post emphasizes the importance of using student data to enhance course design rather than merely reporting past outcomes. It highlights the roles of Educational Data Mining, Academic Analytics, and Learning Analytics in understanding learner needs. Key strategies include building responsive pathways, designing supportive touchpoints, and anticipating emerging technologies to optimize learning experiences.
Why do we design with a view to the evolving nature of work?
The 8th principle of learning design emphasizes the need for educators to adopt a proactive, future-oriented approach amid rapid technological changes. As skills quickly become outdated, the article advocates for developing Futures Literacy and focusing on transversal meta-skills. By leveraging real-time data, curriculum design can better prepare students for an evolving workforce.
Why do we design for learner autonomy?
Lifelong learning is enhanced by learner autonomy, which empowers individuals to shape their education. Educational design should shift focus to self-directed pathways, respect cultural contexts, and encourage personalized learning experiences. This approach emphasizes agency, cultural responsiveness, and authentic assessments, promoting a deeper understanding rather than mere memorization.
Why do we design applied learning?
Sixth of Ten Principles of Learning Design Applied learning implies action, activity, deployment and practice. It suggests its opposite as
Why do we design for digital futures?
The fifth of the Ten Principles of Learning Design emphasizes the importance of recognizing the shift from analogue to digital learning environments. It advocates for a learner-first approach, urging educators to anticipate digital trends across various disciplines, even in practical skills. This proactive design is essential for effective teaching and learning.
Why do we design for the learner’s context?
Designing for the learner’s context emphasizes incorporating real-world experiences into educational settings, enhancing the effectiveness of learning. Recognizing situational motivation is crucial for students to engage with their learning. The principle encourages adapting design based on course objectives, whether for foundational knowledge or active application. Explore more sub-principles on Substack.
Why do we design culturally responsive learning?
The third principle of Learning Design emphasizes the importance of culturally responsive education. It acknowledges the need for awareness of diverse cultural contexts and perspectives in course design, rather than attempting to cover all variations. Understanding differences in personal ontology and epistemology can enhance learning for a broad range of international students.
Why do we design to harness authoritative voices?
The second of the ten Principles for Learning Design emphasizes the importance of utilizing authoritative voices in higher education, moving away from singular authoritative figures. Today’s educational environment values diverse perspectives, evidence, and rational discourse, reflecting a shift from traditional methods to a more pluralistic approach in course design.
Relationship between learning models and patterns: 9S Model and DiAL-e Learning Patterns
A learning model serves to map the skeleton of a course, ensuring that it is constructively aligned, workload balanced and
When to use models and patterns in course design
For university course designers, the distinction between Models and Patterns is essentially the difference between the alignment of the course
A2 Poster of Psychomotor Domain for Educational Outcomes
I have been asked whether I had a poster specifically for the Psychomotor domain. I do now! This domain is