How to Design a Learning Experience
By Michelle Hollett and Elizabeth Graff
Recently, we shared our thoughts about what learning design is. We wanted to take it a step further though, and we were inspired to create a practical tool that you can use immediately to design any learning experience. And here it is!
The next time you have to create a workplace training, professional development workshop, team retreat, etc., pull out the Learning Design Spectra Tool and follow the steps below.
1) Identify learning objectives. Begin by asking yourself the following questions:
- What is this learning experience really about?
- What do I want people to learn?
2) Define solution parameters. Next, use the tool to ideate what your learning experience could look like. Might it require everyone to participate in energetic, physical movement or require that everyone sit very still? Take place in the desert under the beating sun, or in a small, quiet, air-conditioned library room? Take place over Skype or be face-to-face?
As you go through the spectra, make sure to pause regularly and really visualize the experience in as much detail as possible. Play out different scenarios in your mind. Identify which qualities of the experience are most important to you. Identify constraints such as time, budget and people, as well as how you might work within those constraints (or around them). Make a list of all your ideas, then pick the ones that you like the best. This process of brainstorming, exploration and filtering will help you define the type of learning experience that you’d like to create.
3) Create your solution. Now that you’ve fleshed out the important features of your learning experience, it’s time to bring your experience to life. In this regard, you are limited only by your imagination. As a starting point, consider how you might incorporate the following into your experience in order to accomplish your learning goals:
- Physical space or setting
- Group norms, agreements and emotional tone
- Instructions, demos and scaffolding
- Discussion, debate and reflection
- Journaling and writing exercises
- Interactions, role play, props or costumes
- Physical materials or equipment
- Handouts or slides
- Videos, podcasts or other media
- Art supplies
- Technology
- Music or other atmospheric elements
- Gamification or competitive elements
- Transportation and logistics
- Visitors, expert panels or judges
- Pre-work or post-work by learners
- Assessments
This is only a small list to get you started. There are an infinite number of learning elements to play with and combine!
We hope that you find this tool and process useful as you design your next learning experience. Please let us know how it goes!
