Designing Characters for Learning Experiences
Creating characters for assessment scenarios or fictional learning artifacts presents an opportunity to establish a learning context and also craft a more memorable experience for learners. There are three ways to elevate a learning character from being just a disembodied name to feeling like a believable person:
- Add authenticity to the character by aligning them with the learner’s experience.
- Target the right character attributes when detailing the character, based on the learning outcome.
- Complete the character by considering their point-of-view, emotions, and their past, present, and future.
Let’s explore these three elements:
Add Authenticity
Authentic characters engage learners by portraying real-life challenges, emotions, and environments. To achieve such authenticity:
- Base Characters on Real People: Drawing inspiration from real individuals helps designers create characters that reflect genuine traits and experiences. A common pain point in designing characters is deciding which traits and directions to take. By anchoring on a real person, you gain access to a range of traits and information about that person that you can pull from, subtract, modify, or add to as needed.
- Conduct Thorough Research: Sourcing believable character attributes that resonate with learners’ realities will more accurately reflect the audience or remind them of someone they know. For example, if you’re developing a character for a module on farmers in Australia, take the time to look up some demographics and statistics around the various traits you may be considering. How much do farmers in Australia make? What age do they tend to join this field? What are some of the key issues they are currently facing? By learning more about the type of person your character is representing, you are more likely to end up with a plausible yet unique character.
Target the Right Attributes
Think of a learning character as a cohesive portrait rather than an abstract piece of art. Start by focusing only on the key traits about the character that most closely align with the learning goals. For instance, if you were developing a character for an experience centered around conflict resolution, your key attributes might be temperament, negotiation skills, and empathy. Identify 3 to 6 core traits to highlight.
Depending on the focus of the learning experience, you may benefit from adding a few extra attributes about the character over time that don’t necessarily relate to the learning outcome. One of the key benefits of using characters in learning experiences is to enable a sense of familiarity and reflection on the human experience. By adding a few extra attributes, you may enable holistic thinking within the experience in ways you didn’t expect.
Having trouble getting started? Begin with just the name by reverse-engineering it based on some of the key traits you want to highlight about the character. Visit a “name meaning” website or simply Google “names that mean {main attribute}.” See what comes up, or create an original name by playing with the attribute word. For example, if your character is particularly high achieving, you could name them Ace or Aliya. Don’t wait! Start with a name early in the process; you can always change it later. Choosing a name will help you and any collaborators begin to visualize the character and enable easier communication around their identity.
As you go through this process, reflect on your biases related to age, ethnicity, socioeconomic backgrounds, and other demographic information. Consider the implications of these choices, such as how they relate to societal stereotypes, and strive for collaborative decision-making to mitigate bias.
Complete the Character
When creating a character, think about not just their present identity but also their past and future to add depth and completeness. We often ask people where they’re from and what they do, or, if we meet them years later, how they’ve been. We are adept at building and adapting mental models of people on an emotional and temporal scale.
- Past: Provides insights into motivations and behaviors, offering a believable backstory.
- Present: Shows relevance to current learning objectives, engaging learners with immediate challenges.
- Future: Illustrates the consequences of learning, adding motivational elements and underscoring the knowledge’s value.
By completing your character beyond just stats and demographics, you embed them within a story. Behavioral science research, including the work of Dr. Jennifer Aaker, the General Atlantic Professor at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, illustrates that stories are much more memorable than facts alone. What’s more, since stories also help connect learners to the storyteller, rich characters illustrated via a story not only engage learners, but can also foster a deeper sense of learner-instructor connection — an important factor for improved learning outcomes.
When creating a complete feeling character, the medium matters. Visualize someone from your past; you may instantly recall what they look like, sound like, and memories from your interactions. When possible, leverage videos, photos, or interactivity to bring your character to life. Consider tone and expression, and how it aligns with the key attributes you want to highlight. Add interactive features, whether through decision responses, feedback, or adaptive learning paths, to create effective character-driven learning experiences.
Have fun with it!
Character development can be enjoyable and worthwhile. Start with the name and the desired learning outcomes. Then, do your research to center on authentic identities, target the right character attributes, and finally take a step back to complete the picture and bring your character to life.
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