Is Learning Design an Art or a Science?
How Learning Designers need to balance the creative elements of course design with research-based practices.
First I would like to point out that the fields of Instructional Design and Learning Design are essentially the same. However, my preference is towards the latter, simply because it puts the focus on learning itself which can encompass much more than instruction. Whatever your preference or current title says it is important that all of us within the field achieve a balance between our creativity and the research principles that make our industry effective. In regards, to the research, there are some basic learning theories that every designer should know: behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism. Chances are that depending on your past experiences you might lean more towards one than the other. Achieving a balance of art and science will go a long way in making your training/courses effective.
Science
Behaviorism: It all started with a dog and a bell, much of the research within this area of focus started with the experiments Ivan Pavlov initiated using a dog, a bell, and dog food. Basically, his observations deduced that you can model certain behaviors by using both positive and negative reinforcement. This theory is useful for learning designers who are building courses that require the practice of very basic skills. Even some technical training where the actions are repetitive would be a practical use case for this theory. Unfortunately, sometimes this method is used for HR/Compliance training which in my experience has never profoundly changed behavior one way or another. I believe this is because the issues that HR training attempts to cover require more self-reflection on the part of the learner and can be more complex than the 1-hour training that is typically allotted.
Cognitivism: Prior to the 1960s, learning was largely considered something you could observe and very few researchers considered the brain and its role in helping humans learn. That all changed during this flower power decade where researchers like David Merrill and Robert Gagne focused on the role that the brain plays in learning. This was a profound shift from the animal experiments in the past, where humans were no longer expected to repeat behaviors but were instead viewed uniquely for their capabilities to create and learn via the brain. Within this theory, learning was defined as a change to a human's “schemata” or world view which would subsequently re-construct that person's understanding. This approach to learning can be particularly effective for teaching new subject matter that can become complex or hard to understand. How your learning design impacts the brain is an important consideration for building training/courses. It’s important to note “cognitive load” within this theory and make sure you do not overwhelm the learner with too much information.
“Cognitivism’s emphasis on careful arrangement of the content to make it meaningful, comprehensible, memorable, and appealing draws attention to message design issues” (Robineson, et. al, 2008, p. 30).
Constructivism: This is by far the most impactful learning theory in my practice and constructivist principles play a role in every course I design. You can view this theory as an evolution of the previously mentioned theories. Constructivism looks at the whole person and realizes that it’s not just about changing behavior and the brain, it also needs to acknowledge how past experiences play a critical role in how we learn. This is especially important when designing courses for culturally diverse audiences, which in most cases happens a majority of the time. Two of the researches that get quoted often within this theory are Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky, both of which started off as cognitive psychologists before evolving their thought. The belief within this perspective is that the learner does not enter our courses as empty vacuums ready to consume, rather they are complex thinkers who need to be motivated and primed before learning. Leveraging constructivist techniques such as reflections or prior knowledge activities can go along way in creating effective recall and can motivate your learners to engage with content after the course has finished.
It is important to know that as a learning designer you should adapt your learning intervention to what is best for your audience, which could include one or all of the learning theories mentioned. Although learning theories are a powerful component of a learning designer's toolbox, we cannot ignore the principles that influence the art of course design.
Art
Multimedia Principles: Before you get carried away with adding incredible images and really engaging videos to your courses it would be beneficial to review Multimedia Learning authored by Richard Mayer. Essentially, this book and its corresponding research point to the fact that you CAN have too much of a good thing. Mayer formulates 12 principles that any form of media should follow as part of course development. It is important that learning designers understand the balance between too much text, images, and videos within the course and how an imbalance of media could lead to adverse results for your course design. I always look at this in the following: text should be accompanied by images, but should not be featured in videos unless they are captions for accessibility. Appropriately placed media is still an invaluable approach towards knowledge transfer and should be incorporated into every course including face-to-face, hybrid, and online modalities.
“Eliminate all elements that are not helping your users”-(Babich, 2019).
UX/UI Design(User Experience/User Interface): In another life, I believe I would have been a user experience designer, but alas I’m addicted to education and that elusive light bulb of understanding. That being said the principles of this newly created field need to be a part of our development toolbox. Similar to Mayer’s 12 principles, UX/UI design calls for creators to keep platforms simple. There is a reason we gravitate towards certain mobile applications over others, and that reason is quality UX/UI based design. Whether we are talking about users or learners neither group wants to be confused about where to navigate and what are the next steps. This is especially true for digital learning, and the structure and narrative flow of our courses needs to be well thought out and make sense to both a novice and an expert. As a starting point check out this article on the 4 golden rules for UI Design. UX/UI is not just about making design beautiful, but instead is a hyperfocused approach to making sure our designs make sense.
A learning designer who is able to master these two principles when creating artistic course elements will achieve positive results regardless of whatever subject is being taught.
Conclusion
Whether working in education or the corporate world, learning designers are being tasked with the continuity of production and are playing a key role in our remote workforce. For hiring managers, it is important to understand that learning designers cannot be all things to all people and that you will find candidates who have strengths in either the artistic or science side of learning. The goal of all learning design teams should be to establish a balance between these two strengths and leverage your designer's capabilities for each project.
For those who are wanting to enter this field, this article provides a good overview of some basic language that could get your foot in the door. As for those already in the field, keep hustling and creating, we have so much untapped human potential that we need to unleash.
References:
Babich, Nick. “The 4 Golden Rules of UI Design | Adobe XD Ideas.” Ideas, 2019, xd.adobe.com/ideas/process/ui-design/4-golden-rules-ui-design/.
Mayer, R. (2009). Multimedia Learning (2nd ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511811678
Robinson, R., Molenda, M., & Rezabek, L. (2008). Facilitating learning. Educational technology: A definition with commentary, 15–48.
