Evidence-Based Learning Design 101
Evidence-Based Learning Design 101
A practical guide on how to bake the science of learning into the art of course design
Today, I’ll finish the fourth cohort of my Learning Science Bootcamp. It’s been a brilliantly energising and thought provoking experience and, as ever, I have learned so much from my my cohort.
As I reflect on the experience and what I’ve learned so far, I thought I’d share a response to the question I probably get asked most: what process do you use to go from an idea to a designed learning experience?
So, let’s do a rapid review of the four step process I and my bootcamp alumni use - aka the DOMS™️ process - to go from zero to a designed learning experience.
Let’s go! 🚀
Step 1: Discovery
Aka. getting to know your learners, so you build an experience that not only delivers on what the educator wants but is also motivating and delivers mastery for your learners.
Common Errors
People who design learning experiences (online courses, lectures, classroom lessons) often don’t do Discovery at all
People who do pre-design analyses often only focus on the practical stuff, e.g. how long is the session? What tech and resources do I have access to?
The DOMS™️ Way - aka what the research says
Start the learning design process by profiling both your learners’ demographics and psychographics
Deep dive your learners’ “why” and ensure our learning experience meets the needs of both educator and learner
Define your learners’ why (why they want to grow) and their “north star” (where they eventually want to get to) and locate the learning experience on their journey to it
If You Read One Thing on Discovery…
Knowles, M. S., Holton, E. F. & Swanson, R. A. (2012). The adult learner: The definitive classic in adult education and human resource development (7th ed.)
Steps 2 & 3: Objectives & Mapping
Aka. writing & sequencing goals in a way that drives learner motivation and delivers mastery of the outcomes.
Common Errors
Too many objectives - when it comes to objectives, more is not more. Focus and intention drives motivation and mastery.
Wrong perspective - more often than not, objectives are written only from the educator perspective (“I want to teach X”) and exclude the learner (“you want and need to learn Y, so that you can Z”).
No sequencing - often too little consideration is given to the relationship between objectives and what this means for the learners’ experience over time.
The DOMS™️ Way - aka what the research says
Manage cognitive load - include only the objectives that are required to hit a clearly defined experience-level outcome.
State the why - place the learner at the centre of the objectives and give clarity of purpose to optimise for motivation.
Think about the sequence - think about the relationship between objectives and be intentional about their sequence. Ensure that objectives increase in complexity and challenge over time and use strategies like spaced practice & deliberate recall to drive mastery.
If You Read One Thing on Objectives & Mapping…
Fyfe, E. R., McNeil, N. M., Son, J. Y. & Goldstone, R. L. (2014). Concreteness fading in mathematics and science instruction: A systematic review. Educational Psychology Review, 26(1), 9–25.
Step 4: Storyboarding
Aka. defining content, activity & interactions which deliver on your objectives and deliver motivation and mastery.
Common Error
Starting at the Storyboard - a lot of people have a course idea and start with the question “what’s the content?”.
Too much stuff - more is not more. The vast majority of learning experiences have far too much content and far too little learner action and interaction.
Not enough feedback - as an educator, feedback is your highest leverage tool. Use it.
The DOMS™️ Way - aka what the research says
Manage cognitive load - apply the 20/80/20 rule (20% content, 80% action, 20% feedback). Focus on action + feedback, not content delivery.
Focus on questions not answers - setting problems and challenges before giving answers. Empower learners to learn in the process of doing, not the process of watching/listening/reading.
Focus on learning throughput - what are the real-world skills your learners need, and how do you give them an opportunity to develop & practice these skills in the process of learning?
If You Read One Thing on Storyboarding…
Merriam, S. B. (2018). Adult learning theory: Evolution and future directions. In Contemporary theories of learning (pp. 83–96).
That’s all folks! You can download a copy of this guide here.
If you’re up for sharing your experiences, I’d love to hear about your design process and any tips you have to make it better and faster!
If you’d like to sign up for the Learning Science Bootcamp (cohorts run monthly) you can find more details & apply for a seat here.
Happy designing,
Phil 👋