Teaching & Learning Lab: Reflecting on Learning Design & Theoretical Frameworks

Learning design is all about choices - choices based on theoretical underpinnings. This is a reflection of the process of making sense of learning design choices through a thoughtful in-class activity.

The goal of learning design is to put learners at the center. All tools and pedagogy are used to support learners in their various needs. It is useful to think about the different theoretical frameworks when designing a course, a module, or an activity. In this reflection, we will examine how different theoretical frameworks change the delivery of the same learning goal.

Frameworks in Action

Behaviorist, constructivist, or cognitivist? What are the affordances and constraints of each? Are they really independent of each other?

In our class activity, we were all handed the same learning goal - to create a lesson that can teach a learner how to drive assuming they have some familiarity with automobiles. My group was tasked with designing a lesson using a cognitivist approach.

What Does the Cognitive Approach Look Like?

We first tried the pinpoint the determining factors of what made an activity cognitivist (which we later decided on its focus of structuring mental representations). We want our learners to recall information through the practice of retrieval between their long-term and working memory and create connections through schemas. Thus we decided that module 1 of the course would be to help students practice conceptually the important knowledge required to operate a vehicle on the road successfully. We brought in concept map activities as a way to encourage making connections and practicing retrieving information. Another key idea in cognitivism is scaffolding. Scaffolding at the right moments can decrease cognitive load and encourage students to continue working towards their learning objective even when the learning task becomes challenging. To do scaffolding, we created a simulation of a driving route for students and had them practice in a low-stakes environment before moving into an actual vehicle. We also wanted to chunk the information down into easier and more processable groupings. This was implemented through skill groupings and practicing the necessary sequential skills in order and small chunks. Finally, metacognition is incredibly important in the cognitivism approach. Therefore, we use reflections and feedback on reflection as a method to help students improve and know what is right or wrong.

A Combination Approach

Frameworks are not independent but instead works together.

When we came together as a group and shared the course plan with the class, what I learned was that many of our ideas were similar. However, the way we delivered was not always the same nor was it always different. The constructivist approach also used simulation but their justification for such choice was to allow the learner to gain more hands-on experiential learning time. The feedback comes from their experience and making sense of simulated driving experience which is not all that unlike our own idea. Whereas we focused on scaffolding, they focused on experiential learning. The behaviorist group provided instant feedback as a way to reinforce or punish behaviors. This is much more different in comparison as our main choice of feedback was through reflection and understanding one's own idea of a concept.

Not All that Different, So the Goal is the Determiner

A lot of design choices were not all that different after all. It is important to think about the learner's reaction to our design choices and how they can effectively get us to a learning outcome that we hope to see. The frameworks are a great place to start but it gets much more complicated as many share attributes with one another. What is more crucial is understanding our learners and their needs so that we can best design an experience that allows for diversity and accessibility in learning.