Tools and strategies to support learning design

About: Tools and strategies to support learning design

Outcomes:

Understand the approaches to learning design based on activity-based, collaborative and contextually relevant learning principles.
Develop skills to use of module design tools to support the development of modules

The foci of this engagement are to:

An introduction to Expansive Learning.
Use of the Planner App and an Evaluation tool to support the development of modules.
Exploration of ChatGPT to develop content for authentic learning.

Learnings:

Understand how to navigate and create a module using the Planner App.
Develop an understanding of how to create ChatGPT prompts to support the development of authentic tasks that include background information, task guidelines and authentic assessment.

Certificate of Completion:
To receive your Certificate of Completion, please evaluate this module and complete the five true/false questions.

Focus areaTeaching and Learning

Mode of deliveryHybrid

ParticipantsEducational Technologists, Learning Designers

Theory of ChangeDoing

DifficultyBasic (No prior knowledge required)

PedagogyTransformative (Authentic learning)

Expansive Learning

In the previous module we:

Critically examined a structure of the online learning course to better understand how topics, learning activities and assessments are interconnected, ensuring a cohesive and effective education experience;
Developed an understanding of the use of media to support and enhance learning through explicit mediation improving student engagement and understanding;
Developed knowledge of the key media components that significantly influence the design and implementation of technology-mediated learning frameworks, ensuring their effective integration and utilisation in educational settings; and
Understood the approach to learning designed based on activity-based, collaborative and contextually relevant learning principles.

We would now like to introduce a process associated with Expansive Learning that further supports the development of good learning design.

Any theory of learning must answer at least four central questions: (1) Who are the subjects of learning, how are they defined and located? (2) Why do they learn, what makes them make the effort? (3) What do they learn, what are the contents and outcomes of learning? and (4) How do they learn, what are the key actions or processes of learning? (p. 133) ... Standard theories of learning are focused on processes where a subject (traditionally an individual, more recently possibly also an organization) acquires some identifiable knowledge or skills in such a way that a corresponding, relatively lasting change in the behaviour of the subject may be observed. It is a self-evident presupposition that the knowledge or skill to be acquired is itself stable and reasonably well defined. There is a competent "teacher" who knows what is to be learned. The problem is that much of the most intriguing kinds of learning in work organizations violates this presupposition. People and organizations are all the time learning something that is not stable, not even defined or understood ahead of time. In important transformations of our personal lives and organizational practices, we must learn new forms of activity which are not yet there. They are literally learned as they are being created. There is no competent teacher. (pp. 137-138)
Engeström (2001) i

Engeström’s four questions are: Who is learning? Why do they learn? What do they learn? How do they learn? These were further developed by Saide to support a learning design that includes teaching and learning pedagogy, authentic learning and assessment (Fig. 1) We will explore the use of a number of tools that include the Planner App i, ChatGPT i and an Evaluator tool i.

Fig. 1: Five questions to guide learning design and evaluation.

The Planner App is structured around these five questions, which we explore below.

The title of the short learning module.

A title is important because it captures the essence of the content, sets the tone, and grabs the audience's attention, guiding their expectations and understanding.

Where do we start?

The first question in the design framework requires you to take a step back and ask big-picture questions.

For example:

Focus area (Student Support; Present, Report and Analyse Data; Institutional Change; Teaching and Learning)
Mode of delivery (Campus, Hybrid, Remote)
Participants
Language
Theory of change (Knowing; Doing, Transforming learning; Transforming institution)
Difficulty (Basic - No prior knowledge required; Intermediate - Prior knowledge required; Complex - Prior knowledge required)
Pedagogy (Didactic - Information transmission; Technology as mediator; Transformative - Authentic learning)

In addition, to guide the development you need to describe: Outcomes, Foci and an Overview.

What needs to be learnt and how?

The second question in the design process takes a closer look at content and how it is presented to support learning, i.e. the underpinning pedagogical approach. How will the learning process be structured to promote a social-constructivist pedagogic approach?

Align content (including the nature of activities) to the stated learning outcomes.
Sequence and scaffold the content carefully and consider how the learning pathway will unfold?
Content provided should be accurate, up-to-date, relevant, and free of discrimination.
Is the content knowledge presented as changing and debatable, rather than fixed and unquestionable?
Are authentic activities or sets of activities integrated across outcomes/topics in the full course module?
Do they provide learners with appropriately complex, integrated and diverse problems to solve?

In addition, it is good practice to introduce the topic, create an authentic activity and include reflection. The Planner App includes several widgets (see below) to help you scaffold content and interactions.

How to support participants to succeed?

The third question in the design/evaluation framework ties together context and content by looking at how learning activities serve to mediate learning and engage learners in meaningful dialogue and reflection to support learning?

Are clear guidelines and explanations provided for students to navigate effectively through the learning materials?
Are the activities appropriately developed to align with the learning pathway and assessment strategy?
Are learning activities well-structured and are sufficient guidelines (scaffolding) provided to enable learning?.
Does the learning design motivate students by engaging them in meaningful dialogue, encouraging reflection and providing feedback from others to guide their thinking?
Does the learning design provide students with a range of opportunities for meaningful discussion and communication and collaborative engagement with their peers? As well as with more knowledgeable others where appropriate?
Where appropriate, is the written text complemented with visual and other accessible multi-media?
Is technology used to support communication, collaboration and mediate learning (not just to disseminate information)?
Does the learning design provide a range of opportunities for meaningful communication with peers e.g. discussion forums?

How will you know what has been learnt?

The fourth question focuses on identifying opportunities for assessment in activity-based learning and integrating formative assessment tasks.

Does the module design incorporate authentic assessment tasks in which students have the opportunity to apply new knowledge and skills to solving real life problems?
Does assessment should take account all six of Bloom’s cognitive levels, rather than simply focusing only on level 1 and 2 (i.e. recall and explanation)?
Does the assessment design shift assessment practice from a focus on testing what learners know, mainly by way of recalling the content learnt, to applying knowledge and skills in a real-world context?
Are assessment tasks aligned to the stated learning outcomes/objectives?
Is assessment integrated into teaching and learning? i.e. formative assessment for learning?

Apart from authentic formative assessment, consider how you would design authentic summative assessment as well.

How can you be sure of good-quality learning?

The fifth question asks you to reflect on and evaluate the learning design with the view to adapting or strengthening it.
Does the learning design invite and create a structured opportunity for reflection or ask for feedback from the learners?

Widgets

1: Information. 2. Activity template. 3. Resources. 4: Quotation. 5. Timeline. 6. YouTube video.

Exploring the Planner App Interface

Click or tap to view the presentation below.

Activity 1: Exploring the Planner App

Suggested time:

45 minutes

Authentic Scenario:

Your Institutional Siyaphumelela Lead has requested that you explore how to create a short learning module using the Panner App. The development of the Siyaphumelela Learning Module or Workshops requires two web components (An About webpage detailing the objectives of the module, and a fully online Website module). The About website informs potential participants about the short learning module or workshop (i.e. Where do you start?).

Task:

User the Planner Tool to develop an About page. You can work in groups or on your own. However, we believe that working together is always better (30 minutes in break-away rooms).
In plenary, share your experiences of using the Planner Tool (15 minutes).

Outcomes:

Understand how to navigate and create a module using the Planner App.

Learning Design and ChatGPT

ChatGPT can be used as a tool to support authentic learning design including the design of authentic tasks and assessments, thus supporting the creation of learning experiences that are meaningful, relevant, and aligned with real-world contexts. For example, you could prompt ChatGPT to assist you to design a number of different types of activities or tasks, including to design:

A scenario related to a particular topic or practice and set a task in which the course
A case study related to a particular topic or area of practice, or to design,
An authentic activity in which course participants can apply their knowledge and skills related to a particular.

Note:

The quality of the ChatGPT output depends on the quality of the prompt (the input), this may require more than one attempt as you learn how to refine your prompts.
Once Content has been generated by Chat GPT, it remains imperative that you check that the content is factually correct, and relevant to your specific context.
ChatGPT may do the spade work, but you need to take the final responsibility for reviewing and editing the content.
All ChatGPT contents needs to be appropriately referenced e.g. OpenAI (2024), ChatGPT https://chatgpt.com/

The scenario and related tasks, below, generated by ChatGPT, exemplify how you could use ChatGPT to support your learning design.

Prompts used to generate the example below:

A brief description of academic advising provided.
A brief description of a typical first year student from a rural context provided.
Prompt: Using the information provided, create a scenario in which in which Peer Advisors are required to analyse the scenario, identify issues, and propose solutions that they might provide to support a first year, first generation rural student attending university in a metropolitan area.

Example - Academic Advising Peer Advisors:

Tasks for Trainee Peer Advisors
Scenario Analysis Task
You are a trainee peer advisor at a university in Bloemfontein. One of your advisees, Sipho, is a first-year student from a rural area in KwaZulu-Natal. He completed his national senior certificate at a quintile 1 school and is the first person in his family to attend university. This is also his first time traveling far from home and living away from his family. Sipho has been granted a NSFAS bursary, including a book allowance of over R5,000 and a personal allowance of over R3,000 for the year—this is the largest amount of money he has ever had.
Your task:

Analyse the scenario:
Identify and describe the key challenges Sipho might be facing in his transition to university life in Bloemfontein. Consider his background, new environment, financial situation, and the psychological impact of being the first in his family to attend university.
Identify potential issues:
List the specific issues Sipho might encounter in the following areas:

Cultural and social adjustment
Academic expectations
Financial management
Emotional and mental well-being

Propose solutions:

For each identified issue, propose specific, actionable solutions or strategies that you, as a peer advisor, can implement to support Sipho. Ensure your solutions are practical and consider both short-term and long-term support mechanisms.
Include strategies for helping Sipho manage his NSFAS bursary responsibly, stay on top of his academic work, and integrate socially and culturally into university life

Prepare a support plan:
Develop a comprehensive support plan that outlines how you would monitor Sipho's progress throughout the semester. Consider regular check-ins, mentoring sessions, and referrals to additional university resources
Reflect and Discuss:

Reflect on how your proposed solutions align with the goals of academic advising at the your university, particularly in terms of fostering a sense of belonging, academic success, and personal growth for Sipho.
Be prepared to discuss your analysis and proposed solutions in a peer advisor training session, where you will share your insights and receive feedback.

Outcome:
This exercise will help you develop the skills needed to provide holistic and empathetic support to first-year students like Sipho, ensuring they have a successful and fulfilling university experience.

ChatGPT Demonstration

In the following activity you are provided with an opportunity to practice using ChatGPT as a tool to support your learning design and development.

Activity 2: Exploring ChatGPT

Suggested time:

45 minutes

Task:

Use ChatGPT ito develop a scenario related to the Siyaphumelela area of student success that you will focus on in the short learning programme that your institution will design and develop.
The target group are participants from Siyaphumelela Partner Institutions that will be engaging in your short learning programme.
The authentic tasks set for the participants should require them to analyse the scenario, identify issues or barriers to student success in the particular area of student success that is the focus of your short learning programme, and propose strategies and approaches for dealing with these.
You can work in groups or on your own (30 minutes).
In plenary, share your experiences of using ChatGPT and reflect on the relevance and quality of the content generated (15 minutes).

Outcomes:

Develop an understanding of how to create ChatGPT prompts to support the development of authentic tasks that include background information, task guidelines and authentic assessment.

Use of the Planner App, Evaluation Tool and ChatGPT (Homework)

During the past two engagements you:

Critically examined a structure of the online learning course to better understand how topics, learning activities and assessments are interconnected, ensuring a cohesive and effective education experience;
Developed an understanding of the use of media to support and enhance learning through explicit mediation improving student engagement and understanding;
Developed knowledge of the key media components that significantly influence the design and implementation of technology-mediated learning frameworks, ensuring their effective integration and utilisation in educational settings;
Understood the approach to learning designed based on activity-based, collaborative and contextually relevant learning principles; and
Developed skills to use of design tools to support the development of modules (Planner Appi, the Evaluator tooli and ChatGPT i).

For the next session, we would like you on your own, or in a group, to develop:

A short learning module that should include at least two authentic tasks.
Present your/your team’s short learning module in plenary for discussion and constructive feedback.
Reflect on and evaluate your engagement with the tools used for this task.

Certificate of Completion: Please evaluate this module and complete a quiz.

Module Evaluation

Enter your Title, Name and Surname:

Enter you institution:

How familiar are you with the theoretical components in the module?

Not familiar

Very familiar

I will be able to implement the theoretical components of this module.

Strongly disagree

Disagree

Neutral

Agree

Strongly agree

I participated in the activities during the this module.

Strongly disagree

Disagree

Neutral

Agree

Strongly agree

What is your overall impression of the module?

Poor

Fair

Good

Very good

Excellent

The pace of this module is:

Too slow

Just right

Too fast

What two aspects of this module did you find most relevant?

How could this module be improved?

Content Quiz
Click or tap the statements that are true.
To receive your certificate you need to score at least 80%. Use the Check My Score button below to review your progress and update the true statements. Once your score is 80% or higher, the Submit button will be become active.

In expansive learning, learners are considered active participants in the creation of knowledge.

In expansive learning, the outcomes are predetermined by the instructor or organisation.

The learning design should motivate learners by engaging them in meaningful dialogue using reflection and feedback from others.

ChatGPT can create scenario-based learning tasks that involve students analysing a situation and proposing solutions.

ChatGPT can help design research and inquiry-based tasks where students investigate real-world problems and present their findings.

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