How can educators be supported in creating meaningful learning design?

Keywords: Learning Design, BDP Concept and Tool, Learning Analytics, Design Analytics, Constructive Alignment

Target readers: educators, learning designers, researchers

Authors: Prof. Blaženka Divjak & Barbi Svetec

Blaženka Divjak is a Professor of Mathematics at the University of Zagreb, Faculty of Organization and Informatics. Besides mathematics, her area of research interest is focused on learning analytics, learning design, AI in education, quality assurance in education, and decision-making. She is currently a vice-president of SOLAR.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/blaženka-divjak-4963913/

Barbi Svetec is a PhD student and a research assistant at the University of Zagreb, Faculty of Organization and Informatics. Her research is focused on learning analytics and learning design.

HOW CAN EDUCATORS BE SUPPORTED IN CREATING MEANINGFUL LEARNING DESIGN?

About learning design

Learning design is a concept which has been around in the teaching practice and research community for roughly 20 years. Shortly, it refers to the detailed planning of teaching and learning activities, and related resources and support, in line with the chosen pedagogical approach. As such, learning design leads to the efficient acquisition of the intended learning outcomes (LOs) by students. It also enables the sharing of ideas and good practices among educators and is beneficial for the planning of different modes of delivery, including face-to-face, online, blended and hybrid.

Over the years, various tools have been developed to support learning design, and today the emphasis is on using the potentials provided by technology. One such tool is the innovative Balanced Learning Design Planning (BDP) tool, developed by the Faculty of Organization and Informatics of the University of Zagreb (Divjak et al., 2022; Divjak et al., 2023b): https://learning-design.eu/en

Innovative features of the BDP concept and tool

Although learning design aims at neutrality and supporting various pedagogies, the BDP concept and tool are strongly student-centred, aiming to meet the real learning needs of students. Firstly, the BDP is based on LOs, with a focus on constructive alignment between them, teaching and learning activities and, importantly, assessment. The BDP also considers the alignment of LOs at the subject/course level with those of the entire study program. Secondly, the BDP pays attention to the planning of student workload.

To ensure that the planned learning design is balanced, the BDP takes advantage of learning analytics, or more precisely, design analytics. It provides the learning designer with detailed analytics which can help fine-tune the design. This can lead to the better use of the intended pedagogical approach and contribute to the quality assurance in the planning phase. For example, comparison between LO prioritization, assessment points and student workload can provide substantial support to ensuring the constructive alignment and student-centeredness of a course. (Divjak et al., 2023a)

What also stands out as a particularly innovative feature of the BDP tool is the possibility to scaffold learning design directly in the Moodle LMS. This means that, for every course developed with the BDP tool, in just a couple of clicks, learning design can be transferred directly to Moodle, resulting in an e-course structure with appropriate resource types. Besides the clear practical benefits for educators, this feature presents an important technological basis for further possibilities in terms of comparison of course design and delivery, which can be valuable not only in quality assurance, but also in comparison of different courses, with useful implications for student mobility and recognition. (Divjak et al., 2024)

And finally, current experimental work in the BDP tool is focused on the AI assistant feature. The AI assistant enables learning designers to plan or upgrade their courses using the proposals for LOs, topics, units, and details of teaching and learning activities, based on predefined prompts.

Steps in learning design with the BDP tool

In the first step, we try to define the LOs of the subject/course as clearly as possible. As not all LOs are equally complex or important, we assign each with a relative weight in relation to others. To determine the relative weights, we can use various methods, from simple group discussion among subject/course teachers and students, to more complex multi-criteria decision-making methods (Divjak et al., 2023a).

Fig. 1. Learning Design in the AI Era: example of LOs with weights

In the second step, we should constructively align the defined LOs with other elements of learning design. We plan teaching and learning activities of the following types: acquisition, discussion, investigation, practice, production, assessment. Every activity is described in detail, including the respective student workload, mode of delivery, teachers’ feedback to students, possibilities for teamwork and collaboration, as well as links to assessment. For assessment activities, points can be distributed between the LOs.

Fig. 2. Learning Design in the AI Era: example of teaching and learning activities linked with a relevant LO

In the third step, we should check the consistency of the developed learning design. In that process, we also check if the intended pedagogical approach is realised. This is especially useful when we aim at innovative pedagogical approaches, such as work-based learning or flipped classroom. The tool helps us with analytics to establish if, for example, the types of teaching and learning activities, teachers’ presence during learning, feedback provided to students, student workload, and assessment, are in line with the planned approaches and with the intended LOs. Importantly, the tool also provides analyses supporting constructive alignment through comparisons among the prioritization of LOs and assessment points, as well as the foreseen student workload. It is also possible to check how each of the LOs is covered in each of the course topics. We can use such analytics for further improvements of the learning design in the planning phase, while consistency should be further checked during the implementation of the subject/course.

Fig. 3. Learning Design in the AI Era: example of analytics – comparison of LO weights, assessment points and student workload

In the fourth step, we can transfer our learning designs directly to the Moodle LMS, in the form of structured e-courses. In this process, assignment of learning types to teaching and learning activities plays the central role. Namely, after each teaching and learning activity is attributed with the appropriate learning type, a selection of Moodle resources is offered for a learning designer to choose from. Based on the selection, a backup file is created, which can then be imported directly into a Moodle course. This significantly shortens and simplifies the process of e-course development aligned with pedagogically sound learning design. (Divjak et al., 2024)

Fig. 4. Course scaffolding workflow – from Divjak et al., 2024

Learning design and ensuring assessment validity

Sound learning design has an important role in determining assessment validity. The functionalities of the BDP tool support this through detailed learning analytics. Comparing ideal LO weights, based on LO prioritization (Divjak et al., 2023a), with the actual assessment points attributed through different assessment tasks, support educators in making sure that they have planned assessment in line with the intended LOs. Such design analytics support continuous improvement of courses, whether new or existing, in a way to support assessment validity and student-centredness.

Fig. 5. Model of ensuring assessment validity: new courses – from Divjak et al., 2023a

To conclude

Balanced learning design can greatly contribute to the quality and efficiency of teaching, learning and assessment. To explore its potentials, we propose you try out the possibilities offered by the innovative, student-centred BDP tool, available free of charge here: https://learning-design.eu/en/. Make your teaching more balanced and plan courses in a way that constructively guides your students in their learning journeys!

References:

Divjak, B., Grabar, D., Svetec, B., & Vondra, P. (2022). Balanced Learning Design Planning: Concept and Tool. Journal of Information and Organizational Sciences, 46(2). https://doi.org/10.31341/jios.46.2.6

Divjak, B., Svetec, B., Horvat, D., & Kadoić, N. (2023a). Assessment validity and learning analytics as prerequisites for ensuring student‐centred learning design. British Journal of Educational Technology, bjet.13290. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjet.13290

Divjak, B., Rienties, B., Bađari, J., Grabar, D., Horvat, D., & Vondra, P. (2023b). Enhancing Learning Design through User Experience Research: Insights from a Survey in Four European Countries. 34th Central European Conference on Information and Intelligent Systems (CECIIS 2023) Proceedings, 213–221.

Divjak, B., Grabar, D., Svetec, B., Vondra, P. (2024). Automating the Comparison of Learning Design and Delivery Using Course Scaffolding in Moodle. 2024 IEEE 17th International Scientific Conference on Informatics INFORMATICS 2024 Proceedings, 54-59