Designing learning experiences
Once we’ve identified our learning goals, the next step is to come up with strategies to help our students achieve them. These strategies should be informed by our understanding of how people learn and should be tailored to our learners’ needs and interests.
They should also be aligned with our curriculum so that we know our instruction is achieving the desired learning goals.
In particular, when we are thinking about online teaching and learning, there might be certain kinds of lessons, activities, and engagements that are more effective when used online than when they are used in face-to-face teaching, and there might be those that are less effective than in the classroom when they are used online.
Activity: Teaching and Learning Strategies
Think about the different kinds of experiences teachers and students have in the classroom and when learning online.
Produce two lists, one that records activities that work well in the classroom but less well when used online, and one list that records activities that work well online but less well when used in the classroom.
Review the two lists you have made. Are there any trends or patterns in the two lists?
What sorts or kinds of activities work best face to face and which sorts of kinds of activities work best online?
How can we use these insights to help us choose the right activities for online learning?
Designing for Student Engagement
A common concern teachers express when talking about online teaching and learning is how to fully engage their students.
When we are designing for online teaching and learning this should be one of our priorities. We can promote engaged learning experiences by keeping three key principles in mind. As Daniel Pink states:
“Engagement is the result of providing people with autonomy, mastery, and purpose.”
Pink, D. (2009). Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us. Riverhead Books.
Let’s dig deeper into what this means for online instructional design.
Autonomy
When Daniel Pink talks about autonomy he is referring to the need for learners to have control over their learning. This could mean having the freedom to choose how, when, and where they learn, or it could be the chance to have a say in what they learn, how they learn it, and how they are assessed. Giving learners autonomy is key to engaging them in their learning and helping them to take ownership of their learning journey.
Mastery
When talking about mastery, Pink is referring to the need for learners to be able to make progress and develop their skills, knowledge, and understanding. It is about learners being able to see the progress they have made and having the opportunity to continuously improve and develop their abilities as well as to look back and feel a sense of accomplishment. Mastery is about providing learners with the tools and resources they need to make progress and feel confident in their learning.
Purpose
Finally, when talking about purpose, Pink is referring to the need for learners to understand why they are learning something and to have a larger goal or vision of the value of what they are learning. Providing learners with a sense of purpose helps to motivate them and to give them a reason to engage with learning that is bigger than themselves. It is also important to help learners understand the relevance of what they are learning and to help them to see how their learning can be more broadly applicable to the real world.
When it comes to achieving student engagement in online learning environments, autonomy, mastery, and purpose can be used as powerful design tools.
By providing learners with autonomy, mastery, and purpose, teachers can help to engage and motivate their students in online learning environments.
Reflection Questions
What roles do autonomy, mastery, and purpose play in your instructional design?
Where do students have opportunities to feel autonomy, mastery, and purpose in their studies?
Are there ways in which you could increase the presence of autonomy, mastery, and purpose in your current instructional design?