Design Research Intelligent questioning for effective designs

Design research Analysis is the study we do in order to figure out what to do.” - Rossett, Allison & Sheldon, Kendra (2001). eLearning design research provides the background information a learning designer may need before commencing planning and development. It defines learning design and provides information about learning theories and their relationship to successful learning design.

Step 1: Define the Purpose What is the purpose of this project? Why are you doing this instruction? It's important to know WHY you are teaching WHAT you are teaching. This includes how the student or others will benefit from the knowledge or skills involved. The first step is to identify which needs will be met through the project. Find out by talking to others. Consult any course brief you can lay your hands on-local, national or international Use analysis worksheet 1

Step 2: Identify the Needs What are students supposed to learn to do? (Their Goals at a given mastery level) What can they already do before instruction? (Actual current abilities) What knowledge and skills do they still need to learn to reach the required mastery level? (The Gap between what they are suppose to learn and what they already know will be the focus of your instruction) Use analysis worksheet 2

Step 3: Identify Learner Characteristics Who are the learners? How much do you know about the individuals and groups of learners you are designing for? Learner analysis is the step that gives you answers to shape all the work you do to fit your learners as you prepare your content, media, and learning activities. Identify learner characteristics that may affect the learning. What is their attitude? Age & grade? What background experience do they have? Use analysis worksheet 3 Good Advice: Find out all you can about your learners so you can make decisions to match their goals, preferences, and abilities as closely as possible in your project. If you get this part wrong in interpreting how well the learners will use your project, then it will be harder to fix later. It may actually make your project fail. Matching your learners well to your project will save you time, effort, and money.

Step 4: Identifying the Learning Environment Where will students use your project? Will they use your instructional media project alone or with other students? Does only the teacher use it in class presentations? What are the delivery options? Identify the learning environment you can expect. What is the place like? For how many people? Sometimes decisions like this are out of your control, but sometimes you can set up the learning environment how you prefer. Use analysis worksheet 4

Step 5: Discover the Technical Constraints Constraints are things that limit you, shape your options, or hold you back from your goal. These constraints usually involve Budget, Time, Equipment, and Availability. Some wise people say, "Never trust technology. Have a back- up plan." Sometimes you think everything is in order, and you still get surprised. Technical difficulties are common. This happens in every project, but you can protect yourself from too many surprises and constraints. Good planning is the key to getting better results by overcoming technical hurdles and saving you fewer headaches. Use analysis worksheet 5

Step 6: Write Objectives No matter what size your project or lesson is: Write effective objectives. Write objectives that tell what students will be able to do during and after your module.

Other questions to consider before and during the design phase of an elearning project

Assess level of learning outcome Different modules and units seek different learning outcomes. Those with elements from entry level programs typically seek to develop learners’ knowledge levels and familiarity with aspects of a discipline. In other cases, the modules may aim for learners to be able to apply knowledge, more than simply knowing and being aware. At the highest level, outcomes will often seek to extend learners’ understanding of problem solving, which can be very high level learning outcomes. The level of learning outcome plays a large part in the choice of learning design. Problem Solving Understanding Knowledge acquisition

Assess level of guidance This factor describes the degree to which a learning design should direct the learner in the activities they undertake. For the lower levels of learning, a high degree of instructional direction is appropriate. This recognizes that the setting will potentially be the learner’s entry into the field and discipline. For higher levels of learning, a less directed setting is desirable as the learner recognizing the learners’ ability to make meaningful choices with better mental models upon which to build new knowledge. Low guidance Medium guidance High guidance

Assess content focus This factor describes the nature of the material to which the learner is best exposed. There should be a relatively high level of focus on content and information for settings that seek to develop lower level knowledge. When higher order learning is sought, learning designs typically need to focus on the application of knowledge and for the highest levels; content that focuses on evaluation is needed. evaluation Application Information

Assess content application Across different forms of learning it is possible to describe outcomes that relate to application of the content in a continuum that moves from ‘procedural’ (learning to apply fixed and set processes, objective inputs), through to ‘interpretive’ (learning to apply processes that involve judgments and subjective inputs), through to ‘creative’ (learning to apply processes and procedures with high degrees of open-endedness and creativity). Typically, procedural outcomes have one correct answer; interpretive outcomes involve levels of judgment in their application and can have mixed responses; and creative processes have no one right answer and depend very much on the expertise of the learner. Creative Interpretative Procedural

Assess learner freedom As learners develop expertise and capabilities in a domain, further learning is enhanced through the development of their ability to monitor and self-regulate their learning experiences. For this reason, entry level learners are more suited to learning that is more directive than non- directive. For higher- order learning, appropriate learning designs need to reflect increasing levels of learner freedom and choice in the activities and tasks that form the environment. High medium Low

Assess learning form As we consider the types of activity in which learners participate to bring about the forms of intended learning, a new continuum is used. The continuum moves from ‘practicing’ (repeating a process and developing a performance capability in a fixed and standard form), through to ‘choosing’ (making choices, in the act of practicing), to ‘designing’ (practicing which involves elements of creativity and judgment). Designing Choosing Practicing

Assessing Learner preference Depending on the nature of the learning objectives and outcomes, and the experiences of the target audience, often it is possible to identify a preferred form of learning that should underpin a learning design. Learner preferences can be described over a continuum leading from quite ‘teacher- centred’ presentation of information, through collaborative learning with peers to independent ‘learner-centred’ approaches. Learner centered Working with peers Teacher centered

Engagement Different forms of learner engagement are suggested by this framework. In the left column, the forms of learner activity that are associated with the knowledge acquisition include ‘reading, browsing, watching, describing, and reviewing’. Forms of engagement appropriate to the centre of the continuum include ‘comparing, planning, questioning, seeking, organising’ and the right end of the continuum describing engagement includes such learner activities as ‘investigating, inquiring, analysing, evaluating and synthesising’. investigating, inquiring, analysing, evaluating, synthesising comparing, planning, questioning, seeking, organising reading, browsing, watching, describing, reviewing