Core definition Explanatory context Related terms and concepts Key research reports Policy Implications Implications for stakeholder groups Implications for teachers Implications for researchers Implications for learning technologists and other support staff Practical applications

Core definition

"Designing for learning" is the process of creating curricula through the specification of purposeful activities. Typically, it is assumed that these activities will make reference to the learners, the learning environment and the intended learning outcomes.

Explanatory context

The phrase "designing for learning" developed in the field of e-learning in 2003-4. It was, in part, an attempt to redefine interests relating to curriculum design with technology. Another phrase, "learning design", was already in use but had very technical connotations. This was an attempt to introduce a term that focused on pedagogic and experiential elements of the design process, rather than technical ones, but yet still preserved an interest in the role of technology. In this sense, it can be understood as a broader concept than learning design, which is positioned as being one way of undertaking the process of designing for learning. The term gained purchase, in part, through its use within the JISC 's e-Learning programme, which introduced the following model:

Adapted from a specification of learning activities H. Beetham 2004 (Source http://www.elearning.ac.uk/effprac/html/design_model.htm)

Related terms and concepts

The term is related to other curriculum design ideas, such as Biggs' notion of constructive alignment, and to the creation of curriculum design support tools.

Key research reports

This term was popularised through its use in JISC activities; for this reason, the following freely available report is useful in setting it in its historical context:

JISC (2004) Effective practice with e-Learning. Higher Education Funding Council for England: Bristol.

http://www.elearning.ac.uk/effprac/

However, a more scholarly development of the idea was undertaken in an edited book:

Beetham, H. & Sharpe, R. (2007) Rethinking Pedagogy for a Digital Age: designing and delivering e-learning. London: Routledge.

Subsequently, the idea shaped a series of JISC-funded projects under the design for learning strand , including the development of pedagogic planning tools. These related the process of designing for learning to an idea from architecture, than of the pattern language, resulting in an approach that emphasised building and reusing learning design patterns. Useful papers on this include:

Goodyear, P., De Laat, M. & Lally, V. (2006) Using pattern languages to mediate theory-praxis conversations in design for networked learning . ALT-J, 14 (3), 211-223.

San Diego, J., Laurillard, D., Boyle, T., Bradley, C., Ljubojevic, D., Neumann, T. & Pearce, D. (2008) Towards a user-oriented analytical approach to learning design . ALT-J, 16 (1), 15 - 29

Current developments in this area are taking place through the Learning Design Support Environment project (LDSE), funded under TLRP-TEL, and involving many of the researchers involved in earlier projects in this area.

Policy Implications

The concept of designing for learning is often invoked in relation to the re-use of content. Content re-use is argued to be an efficient way of creating courses, particularly where these involve large amounts of digital materials, thus reducing the development time required. The idea of designing for learning explains why this rarely works as expected: the content is simply one element of a more complex process, and much of the effort required for effective designing for learning arises from the need to adapt this material to the setting and the needs of particular groups of learners.

Implications for stakeholder groups

Implications for teachers

The model of designing for learning can be used to provide a checklist of issues to consider when creating (or re-developing) a course. An example of this is provided by the effective practice planner.

Implications for researchers

"Designing for learning" emphasises the social processes around the use of technology in the curriculum. Used as a model, it provides both an analytic terminology for exploring cases and also a focus for further exploratory work. It also locates this practice within established theoretical traditions such as Activity Theory. However, there remain questions about how best to put this model into practice. This has led to development projects that have created and refined software tools that implement particular models of how to design for learning. Two examples of these include the Phoebe project (led by Marion Manton and Liz Masterman, Department of Continuing Education, Oxford University) and the London Pedagogy Planner (led by Diana Laurillard, Institute of Education, London Knowledge Lab and London Metropolitan University).

Implications for learning technologists and other support staff

As noted above, the model of designing for learning lends itself to implementation in the form of a resource that can be used to support or guide practice. This makes it useful for academic development such as programmes for new lecturers or workshops around curriculum development. The formalised output from such planning tools may also have value as evidence in validation or other quality assurance processes.

Practical applications

Much of the work that has been described in terms of this concept has been undertaken through JISC-funded projects. Examples of these are given below.

Newcastle United Football Club Learning Centre: Extending opportunities for learning

http://www.elearning.ac.uk/effprac/html/casestudy1.htm

This case study describes the use of e-learning to enable learners to negotiate their own learning goals and select individualised pathways to learning.

Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College, Darlington: Developing evaluative skills

http://www.elearning.ac.uk/effprac/html/casestudy2.htm

This case study describes how e-learning resources have been used to develop understanding of key concepts and the ability to evaluate resources.

North Trafford College: Managing your learning

http://www.elearning.ac.uk/effprac/html/casestudy3.htm

This case study explains how e-learning has been used in conjunction with other modes of delivery on a vocational course to allow learners with differing learning styles to build and test theories and assess their own learning.

University of Highlands and Islands, Perth College: Learning through discussion

http://www.elearning.ac.uk/effprac/html/casestudy4.htm

This case study explores the impact of online discussion on the construction of conceptual understanding and, by overcoming barriers of distance, on the development of a group identity among widely dispersed learners.

Oxford Brookes University: Assessing your learning

http://www.elearning.ac.uk/effprac/html/casestudy5.htm

This case study from a higher education institution shows the impact of online formative assessment on the ability of learners to acquire conceptual knowledge in the early stages of a course.

Fermanagh College: Any time, any place learning

http://www.elearning.ac.uk/effprac/html/vcasestudy1.htm

This video case study reveals how e-learning resources can change classroom practice and how an institution evolved techniques to support learning outside of the classroom.

University of Central England (UCE): Developing problem-solving skills

http://www.elearning.ac.uk/effprac/html/vcasestudy2.htm

This video case study explores how higher education students use multi-media resources as part of a problem–solving pedagogical approach.