What is it about?
The chapter in the Handbook of Research in Online Learning introduces two tools—a rubric of evidence-based design principles to measure active learning and an outcomes mapping protocol linking learning design to learning outcomes. A case study is provided to illustrate the use of the two tools and how the design principles positively enhance students learning experiences.
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Why is it important?
The COVID-19 pandemic has widened an already steep achievement gap. Authentic learning experiences hold the promise to address current learning losses because they are known to deepen learning transfer (Reilly & Reeves, 2022). They also serve to re-engage learners by making learning more real-world and culturally relevant to them and as such can decrease learner absenteeism and increase interest in academic pursuits. Finally, research ties active learning to the development of important future-facing skills (Reilly & Reeves, 2023) as learners engage in authentic tasks of relevance to them. Now more than ever, there is a need to deploy authentic learning experiences so that the most vulnerable learners in the education system are supported. This is particularly true for online modes of delivery which have failed to take into consideration these evidence-based principles for design.
Perspectives
While authentic learning experiences are at the nexus of so many pressing education issues, they also face challenges to be implemented at scale. A foremost reason is that authentic learning experiences require a paradigm shift from teaching to learning. They require creativity in order to customize learning experiences to the local context and culture. They require time and instructional design support to design, develop, and implement. Precisely because they are authentic, they resist automation. The current challenges present an unprecedented impetus for change. We launched reDesignED to support the field of education in this important transformation.
Christiane Reilly
reDesignED
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Active Learning by Design, September 2024, Brill,
DOI: 10.1163/9789004702813_006.
You can read the full text:
Resources
Refining active learning design principles through design-based research
This design-based research (DBR) study grappled with how to better define active learning so that the design principles can guide the development of more powerful learning experiences for students. As part of its design intervention, a team of instructional designers iteratively developed a rubric, and over a three-year-span conducted course reviews of undergraduate courses at all levels that resulted in active learning scores which made active learning measurable. Courses in the low active range underemphasized learning sciences research about the constructive, situated, self-regulated, and collaborative nature of learning. Courses in the medium active learning range (the majority of them) showed representation of some of the design principles but did not create authentic contexts for learning. Courses in the high active learning range followed scientific findings that learning is constructed by the learner through interactions with others and the world.
Tracking transdisciplinary skills in the design of online courses
This design-based research study grappled with the need to map higher-order skills to the learning activities and assessments that foster them. Through its design intervention, the study developed an outcomes table that supports educators in mapping multiple levels of outcomes (disciplinary standards, program-specific competencies, and higher-order skills) to the curriculum. The benefits of adopting the outcomes mapping protocol are: 1) checking the alignment between learning design and learning outcomes, 2) analyzing any curriculum against multiple sets of standards, 3) identifying gaps and strengths in the curriculum, 4) redesigning the curriculum in more targeted ways, 5) preparing for learning outcomes analytics. The mapping protocol also provides visual evidence that authentic learning experiences are responsible for fostering these sought after skills and dispositions. As such, the outcomes mapping protocol provides a practical way forward to improve teaching practice, the learning experience of students, and consequently learning outcomes.
Keep it real: The benefits of authentic tasks in contemporary learning environments
This chapter responds to the failure of engaging learners when the world of education was catapulted nearly overnight into online remote teaching during the pandemic. The resulting learning losses have raised awareness of the need for more evidence-based practices. The authentic task design-principles introduced in this chapter are core to providing learner-centered experiences and the implication for design go beyond pandemic recovery. The case study introduces an expanded set of design principles through a course redesign so that readers can follow the transformation of a course that scores low in active learning to a course that affords learners multiple lines of inquiry into an academically complex task to develop their cognitive, social, and emotional capabilities simultaneously while also providing them with the opportunity for social connection which develops a belonging mindset.
reDesignED
reDesignED is a living laboratory for transformative practices in education. We bring together researchers, learning scientists, instructional designers, educators, students and community partners to collaboratively reimagine teaching and learning for a more equitable and sustainable future. Our research-based design initiatives result in usable knowledge about how to apply transformational educational practices and tools to solve real-world challenges.
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