Learning Design, Learning Types, Learning Theories

1. Learning Design - Definitions and Approaches

In the book Teaching as a Design Science (2012, 2021), Laurillard defines learning design as follows: "Learning design is the process in which the teacher designs a sequence of educational activities aligned with the intended learning outcomes, making optimal use of available resources and technologies."

These definitions highlight several important principles:

• The key term used is learning design rather than teaching design, to emphasize the focus on the learner and on learning that should be enabled, guided, and supported through the design of teaching.

• The teacher is often also a designer of learning, not merely an instructor who transmits content.

• Learning is a process in which the teacher/professor and the student/learner actively engage together in activities that lead to meaningful learning supported by teaching.

• Learning design is grounded in planned learning outcomes, with which all other teaching and learning activities are aligned.

• Learning design considers the resources available to teachers and students, as well as the technology that can support the learning and teaching process.

• Learning design requires reflection and an understanding of how people learn; therefore, teachers need to know and apply contemporary learning theories and innovative approaches to learning and teaching based on those theories.

• Learning design is an iterative process that includes redesigning a course based on design analytics and learning analytics, which also include evaluating the orchestration of learning design - that is, course delivery.

• Teaching and learning can also be observed through the phases of design science, fitting into a conceptual framework in which teaching is viewed as an activity of designing and creating.

Figure. Design and implementation of a learning design

Well-known approaches to learning design:

• ABC Learning Design (University College London)

• Open University's Learning Design Initiative (OULDI)

• Balanced Design Planning (BDP) (University of Zagreb, Faculty of Organization and Informatics)

Learning design is often compared to composing music, followed by orchestration (the delivery of teaching).

To emphasise that students actively construct their own knowledge and that the focus is on the learning process, not merely on teaching, modern learning design approaches introduce the concept of learning types, which describe different forms of student activity (e.g., acquisition, inquiry, discussion, collaboration). 

Contemporary learning theories are an important basis for learning design, and the most important characteristics of learning theories will be presented in the following chapters. At the end of this book, references are provided for deepening the knowledge of learning theories.

2. Questions and prompts for reflection

Self-assessment questions

1. What is the difference between learning design and teaching design? Why is the former preferred in contemporary education?
2. Explain what it means that learning design is an iterative process. What roles do design analytics and learning analytics play in this?
3. Give an example of a contemporary technology or digital tool based on a behaviourist approach to learning.
4. In which learning type do students most often apply knowledge by completing tasks and receiving feedback?
5. Which learning type best supports social constructivism? Explain why.
6. How might a higher education teacher use learning types when planning activities in a course?
7. Why is the process of learning design often compared to composing and orchestrating music?

Reflection prompts

1. Which principles of learning design should higher education teachers consider to enhance student engagement?
2. In what ways could you combine different learning types in your course to achieve better alignment with learning outcomes?
3. How can understanding learning theories improve your approach to course design?
4. Which stages or steps of learning design do you find most challenging in your own practice, and why?
5. How would you apply insights about learning design to redesign one of your courses or teaching modules?

3. Learning Types and Their Connection to Learning Theories

Each learning type corresponds to a different kind of cognitive process and has its own pedagogical purpose, as well as a connection to learning theories. The most common learning types are described in the following interaction.

The interaction shows that learning types are deeply rooted in contemporary learning theories, primarily in:

• constructivism (learning through activity, context, and reflection)

• social constructivism (learning through interaction with others)

• cognitive and behavioural theories in some components

Summative assessment has its roots in the behaviourist paradigm, especially when it comes to standardised tests and quizzes with correct/incorrect answers. In contemporary educational approaches, assessment is not exclusively behaviourist – it is often integrated into a broader constructivist or even socioconstructivist context of learning and assessment.

Course design includes balancing several learning types, depending on the learning outcomes and the context.

Laurillard defines six fundamental learning types in the ABC model, developed at University College London. These learning types can be used as a starting point for designing the learning experience. The OULDI model (Conole, 2013), created at the Open University (London) as a systematic approach to visual and collaborative learning design, and the BDP model (Divjak et al., 2022), developed at the University of Zagreb, Faculty of Organization and Informatics, include five and six learning types, respectively.

Comparison of learning types in the BDP, ABC, and OULDI models

Note:

Collaboration in the ABC model is considered a separate learning type.
Assessment in the BDP model is a separate category, while in the ABC and OULDI models it is embedded within other activities (e.g., production, discussion, and reflection).
The BDP model additionally considers formative and summative assessment, as well as delivery modalities, as dimensions that accompany each learning activity type.

4. Learning Theories - Short Overview

5. Further Reading

Laurillard, D. (2012). Teaching as a design science: Building pedagogical patterns for learning and technology. Routledge. ISBN: 9780415803878 

Biggs, J., & Tang, C. (2011). Teaching for quality learning at university: What the student does (4th ed.). McGraw-Hill Education / Open University Press. ISBN: 9780335242757

Conole, G. (2013). Designing for learning in an open world. Springer.

Divjak, B., Grabar, D., Svetec, B., & Vondra, P. (2022). Balanced Learning Design Planning: Concept and Tool. Journal of Information and Organizational Sciences, 46(2), 361–375.

Rienties, B., Balaban, I., Divjak, B., Grabar, D., Svetec, B., & Vondra, P. (2023). Applying and translating learning design and analytics approaches across borders. In O. Viberg & Å. Grönlund (Eds.), Practicable Learning Analytics (pp. 35–53). Springer.

6. References for Further Study

• Constructivism
  
  • Piaget, J. (1950). The Psychology of Intelligence. Routledge.
  • Bruner, J. S. (1966). Toward a Theory of Instruction. Harvard University Press.
  • Fosnot, C. T. (Ed.). (2005). Constructivism: Theory, Perspectives, and Practice (2nd ed.). Teachers College Press.
• Social Constructivism
  
  • Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in Society: The Development of Higher Psychological Processes. Harvard University Press.
• Experiential learning
  
  • Kolb, D. A. (1984). Experiential Learning: Experience as the Source of Learning and Development. Prentice Hall.
  • Dewey, J. (1938). Experience and Education. Macmillan.
• Social Learning / Communities of Practice
  
  • Bandura, A. (1977). Social Learning Theory. Prentice Hall.
  • Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning, and Identity. Cambridge University Press.
• Metacognition and Self-Regulated Learning
  
  • Zimmerman, B. J. (2002). Becoming a Self-Regulated Learner: An Overview. Theory into Practice, 41(2), 64-70.
  • Flavell, J. H. (1979). Metacognition and Cognitive Monitoring: A New Area of Cognitive–Developmental Inquiry. American Psychologist, 34(10), 906–911. 
• Behaviorist Approach to Learning
  
  • Skinner, B. F. (1954). The science of learning and the art of teaching. Harvard Educational Review, 24(2), 86-97.
• Cognitive Learning Theories
  
  • Gagné, R. M. (1985). The conditions of learning and theory of instruction (4th ed.). Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
  • Miller, G. A. (1956). The magical number seven, plus or minus two: Some limits on our capacity for processing information. Psychological Review, 63(2), 81–97.