Module 2 introduction

Hello and welcome to Module 2 Ding’s Learning Design Bootcamp! Well done for all your work in completing the first module, and I hope you’re feeling warmed up. Because in Module 2 we’re really going to start stretching your learning design muscles!

In this module, we’re focusing on curriculum design, and on learning outcomes in particular. I believe that learning outcomes are the single most important aspect of learning design. The reason is that learning outcomes inform all decisions about the learning activities, assessment and technology in a programme of learning. 

At Ding, we like to give things silly names to make them more memorable. We believe that poor learning outcomes produce painful problems, and we call these problems the Jelly, the Ticking Bomb, and the Time Trap. Let’s start with the Jelly. Learning outcomes are the things that give structure to a learning experience. They inform the learning journey from beginning to end, create a sense of progression and enable you to assess what learners have learned. If your learning outcomes are unclear and ineffective, then this is what you have: a wobbly, jelly-like mess. A course with no structure. A learning experience with no substance. 

The second problem is the ticking bomb. If your learning outcomes are poorly designed, you risk creating conditions in which assessment is partial, subjective and off-topic. Assessment is important for three key reasons: it is often what motivates learners to engage, it tells them what they need to do to pass, and it also forms the legal contract between you and your learners. If you don’t know what you’re assessing, and students don’t know either, you produce a ticking bomb of complaints and conflict. So clear learning outcomes are essential for both learners and teachers.

And the third problem is the time trap. Assessing learning takes time, but trying to assess using badly-written learning outcomes takes even longer. Learning outcomes show you and your learners what you’re looking for in their work, but if the learning outcomes are unclear then learners can spend a lot of time producing work that is irrelevant. This in turn makes assessing their learning even more time-consuming, frustrating and soul-destroying (cut to picture of me bashing my head against a wall..?)

So here’s what we’re going to be doing in Module 2: We’re going to start by looking at something called Bloom’s Taxonomy, which is a handy list of verbs we can use to remove the jelly from our learning outcomes. Then you’re going to have a go at identifying issues with learning outcomes and rewriting them. After that, I’m going to help you write effective aims and learning outcomes from scratch. And for your Module 2 assignment, I’m going to guide you through creating a complete rubric and grading descriptors for a course.

So let’s get started!