The emerging field of Learning Experience Design (LXD) is focused on delivering compelling learning experiences. By combining educational psychology, user experience design, and instructional design, LXD aims to create engaging and effective learning experiences tailored to the learner’s needs.
The LXD field is still emerging compared to other areas like instructional design that have existed for decades. Some still need to learn about LXD and its purpose and why it will be integral to how education evolves over the next several decades. Let’s dive into some core elements and examples of learning design.
5 Elements of Learning Design
There are many different approaches to learning design, but one of the most common models talks about the five elements of learning. Those five elements are the following: engage, explore, explain, elaborate, and evaluate.
Learners must engage to be motivated in their learning experience, including understanding why they’re learning these particular topics and connecting them to the educational content. Second, they explore through hands-on experiences and research to understand the ideas on a more advanced level. Third, learners explain what they learned, which helps them clarify their understanding.
The fourth element involves learners elaborating, including further investigation and experimentation. It may also look like learners applying knowledge to different contexts and situations. Lastly, the “evaluate” stage is where learners evaluate their progress and identify where they need to improve.
The elements of learning can vary depending on the approach, but these elements remain critical to the success of learning experiences worldwide.
What Are Some Examples of Learning Design?
There are many different learning design examples, and they can go far beyond the classroom. Designing a learning experience may include creating a simulation, planning a field trip, or creating an online course.
But when it comes to students, what about the importance of elements of the curriculum? There are many different approaches to establishing 10 core elements of curriculum, and the elemets involve much more than the content and objectives of the curriculum. Here are ten elements listed:
- Curriculum objectives
- Content/subject matter
- Learning experiences
- Instructor roles/responsibilities
- Learning environment
- Student engagement
- Collaboration
- Feedback
- Contextual factors
- Assessment/evaluation
On the whole, learning experience design involves considering all of these factors to create a transformative journey for the learner. In addition to this list of factors, many educational institutions focus on the four elements of the curriculum. These four elements were developed by Ralph Tyler, an American educator often called “the father of educational evaluation and assessment”. The four elements are objectives, content, learning experiences, and evaluation.
In designing a curriculum, it is important to create clear and measurable objectives that specify what students should know, understand, and be able to do by the end of the course or program. The content of the curriculum should then be organized around these objectives, ensuring that it is relevant, current, and appropriate for the intended audience.
Additionally, the curriculum should provide various learning experiences that facilitate the achievement of the objectives. To ensure the objectives are being met, the curriculum should include ongoing and formative evaluation methods that provide feedback to students and teachers throughout the learning process. It is crucial that the evaluation is closely tied to the curriculum’s objectives and content, as Tyler emphasized.
While they might not directly follow Tyler’s elements, most LXD professionals must consider these elements when designing learning experiences. With 93% of organizations concerned about employee retention, developing the right learning experiences can be critical to helping to both retain and empower your employees.
Learning experiences don’t have to be (and frankly should stray away from) passive experiences, as experiential learning is becoming more popular with executives and business owners. Many employees appreciate that these experiential learning experiences mirror reality and help highlight relevant workplace issues that they face on a regular basis.
Experiential learning also requires more immersion and engagement, which can go a long way toward improving company culture. According to a report by the National Training Laboratories Institute, learners retain approximately 5% of what they hear in a lecture, 10% of what they read, and 20% of what they see in a multimedia presentation. However, they retain up to 90% of what they do in a real-life situation or simulation.
How Jackrabbit LX Can Help
Creating an effective and engaging training program can be challenging, but our team of Jackrabbit LX experts is here to help. We have significant experience creating, improving, and revamping learning experiences, using research, creativity, and empathy as our guiding principles. With our tried-and-tested process, we can assist you in revamping your existing program or creating an entirely new educational initiative.
Our customized learning solutions are tailored to your organization’s needs, whether we’re creating learning experiences for universities, nonprofits, major corporations, or healthcare facilities. Contact us to discuss how we can assist you in creating a memorable and engaging learning experience.
