Learning Experience Design

Learning Experience Architecture

The five-phase rhythm — Why · See · Try · Share · Reflect

Published resource

The end-to-end arc a learner moves through, designed as one coherent journey rather than a sequence of modules. It is the organizing spine of the experience work, and the frame every other contribution in this area extends.

Grounding. Experiential learning (Kolb); the Why→See→Try→Share→Reflect rhythm

Read the Learning Experience Architecture resource

Sources

• Reference 1: Kolb, D. A. (1984). Experiential Learning: Experience as the Source of Learning and Development. Prentice Hall (2nd ed., Pearson, 2015).
• Reference 2: Bransford, J. D., Brown, A. L., & Cocking, R. R. (Eds.). (2000). How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School (Expanded ed.). National Academy Press.

Most related, by shared theory and theme

• Experiential Learning Infrastructure — Experiential · 1 shared source
• Designing for Reflection & Transfer — 1 shared source
• Designing for Motivation & Relevance — editorially linked
• Managing Cognitive Load — editorially linked
• Learning Community Design & Facilitation — editorially linked

Connected contributions

• Designing for Motivation & Relevance
• Experiential Learning Infrastructure
• Designing for Reflection & Transfer

Designing for Motivation & Relevance

Why adult learners engage — or quietly disengage

In development

Anchoring learning to a learner's real circumstances and existing expertise before content is introduced, so relevance and autonomy carry the motivational work. It addresses the most common reason programs fall short: attention and completion that quietly decline.

Grounding. Self-Determination Theory (Ryan & Deci)

Sources

• Reference 3: Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). “Self-Determination Theory and the Facilitation of Intrinsic Motivation, Social Development, and Well-Being.” American Psychologist, 55(1), 68–78.

Most related, by shared theory and theme

• Learning Experience Architecture — editorially linked

Connected contributions

• Learning Experience Architecture

Where this work leads

• Engaging Voluntary & Cautious Adult Learners, on the Universal Design for Learning page

Managing Cognitive Load

Learning that working memory can hold

In development

Chunking, sequencing, worked examples, and multimedia principles that keep dense material within the limits of attention and memory. It matters most where content is genuinely complex, as in research and health settings.

Grounding. Cognitive Load Theory (Sweller); Multimedia Learning (Mayer)

Sources

• Reference 4: Sweller, J. (1988). “Cognitive Load During Problem Solving: Effects on Learning.” Cognitive Science, 12(2), 257–285. See also Sweller, Ayres & Kalyuga, Cognitive Load Theory (Springer, 2011).
• Reference 5: Mayer, R. E. (2009). Multimedia Learning (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press.

Most related, by shared theory and theme

• Learning Experience Architecture — editorially linked

Connected contributions

• Learning Experience Architecture

Where this work leads

• Onboarding Across Wide Experience Ranges, on the Universal Design for Learning page

Experiential Learning Infrastructure

Learning by doing, built to last

Published resource

The conditions and structures that let adult learners practise, make consequential mistakes, and build capability through experience rather than exposure. It treats error as a designed source of feedback, not a failure of instruction.

A resource in two areas. Its home is Learning Experience Design, and it is also part of the Learning Systems Design set.

Grounding. Experiential learning (Kolb); retrieval practice & desirable difficulties (Bjork)

Read the Experiential Learning Infrastructure resource

Sources

• Reference 1: Kolb, D. A. (1984). Experiential Learning: Experience as the Source of Learning and Development. Prentice Hall (2nd ed., Pearson, 2015).
• Reference 6: Bjork, R. A., & Bjork, E. L. (2011). “Making Things Hard on Yourself, but in a Good Way: Creating Desirable Difficulties to Enhance Learning.” In Psychology and the Real World. Worth Publishers.
• Reference 7: Roediger, H. L., & Karpicke, J. D. (2006). “Test-Enhanced Learning: Taking Memory Tests Improves Long-Term Retention.” Psychological Science, 17(3), 249–255.

Most related, by shared theory and theme

• Learning Experience Architecture — Experiential · 1 shared source
• Designing for Reflection & Transfer — Transfer

Connected contributions

• Learning Experience Architecture
• Designing for Reflection & Transfer

Where this work leads

• Inclusive Facilitation & Capacity Building, on the Accessibility page
• Learning Systems Design, on the Learning Systems Design page

Learning Community Design & Facilitation

Peer learning and communities of practice

Published resource

Designing the social layer of learning — structured peer exchange, collaborative sense-making, and communities of practice that let expertise circulate rather than sit in silos. It is also the capability that sustains evidence use in knowledge mobilization.

A resource in two areas. Its home is Learning Experience Design, and it is also part of the Learning Systems Design set.

Grounding. Zone of proximal development (Vygotsky); communities of practice (Wenger)

Read the Learning Community Design & Facilitation resource

Sources

• Reference 8: Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning, and Identity. Cambridge University Press.
• Reference 9: Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in Society: The Development of Higher Psychological Processes. Harvard University Press.
• Reference 10: Lave, J., & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated Learning: Legitimate Peripheral Participation. Cambridge University Press.

Most related, by shared theory and theme

• Learning Experience Architecture — editorially linked

Connected contributions

• Learning Experience Architecture

Where this work leads

• Co-Production & Participatory Design, on the Knowledge Mobilization page
• Research-to-Practice Learning Systems, on the Knowledge Mobilization page
• Inclusive Facilitation & Capacity Building, on the Accessibility page
• Learning Systems Design, on the Learning Systems Design page

Designing for Reflection & Transfer

Making learning adapt to new situations

In development

Reflection and metacognition designed in, so learners can make what they have learned their own and re-deploy it in situations the designer could not anticipate. It is the experience-level form of closing the distance between knowing and doing.

Grounding. Metacognition (Flavell); reflective practice (Schön); Bransford et al.

Sources

• Reference 11: Flavell, J. H. (1979). “Metacognition and Cognitive Monitoring: A New Area of Cognitive–Developmental Inquiry.” American Psychologist, 34(10), 906–911.
• Reference 12: Schön, D. A. (1983). The Reflective Practitioner: How Professionals Think in Action. Basic Books.
• Reference 2: Bransford, J. D., Brown, A. L., & Cocking, R. R. (Eds.). (2000). How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School (Expanded ed.). National Academy Press.

Most related, by shared theory and theme

• Learning Experience Architecture — 1 shared source
• Experiential Learning Infrastructure — Transfer

Connected contributions

• Learning Experience Architecture
• Experiential Learning Infrastructure

Where this work leads

• Closing the Knowing–Doing Gap, on the Universal Design for Learning page

Learner Research: Human-Centred Design

Understanding learners before designing for them

In development

UX research applied to learning — interviews, empathy mapping, personas, journey mapping, and synthesis — so programs are grounded in who learners actually are rather than who they are assumed to be. At organizational scale, the same inquiry becomes needs analysis.

A resource in two areas. Its home is Learning Experience Design, and it is also part of the Learning Systems Design set.

Grounding. Human-centred design; UX research methods

Sources

• Reference 13: Norman, D. A. (2013). The Design of Everyday Things (Revised and Expanded ed.). Basic Books.

Most related, by shared theory and theme

• Testing & Iterating the Experience — 1 shared source
• Learning Experience Architecture — editorially linked

Connected contributions

• Learning Experience Architecture

Where this work leads

• Needs Analysis for Organizational Transformation, on the Learning Systems Design page
• Designing for Learner Variability at Scale, on the Universal Design for Learning page
• Learning Systems Design, on the Learning Systems Design page

Assessment & Feedback as Experience

Feedback that drives learning, not anxiety

In development

Designing assessment and feedback as part of the learning itself — authentic tasks, timely formative feedback, and productive challenge — rather than as a terminal measurement. It works alongside barrier removal, but is a distinct concern.

Grounding. Authentic assessment (Wiggins & McTighe); feedback research

Sources

• Reference 14: Wiggins, G., & McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by Design (Expanded 2nd ed.). ASCD.
• Reference 15: Hattie, J., & Timperley, H. (2007). “The Power of Feedback.” Review of Educational Research, 77(1), 81–112.

Most related, by shared theory and theme

• Backward Design in Practice — Assessment · 1 shared source
• Learning Experience Architecture — editorially linked

Connected contributions

• Learning Experience Architecture

Where this work leads

• Eliminating Construct-Irrelevant Barriers in Assessment, on the Universal Design for Learning page
• Accessibility Review, on the Accessibility page

Backward Design in Practice

Aligning outcomes, assessment, and activity

In development

Holding a single learning experience coherent by starting from the intended outcome, then the evidence of it, then the activity — so nothing in the experience is arbitrary. It answers a recurring need in program and accreditation contexts.

Grounding. Backward design (Wiggins & McTighe)

Sources

• Reference 14: Wiggins, G., & McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by Design (Expanded 2nd ed.). ASCD.

Most related, by shared theory and theme

• Assessment & Feedback as Experience — Assessment · 1 shared source
• Learning Experience Architecture — editorially linked

Connected contributions

• Learning Experience Architecture

Where this work leads

• Inclusive Course & Curriculum Design, on the Accessibility page
• Storyboarding for Learning Design, on the Learning Systems Design page

Testing & Iterating the Experience

Usability methods for learning

In development

Treating a learning experience as something to be tested with real learners and improved — usability testing, beta cycles, and quality assurance — before and after it is delivered. It is the formative counterpart to downstream impact evaluation.

Grounding. Usability testing; System Usability Scale

Sources

• Reference 16: Brooke, J. (1996). “SUS: A ‘Quick and Dirty’ Usability Scale.” In P. W. Jordan et al. (Eds.), Usability Evaluation in Industry. Taylor & Francis.
• Reference 13: Norman, D. A. (2013). The Design of Everyday Things (Revised and Expanded ed.). Basic Books.

Most related, by shared theory and theme

• Learner Research: Human-Centred Design — 1 shared source
• Learning Experience Architecture — editorially linked

Connected contributions

• Learning Experience Architecture

Where this work leads

• Evaluating Whether Design Reduced Barriers, on the Universal Design for Learning page
• KMb Evaluation Design, on the Knowledge Mobilization page