The Learning Design Blueprint assignment is a cooperative learning activity which you will complete with the group/learning pod you formed in Class 1. Cooperative learning is explained in greater detail here, so make sure you read that before you begin. This assignment is worth 20% of your final grade. It must be submitted before you submit the Interactive Learning Resource assignment.

In your learning pods, you need to collectively identify a concept or topic that you want to teach to a group of people. You should presume that you need to teach 15-20 people who are assumed to be in K-12, higher education, or adult professionals. Your learners are spread across Canada and come from a variety of ethnic backgrounds.

It is strongly recommended that you choose a concept related to your academic major. Once you have identified your concept, you will create a plan or a learning design blueprint to teach this topic or concept in your Interactive Learning Resource. Based on this Learning Design Blueprint, you will develop your Interactive Learning Resource. The Learning Design Blueprint is a valuable tool for educators to plan and organize their course materials. By using a blueprint, they can ensure that their content is aligned with learning objectives and that their assessments measure student mastery of those objectives. The blueprint should include a clear outline of the course structure, including the sequence of topics and the types of assessments, materials, and technology that will be used. By using a learning design blueprint, educators can create effective and engaging courses that promote student learning and success.

You should divide the work among yourselves according to the requirements of the assignment below. By carefully considering these elements, you can create a learning design blueprint that is effective, engaging, and tailored to the needs of your learners.

Start with this planning template to help you visualize the project and ensure alignment between objectives, assessment and activities:

 

  • A topic title
  • A description of the topic (400-500 words)
    • A concise definition of your topic, citing at least two academic sources.
    • One-two misconceptions about your topic, e.g., what do people usually misunderstand?
    • A rationale for developing your learning resource based on this topic.
    • A description of your learning context/target audience/learners, e.g., High schoolers, professional development, learners’ age, interests, lifestyle, social factors, prior knowledge and experience, and any specific learning needs they may have (e.g., colour blindness, hearing loss, ADHD, English language learner, single parent,  working full-time, no access to a computer, etc.), etc.
    • A description of a platform where your interactive learning resource/course will be hosted.
  • Alignment
    • List all the subtopics that form a progression through your lesson, as there are people in your learning pod. If there are three people in your learning pod, identify three subtopics.
    • Essential questions about each of your subtopics.
    • Learning objectives that address each of your essential questions to measure student learning and progress throughout the course.
    • An assessment plan for each of the learning outcomes that you identified.
    • A list of specific resources your learners need to review to learn about each subtopic and complete the assessment, e.g., youtube videos, scholarly articles, open textbook chapters, blogs, etc.
    • Technology tools your learners need to access and/or submit the material and assessments for each subtopic, e.g., WordPress, H5P, Brightspace Quiz, etc.
  • Roles and Responsibilities.
    • Identify who will be responsible for completing which component of the Interactive Learning Resource.
  • A bibliography or reference list of all resources cited.
    • Use whatever citation format you are comfortable with (APA, MLA, etc.), but please be consistent throughout.

There are multiple ways you might want to organize this information. Options include a notion.so template, a table, a Trello board, a concept map, or another medium that you find more appropriate. The important thing is that the blueprint is easy to access and displays the information you need in a quickly readable format.

Here is a template using notion.so…

If you’d like to use Notion, you are welcome to do so. I recommend that if you do, you sign up using your UVic email address to get access to a free pro account!