In preparing a presentation on Learning By Design, I was struck again by the necessity to consider how we learn: how do my students learn? How do I learn?
Sometimes starting from the endpoint can clarify the concepts and learning objectives necessary to reach that final stage — learning by design is a great learner-centered option that steps through different “knowledge processes:”
Experiencing …
- the known – learners reflect on their own familiar experiences, interests and perspectives.
- the new – learners observe or take part in something that is unfamiliar; they are immersed in new situations or contents.
Conceptualizing …
- by naming – learners group things into categories, apply classifying terms, and define these terms.
- with theory – learners make generalisations using concepts, and connect terms in concept maps or theories.
Analyzing …
- functionally – learners analyse logical connections, cause and effect, structure and function.
- critically – learners evaluate their own and other people’s perspectives, interests and motives.
Applying …
- appropriately – learners apply new learning to real world situations and test their validity.
- creatively – learners make an intervention in the world which is innovative and creative, or transfer their learning to a different context.
When you think about design-based learning, take a moment to consider how, where, and when YOU see learning in your life.
Kalantzis & Cope (2004) write that humans are born to learn: “Learning simply happens as people engage with each other, interact with the natural world and move about in the world they have build. Indeed, one of the things that makes us distinctively human is our enormous capacity to learn” (p. 38).
Learning can occur naturally, but it also happens BY DESIGN. Design-Based Learning, then, includes learner experiences and interests in learning through MULTIMODALITY where learners design, implement, reflect, review, collaborate, and create through “written, oral, visual, audio, tactile, gestural, and spatial modes of meaning-making” (Cope & Kalantzis, 2015).
Cope, B., & Kalantzis, M. (2015). The things you do to know: An introduction to the pedagogy of multiliteracies. In A pedagogy of multiliteracies: Learning by design (pp. 1-36). London: Palgrave Macmillan UK.
Kalantzis, M., & Cope, B. (2004). Designs for learning. E-Learning and digital media, 1(1), 38-93.
Lim, F. V., Cope, B., & Kalantzis, M. (2022). A metalanguage for learning: Rebalancing the cognitive with the socio-material. Frontiers in Communication, 7, 830613.