A UDL-Inspired Course Outline 

For An Undergraduate Course: ‘Introduction to Learning Theory’

Rationale

One of the key benefits that digital learning can offer is a greater degree of learner choice and flexibility, giving learners the autonomy to choose modes of learning that suit their needs and personal context. If you’re anything like me, you’ll find that intuitively appealing. There’s an underlying principle here that we should empower the learner to make these decisions, because they know their own individual needs and context best.

Universal Design for Learning (UDL), despite being relatively simple conceptually, is a framework that I come back to again and again. In a nutshell, UDL proposes that a lesson or course should offer learners multiple, diverse modes of representation at each of the three following key stages of instruction. Firstly, how learners engage with a topic, or the ‘why’ of learning. Secondly, how content is represented to learners, or the ‘what’ of learning. And thirdly, how learners demonstrate and act on their learning, or the ‘how’ of learning. What it means to offer ‘multiple, diverse modes of representation’ can be as simple as allowing a learner to consume lecture content in audio, video, or text format. But it can also be more wide-ranging.

Before we move on, I would argue that there is a balance to be struck here. Whilst we want to offer learners a variety of different activities to choose from, it isn’t necessarily in learners’ best interests to ‘dump’ a huge load of resources on them at the same time, in a way that is hard to navigate or which doesn’t provide guidance on the level of interaction expected of them. In this approach, some students might feel overwhelmed because they assume they have to complete every single activity available, whilst others might skip straight to the final assessment and miss out on key knowledge areas that they’ll need later on. Later you’ll see how I try to achieve this balance.

Context

In designing this portfolio piece, I wanted to show how I might apply the principles of UDL to designing a course. However, there’s a degree of artifice about presenting a course outline isolated from various other contexts. Courses don’t exist in a vacuum, and need to be designed with their context in mind. Therefore, let’s assume that we’ve already spent time understanding the various contexts for this course:

Learners

The learners’ knowledge, preferences, previous experiences, motivations and challenges are all crucial here. This information can be captured and analysed through a variety of research methods, and condensed into ‘learner profiles’ - profiles of hypothetical learners that typify the groups that you’re designing for. 

Academic Context

Where a course sits in relation to other courses makes a huge difference to our understanding of what can be assumed, and what needs to be explicitly taught. The key academic context for this hypothetical course outline is that it is aimed at undergraduates, studying Education courses and teacher-training qualifications.

Technical, Delivery and Resource Constraints

This includes details about hardware and software on both the side of the institution and the learner.

VLE Configuration and Course Structure

This digital course is designed to be hosted in a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) that has a number of capabilities. These capabilities are useful for delivering a course that balances student autonomy with the right level of guidance. Whilst each VLE has some differences, here are some general principles about how I would configure the VLE with regards to this course.

Course Division

The course is divided into 6 modules.

Module Division

Each of the 6 modules is divided into activities.

Module Order

Learners can only complete the modules in chronological order.

Activity Order

Within a given module, learners are free to complete the activities in any order.

Module Progression

Learners must complete a certain number of activities within a module before they’re allowed to move on to the next. In the case of this course, learners must complete 4 activities before they’re allowed to move on to the next module. Learners can, however, complete more than 4 activities if they wish.

Mandatory Activities

Certain activities in a module can be designated as ‘mandatory’, meaning that they must be completed before the learner is allowed to move on to the next module, regardless of how many other activities in the module the learner has already completed. The activities below that are mandatory are marked with the letter M.

Assessment

This is an assessed course, but is also intended to be appropriate for learners new to the field of education and learning theories. Therefore, nothing is assessed before the final module, module 6.

Course Divis

Course Outline

Course Title

Introduction to Learning Theory

Course Overview

This course helps learners gain in-depth knowledge of four of the most influential learning theories: behaviourism, cognitivism, constructivism and connectivism. It encourages learners to progress from considering these theories in the abstract, to exploring how their models and approaches can be applied in real-world contexts. Thereby, learners are encouraged to develop an appreciation of the nuance and complexity of applying theory to the real world.

Course Objectives

By the end of this course, learners will be able to:

• Describe and compare four major learning theories.

• Apply learning theories in order to develop appropriate learning interventions in various contexts.

• Evaluate the effectiveness of different learning theories in various contexts.

Module 1: Introduction to Learning Theory

Module Objectives

• Understand the significance of the four major learning theories, and their basic concepts.

• Differentiate between these learning theories.

• Explain how historical context and key figures influenced the development of these theories.

Module Activities

• Listen to a podcast that introduces the four major learning theories covered in this course, their core concepts and development. M

• Take part in an online text discussion forum where you share your reflections on four videos that each outline one of the learning theories. M

• Create an interactive timeline of the historical development of the four learning theories, drawing on articles shared as text, using a tool such as tiki-toki.com.

• Take a short quiz that tests your knowledge of the basic concepts and facts about the four learning theories.

• Design an infographic that summarises the key points of the four learning theories.

• Record a short video reflecting on how one of the four learning theories apply to your own learning experiences.

Module 2: Behaviourism

Module Objectives

• Explain the principles of behaviourism.

• Design educational activities, by applying behaviourist principles.

• Evaluate the effectiveness of behaviourism as a learning theory in various contexts.

Module Activities

• Read and analyse case studies showing how behaviourist principles have been implemented in educational contexts. M

• Deliver a short lesson to a group of classmates, trying to achieve your objectives through behaviourist techniques. M

• Attend a workshop in which students take part in educational role plays to experience behaviourist learning techniques.

• Complete an online simulation that simulates how various training outcomes can be achieved through conditioning effects.

• Make some video or written journal entries, documenting your reflections and thoughts on behaviourist learning techniques.

• Make a mind map that summarises the core tenets of behaviourism as a learning theory.

Module 3: Cognitivism

Module Objectives

• Explain the principles of cognitivism.

• Develop instructional strategies, based on cognitive principles.

• Evaluate cognitivism’s effectiveness in various contexts.

Module Activities

• Attend a workshop that gives students first-hand experience of the effects that cognitivist theories predict, such as attempting to complete tasks that overwhelm cognitive load, or completing tasks with and without dual coding. M

• Listen to, watch, or read a lecture that summarises the most influential theories in cognitivism. M

• Make a mind map that organises the key concepts in cognitivism and shows the theories that fall under the term ‘cognitivism’.

• Design a lesson plan with a small group to implement a small number of cognitivist principles.

• Critique and amend lesson plans and their associated educational materials to align more closely with key cognitivist theories.

• Draw a concept map that shows the main cognitivist theories and how they relate to each other.

Module 4: Constructivism

Module Objectives

• Explain the principles of constructivism.

• Implement constructivist thought through designing learning activities.

• Evaluate constructivism’s effectiveness in various contexts.

Module activities

• Go on a virtual field trip, to be shown constructivist learning approaches in action, discussing it afterwards with peers. M

• Listen to, watch, or read a lecture that summarises the history and key tenets of constructivism. M

• Experience constructivism first-hand, by attending a workshop in which you learn some new topics through constructivist approaches.

• Take part in an online discussion board where you share your reflections on and assessments of constructivism.

• Create a constructivist-inspired lesson plan to teach to a group of your peers.

• Write a reflection piece describing your reflections on and experiences of constructivist approaches to learning.

Module 5: Connectivism

Module Objectives

• Explore the theory of connectivism, and its relationship to the growth of digital learning.

• Apply connectivist principles to enhance learning in digital environments.

• Evaluate connectivism’s effectiveness as a learning theory in various contexts.

Module activities

• Listen to, watch, or read a lecture that summarises the history and key tenets of connectivism. M

• Take part in a webinar that describes how connectivism has been applied, with discussion breakout rooms and a Q&A session. M

• Create a map of a personal learning network and annotate it with various learning affordances that could take place within the network.

• Take part in a digital collaborative project, learning about a given subject, approaching learning with a connectivist methodology.

• Create and deliver a short presentation about a single instance in which a connectivist approach has been successful.

• Write a short reflective essay on connectivist learning theory, evaluating its plausibility and practicality.

Module 6: Combining Learning Theories

Module Objectives

• Synthesise knowledge from the various learning theories covered in this course.

• Design instructional approaches and activities that integrate multiple learning theories.

Module Activities

• Design a short course, applying to the educational context of your choice, that integrates behaviourism, constructivism, cognitivism and connectivism. M

• Design and deliver a short lesson to a small group of peers, informed by at least two of the learning theories discussed in this module. M

• Record a 30-minute podcast reflecting on the relationships, overlaps, and possible conflicts between the learning theories studied.

• Write a descriptive report summarising the learning theories studied in this module, and making recommendations as to their most appropriate contexts of application.

• Create a selective portfolio that includes highlights, extracts and multimedia from the course so far, and also draws connections and links across different modules.

• Create a video, audio recording or text document that outlines your ten biggest takeaways from the course.

Please note, learners must submit three activities completed as part of the final module, including both of the mandatory activities, for assessment.