Tailored for educators, instructional designers, curriculum developers, and education professionals across diverse contexts—particularly in Africa—courses in Cluster 1 cover conceptual foundations, design models, practical application, creative approaches like design thinking, and essential project management skills.
Introduction to Learning Design
Course overview
This course aims to introduce and formalise participants’ conceptualisation of learning design (LD) by exploring learning design as an approach, a role, a practice and an emerging research field. This course comprises contextualising LD in practice, theoretical approaches to learning design, practical approaches to learning design, and post-digital learning design.
Learning objectives
After completing this course, participants will be able to:
- Explain the different meanings of learning design (field, practice, role, model);
- Summarise the landscape of practice of learning designers across African communities of practice (such as R-12, HE, TVET, Adult Education, Higher Education, Corporate, NGOs, EdTech, government);
- Explore broad issues and topics in the field of LD and relate to the African context;
- Explore different LD roles and choose one most appropriate for a participant’s context;
- Identify relevant stakeholders in LD choices with understanding of context and their priorities;
- Analyse and integrate these different aspects of LD through a post-digital lens; and
- Locate and effectively communicate relevant information about LD.
Learning Design Models
Course overview
This course is aimed at introducing different learning models across the history of learning design, with a critical focus on rationale, purpose, context of different models to enable participants to select among or adapt a model to guide learning design suited to their purpose and context. Participants will be introduced to a selection of models included but not limited to ADDIE, TEDDIE and Gilly Salmon’s Carpe Diem learning design models, Fink’s significant learning, Laurillard’s ABC model and the 7Cs of learning design framework.
Learning objectives
After completing this course, participants will be able to:
- Explore different learning design models fit for different purposes/contexts;
- Select, based on context, an appropriate learning design model and explain the theories of learning that support participants’ pedagogic choices;
- Describe some of the future trends for learning design; and
- Communicate effectively about learning design.
Learning Design in Practice
Course overview
This course takes an experiential approach to learning design. Participants undertake a collective learning design process, selecting from common learning design activities and models to design a response to a learning problem.
Learning objectives
After completing this course, participants will be able to:
- Be able to identify a learning problem or opportunity;
- Have a thorough understanding of their design context and the participants they are designing for;
- Be able to develop learning outcomes;
- Apply and/or facilitate a learning design process following selected models; and
- Develop a learning design plan.
Design Thinking for Learning Designers
Course overview
This course is aimed at taking participants through a design thinking process based on design thinking principles and approaches. Tackling a real-life learning and/or teaching problem, participants will explore context-sensitive solutions in multidisciplinary groups and build a prototype in order to gather feedback and suggest improvements.
Learning objectives
After completing this course, participants will be able to:
- Describe a Design Thinking process;
- List different Design Thinking activities;
- Explain Design Thinking principles and reveal Design Thinking mindsets;
- Engage in a learning design process and decision making processes using Design Thinking processes; and
- Reflect on a Design Thinking intervention.
Project Management in Learning Design
Course overview
The course aims to introduce students to important project management approaches to deal with a highly complex environment that involves a range of stakeholders, learners, different design members, an array of platforms and tools which need to be managed within tight budgets and time constraints. Topics include project management methodologies (e.g. Waterfall, Agile, Scrum) and tools (e.g. kanban boards, wekan boards) proposal writing, project management software and skills, forecasting, budgeting, managing diverse teams and acting as a ‘go-between’ for subject matter experts/academics, clients, learners, and the production team.
Learning objectives
After completing this course, participants will be able to:
- Identify the range of stakeholders who form part of the project;
- Understand the contextual policies, procedures and practices with respect to financial management and reporting; human resource appointment, induction, management, performance review; quality assurance;
- Broadly understand the platforms and tools available and which teams are responsible for different aspects of the learning design process (e.g. curriculum development, student/audience analysis, learning design, learning and teaching resource development, implementation, evaluation and quality assurance);
- Select a particular project management approach and methodologies (e.g. Waterfall, Agile, Scrum) using various tools (e.g. kanban boards) suitable to your context;
- Prepare proposals for scoping new projects including budgeting using spreadsheets manage diverse teams;
- Liaise with subject matter experts/academics/trainers/educators, clients, learners, consultants and the production team;
- Use project management software to plan, track progress, prioritise tasks, and make data-driven decisions; and
- Develop the ability to evaluate the success of a project and make recommendations for future improvements.