Optimizing Learning with Design
Overview
The Design for Learning presentation and workshop was developed to introduce non-designers to the fundamentals of design in order to provide them with actionable insights for their work and to foster a design culture among the team.
Problem
When TenMarks Education created a new, interactive math product called Labs, the role of the content writers expanded to include UI and visual design responsibilities. To help the team develop an understanding of design, I created a presentation and workshop focusing on fundamental design principles and how design can impact learning outcomes.
My Role
I designed the learning experience to be relevant, motivating, visually attractive, and immediately actionable for the learners. To prepare, I researched on the web, in books, and consulted members of the visual design and UX teams. As a result, the content team began to communicate with a shared design language, and they had an increased ability to implement feedback on design-related elements of their work.
Key Learning Elements
Diagram showing the steps in the construction of knowledge
o1: working memory, the clock is ticking
Before introducing the team to design principles, I wanted to provide a reason to care about design. To that end, I started the presentation with a focus on cognitive load theory. After working with my team for a while, I knew that the "why" behind a concept is important to them. This information motivated their learning.
This section focused on the demands on working memory when the learner is presented with novel information. During this type of instruction, the extrinsic, intrinsic, and germane cognitive demands must be less than what the working memory can maximally tolerate.
total demand on working memory comes from three sources
the goal is to decrease extrinsic demand with better design
02: Gestalt principles & perception
Focusing on the neuroscience of perception and the principles of gestalt, I showed the team how purposeful decisions about design would align with the brain's natural pathways for processing visual information, thereby reducing the cognitive load for the learner.
This knowledge would empower them to think critically about the relationship between their educational goals and design, aligning the two in order to enhance the learning experience for the user.
03: Experiencing Gestalt Effects
I created a series of screens that would exhibit different gestalt principles such as proximity effects, similarity effects, and common fate. Where possible, I included poorly applied gestalt effects as a counterexample. We engaged in a group discussion about how we perceived each image.
It is often said that good design is invisible, and this makes sense because when your mind can focus on its goal, it doesn't notice the design elements at all. The benefit of this section of the learning was that it made the impact of the design palpable for my team.
First, learners look at this image and discuss their perceptions.
Then, learners looked at these two images, learning that similarity is important, but that proximity trumps similarity.
O4: Where are we and why are we here?
Since we were covering a range of topics from cognition, to perception, to design, I wanted to make sure that the goals were stated at each juncture to help orient the learner throughout the presentation.
05: apply, apply, apply
Immediately following the presentation and the discussion that ensued, team members had the opportunity to sit down and work on their ongoing projects, making edits and revisions to align with the learnings they had just received.
Results
• Quality of design work produced across the content team increased
• A shared language and culture of design was formed
• Feedback on design-related elements was more easily addressed