How to create a WOW online cohort learning experience (Part 3)

Design from first principle thinking

Hi friends 🙌

What has been on your mind these days?

I have been thinking a lot about how to scale our online cohort learning experience to more people while maintaining its quality.

Designing an impactful online learning experience can feel overwhelming, especially when scaling to larger cohorts. In our last cohort, despite careful planning, learners still found the course difficult to navigate. This feedback made me think, "Can I even scale to more people…", and “Am I even capable of designing…”

Often, I think or hope to believe that the design process from hypothesis to results looks like a straight line. But in reality, it looks more like a nonstop, squiggly line.

The learners’ feedback made me rethink our approach to online learning design.

In today's post, I would like to share my messy, raw process of rethinking and redesigning our approach to online cohort courses.

Design Thinking from First Principles

Instead of jumping into solutions on how to enhance our course, I took a step back to the fundamentals:

• What does an online learning experience mean?

• What makes for effective learning?

• What makes for effective user experience design in an online setting?

You might stop here and ask, "Really, Phuong? You have been doing this for three years. Why are you asking such a simple question again?"

Yeah... I also thought I could do better than this...

But I wanted to give it another thinking.

What does an online learning experience mean?

I am trying to reimagine online learning design. I don't want to just transfer a learning experience from offline to online. I want to rethink what online learning looks like.

And I came up with this.

Online learning design means understanding what effective learning means and what good online user experiences mean. The best design isn't about creating the most innovative, elaborate, or extensive experience. It's about distilling the learning experience down to its essence.

The most innovative, unique design (such as being community-driven) might make us stand out in the market. However, it doesn't necessarily equal the best experience for learners. The most innovative tools and features may dazzle but ultimately distract from the core learning.

Instead, I believe the essence of a good online learning experience boils down to two key design principles:

• Simplicity - clearing up mental clutter so learners can focus deeply on acquiring knowledge and skills. Every design choice should aim to create a seamless educational journey.

• Active Learning - creating interactive environments where students engage hands-on with the content, peers, and instructors. Learning is an active, participatory process.

I hypothesize that the simpler the design, the easier we can scale. The next puzzle to solve is how to make the design of social learning and peer-to-peer interaction simple as well.

Design Questions

From these two principles, here are a few questions I use to guide my design process for an end-to-end learning experience.

Simplicity

1. Content Accessibility:

   • Is the content organized in a way that learners can easily navigate and find what they need without feeling overwhelmed?

2. Instructional Clarity:

   • Are the instructions and expectations clear and concise throughout the course materials?

3. Design Consistency:

   • Does the course design maintain consistency in layout, language, and functionality to avoid learner confusion?

4. Technological Simplicity:

   • Are we using technology that enhances learning without adding unnecessary complexity or requiring advanced technical skills from learners?

5. Barrier Identification:

   • What potential barriers might learners face, and how have we minimized these to streamline the learning process?

Active Learning

1. Interaction Opportunities:

   • Have we incorporated interactive elements, such as discussions, quizzes, and projects, to encourage active participation?

2. Real-World Application:

   • Does the course provide opportunities for learners to apply concepts to real-world scenarios, thereby enhancing engagement and retention?

3. Collaborative Learning:

   • How does the design facilitate collaboration among learners and with instructors?

4. Feedback and Adaptation:

   • How are we enabling learners to receive and reflect on feedback, and how can they actively use it to guide their learning?

5. Learner Autonomy:

   • In what ways does the design allow learners to make choices about their learning path and process?

Design Steps

From the design principles and questions above, I outlined a step-by-step guide to approaching our online cohort courses again. Every design decision should be aligned with the principles.

1. Understand the Cohort

• Demographics and Backgrounds: Gather information on the learners' demographics, educational backgrounds, and technological proficiency.

• Needs Assessment: Conduct surveys or interviews to understand their learning preferences and constraints.

2. Define Learning Objectives

• Clear Goals: Outline what learners should know or be able to do by the end of the course.

• Alignment with Activities: Ensure each activity is purposefully aligned with these objectives.

3. Design the Curriculum Framework

• Scope and Sequence: Develop a logical progression of topics that build on each other.

• Modular Design: Create content in modular chunks to cater to different learning paces and styles.

4. Develop Content

• Engaging Material: Craft content that is engaging and relevant to real-world contexts.

• Diverse Formats: Use a mix of text, video, infographics, and interactive media to cater to different learning preferences.

5. Build the Learning Platform/Spaces

• User-Friendly Interface: Design an intuitive and easy-to-navigate interface.

• Accessibility Standards: Ensure the platform is accessible to all learners, including those who are more low-tech or with disabilities.

6. Incorporate Interactive Elements

• Discussion Forums: Facilitate peer-to-peer interaction and community building.

• Live Sessions: Plan for synchronous webinars or Q&A sessions for real-time engagement.

7. Create Assessment Tools

• Formative Assessments: Design quizzes and assignments for ongoing feedback.

• Summative Assessments: Develop tests or projects that assess the comprehension of the material at the end of a module or course.

8. Pilot the Course

• Beta Testing: Run a pilot version with a small subset of the cohort to gather feedback.

• Iterative Revisions: Use the feedback to make necessary adjustments to the content and user experience.

9. Launch and Facilitate

• Orientation Session: Provide an orientation to familiarize learners with the platform and expectations.

• Facilitator Engagement: Ensure facilitators or instructors are active and visible in the online environment.

10. Monitor and Support

• Help Desk: Set up a system for technical and course-related support.

• Performance Analytics: Use analytics to monitor engagement and performance, offering additional support where needed.

11. Evaluate and Iterate

• Continuous Feedback: Collect ongoing feedback from learners regarding their experience.

• Course Revisions: Regularly update the course based on learner input and the latest educational research.

12. Scale and Enhance

• Scalability Plan: Develop a plan for scaling the learning experience to accommodate more learners or additional content.

• Community Building: Foster a sense of community that extends beyond individual cohorts to enhance learning through networking and peer support.

I will continue to refine my design thinking process, principles, questions, and steps as I implement our upcoming products.

Thank you for following my journey to unpack my thinking around designing and implementing our online cohort experiences. I hope to be sharper in my thinking as I continue to learn and implement.

Have a good week ahead ❤️