UX 100
Instructional Design and Technology: Learning Theories

This course explored the evolution of learning theories from traditional behavior-based understandings of how we learn to emerging theories of how social engagement can support the learning process. Access to emerging technologies and increased opportunities for global communications and collaboration have altered how we learn. Today’s learners gravitate toward digital content and media, available anytime, anywhere, coupled with social connections to learn.  It’s crucial for instructional designers to understand different theories of learning and how they intermix to create engaging learning experiences.   

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This course was designed to place me in the role of the learner to apply concepts from learning theories to my own personal experiences.  I shared learning experiences I had and explored theories of learning and scientific research and practice. Then applied those to the kinds of problems we actually want to solve.

 

Finally, the course participants practiced the skills instructional designers use to study instructional problems: situations where someone needs to learn something.

Learning how learning works and how to use agreed-upon and well-researched principles was key in order to learn how to take the sometimes messy and unfocused problems people face in life and work and develop a clear and testable idea of how I might organize that problem so it can be solved by learning.

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Text adapted from course syllabus, UX 100: Instructional Design and Learning Theories, UMGC, 11/2022.