Session Design

Session design is a collaborative process, between the designer and client, that assists in the design and creation of purposeful instructional resources and experiences.  Best stated by Pablo Picasso “Our goals can only be reached through a vehicle of a plan, in which we must fervently believe, and upon which we must vigorously act. There is no other route to success.”
Step 1: Learning Request
“… analysis allows the designer to determine what individuals are now doing and what they should be doing.  If a difference exists, then it is the job of the instructional designer to determine why the difference exists.  Differences could exist because an individual does not know how to do something; if so, then instruction is necessary.  If the individual already knows how to do something and is not doing it, then another remedy other than instruction is needed.” (Brown & Green, 2020)
Background:
Clients share the problem, attitude, knowledge, or skills, to be solved or change with a learning solution.
Why it is Effective:

Helps designer create an effective solution.

Process Steps:
Completion of a learning request form that may include questions like:
  • Who will participate in this learning experience?
  • What needs to be learned? (What learners must “know” or be able “to do” once training is complete)
  • Why this learning needs to take place?
  • When this learning experience will be delivered?
  • Where/how will it be delivered?
    • When to Use:

    Prior to designing a solution. 

    Learning Outcomes:

    Designer will learn the problem to be solved and the cause of the mismatch between desired and actual performance.

    Resources & Samples:
  • Learning Intake Request Forms
    • Step 2: Learning Objectives (Outcomes)
    Likewise establishing learning outcomes or knowing where you’re going, is the best first step in creating learning curriculums and instructional plans. Understanding what a learner should get out of an experience, provides a “framework for the facilitator to match a particular way of learning” (Davis and Arend, 2013, p. 33) to a learning outcome ultimately leading to the selection of the most effective facilitation techniques.
    Background:
    Well defined learning outcomes enhance learner motivation clarifying:
  • What learners can expect “to know” at the end of the experience
  • What learners can anticipate being able “to do” at the end of an experience
    • Why it is Effective:
    Offers clarity for the designer, business, facilitator, and learners. Establishes a foundation for measuring learning transfer.
    Process Steps:
    One method to consider when writing learning outcomes is the A. B. C. D. method. This approach includes the following considerations:
  • Audience: Who will attend this training?
  • Behavior: What behavior, knowledge, tool, or skills will the participant need to learn or leverage?
  • Condition: What will the participant be given/learn/use to meet the objective? What will the facilitator/instructor need to provide/teach?
  • Degree: What does mastery look like? How will you know the participant “got it” or is executing on the new behavior?
    • When to Use:

    Prior to designing a solution.

    Learning Outcomes:

    Designer will learn the desired outcome for the learning experience.

    Resources & Samples:
  • Bloom’s Taxonomy
  • Bloom’s Taxonomy for Educators
  • Fink’s Taxonomy of Significant Learning
  • Biggs and Collins The SOLO Taxonomy ITaLI
  • LabR Learning Resources
  • Arizona State Learning Objective Builder
    • Step 3: Program Design

    The organization, and coordination of training/learning experiences including pre-training, the learning event, and post-training generally detailed in a design document that scopes out the project, delivery, and objectives.

    Background:
    According to Caffarell and Daffron (2021) education and training programs for the following purposes:
  • Assisting organizations in achieving desired results and adapting to change
  • Encouraging continuous growth and development of individuals
  • Preparing people for current and future work opportunities
  • Assisting people in responding to practical problems and issues of adult life (communication)
  • Providing opportunities to examine community and societal issues, foster change for the common good, and promote a civil society.
    • Why it is Effective:

    Aids the designer in recalling and capturing the practical tasks and activities necessary for effective program design. 

    Process Steps:
    The Interactive Model of Program Planning (Caffarella & Daffron, 2021)
    Learning Components:
  • Context
  • Evaluation
  • Learning Transfer
  • Instruction
  • Goals & Objectives
  • Needs Assessment
  • Support
    • Administrative Components:
  • Budgeting
  • Marketing
  • Staffing
  • Formatting
  • Managing Details
  • Scheduling
  • Negotiating
    • When to Use:

    To organize all learning experiences, even if all components, tasks, and activities are not necessary.

    Learning Outcomes:
  • New knowledge
  • Skill building
  • Exploration of core values & beliefs
    • Resources & Samples:
  • Checklist for Program Design
  • Design Document
  • Design Presentation
    • Step 4: Content Development
    Summary and detailed lesson plans including learning objectives, topics, specific lesson plans, training activities, and how learners will be evaluated.
    Background:
    Develops content that increases learner motivation by leveraging Wlodkowski’s and Ginsberg’s (2027) Motivational Framework, specifically the conditions of inclusion, attitude, meaning, and competence.
    Why it is Effective:

    Increases learner engagement, specifically,  Wlodkowski & Ginsberg (2017) suggest using motivational strategies as the source for learning activities and to accomplish learning objectives reduces boredom, feelings of constraint, meaninglessness, lack of interest and challenge.

    Process Steps:
  • Provide a context, outline, or graphic to use in organizing what students are to learn.
  • Place prerequisite knowledge and skills in the sequence before they must be combined with subsequent knowledge and skills.
  • Structure learning objectives in closely related, self-contained groups.
  • Place practical application of concepts and principles close to the point of the initial discussion of those ideas.
  • Provide for practice and review of skills and knowledge that are essential parts of tasks to be introduced later in the activity.
  • Introduce a concept or a skill in the task in which it is most frequently used.
  • Avoid overloading any task with elements that are difficult to learn.
  • Place complex or cumulative skills late in the sequence.
  • Provide support or coaching for practice of required skills, concepts, and principles in areas where transfer is likely to occur. (Wlodkowski & Ginsberg, 2017)
    • When to Use:

    As wanted to help learners become more aware and more proficient.

    Learning Outcomes:

    “…deeper understanding, more refined thinking, more complex perceptions, better performance, high goal attainment, new knowledge, and improved skills.” (Wlodkowski & Ginsbeg, 2017)

    Resources & Samples:
  • Content Outline
  • Offsite Sample
    • References

    BrainyMedia, Inc. (2023, February, 9). Pablo Picasso Quotes. BrainyQuote. https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/pablo_picasso_120939

    Brown, A.H., & Greenm T.D. (2020). The Essentials of Instructional Design Connecting Fundamental Principles with Process and Practice (4th ed.). Routledge.

    Caffarella, R.S., & Daffron, S.R. (2021). Planning Programs for Adult Learners: A Practical Guide (4th ed.). Jossey-Bass.

    Davis, B. D., & Arend, J. D. (2013).  Facilitating Seven Ways of Learning. Stylus Publishing, LLC.

    Wlodkowski, R.J., & Ginsberg, M.B. (2017). Enhancing Adult Motivation to Learn (4th ed.). Jossey-Bass.

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