We designed a self-paced course for teachers and trainers of Global Citizenship Education to support APCEIU’s mission of promoting education for international understanding and global citizenship. From Trainer to Designer: An Introduction to Learning Experience Design is a 4-module course that introduces a framework for designing materials, curriculum, resources, modules, lessons, and other learning experiences. It was hosted on the GCED Online Campus, APCEIU’s Moodle-based platform for online courses.
Task
How might we empower Global Citizenship Education trainers to be empathic and collaborative designers?
Contextualizing Learning Experience Design
We interviewed GCED trainers and teachers from different countries across Asia to learn more about how they currently design and implement GCED programs in their particular contexts. With their consent, these interviews were recorded and turned into learning videos for the course. These videos grounded the LX Design framework and mindsets in real experience; they showed learners the different ways that they may already be thinking and acting like designers while sharing how key ideas in LX Design could be applied in their contexts.
Modeling good LX design for self-paced learning
In the interviews, trainers expressed common challenges that they face when pursuing self-paced online courses: feelings of isolation, technological challenges, and not knowing whether or not they’re answering the activities correctly. We aimed to model good LX design for self-paced learning by using design patterns that kept the course as simple and structured. Instructional language was kept casual and conversational, emphasizing the community of trainer-designers that they could learn from. After doing the activities in the course, the learners were encouraged to “self-check” by providing rubrics and sample output that they could use to assess their own work before submission.
We also modeled the effective use of media in learning materials. We ensured accessibility by enabling closed captioning as an option for learning videos and creating PDF articles that served as low-bandwidth alternatives to videos. We also maximized the features of the platform by embedding checkpoints in the learning videos, ensuring a more active learning experience.
Supporting learners through coaching
A pilot cohort of 14 learners were given 5 weeks to complete the modules. The course was delivered through a blended modality; learners accomplished the course tasks and attended 4 live workshops where we would facilitate activities to supplement topics in the course and deepen understanding through discussion. This was also a space for the learners to share their key takeaways from the course, get feedback from their peers, and share resources.
Aside from the workshops, we also supported the learners through coaching sessions. We got in touch with them through e-mail or personal messages to share reminders and announcements, check progress, and give individualized feedback and instruction.
