Category: Methodology

  • Scaffolding learning: What does it mean for students?

    Scaffolding learning: What does it mean for students?

    Clare Hill and Paul Astles  ~ Learning Designers   When you scaffold your learning materials, you build students’ understanding and ability gradually and in a planned way by adjusting the amount of support offered. Researchers have described scaffolding as ‘support from experts enabling learners to accomplish what is beyond their current ability’ (Wood et al. […]

  • Evolving design: shaping our work around a service-led model

    Evolving design: shaping our work around a service-led model

    Gerald Evans ~ Head of Learning Design Since 2020 our experiences as a Learning Design (LD) team have been heavily influenced by much of our work moving online. The pandemic led to us resetting how we operated and in particular required us to find effective online mechanisms for running collaborative sessions while continuing to have […]

  • The Introverted Facilitators’ Club: How to be a quiet LD in the sometimes noisy world of module design?

    The Introverted Facilitators’ Club: How to be a quiet LD in the sometimes noisy world of module design?

    Hayley Johns ~ Learning Designer Back in September, I attended my first ever ‘real life’ or in-person conference (the ALT conference, at the University of Warwick – you can read about my and my colleague’s experiences here). It was a brilliant experience, and we learnt a huge amount. As well as all of the fascinating […]

  • Out and about with Learning Design: Learning from working with others

    Out and about with Learning Design: Learning from working with others

    Gerald Evans ~ Head of Learning Design; Emilou Hayden, Catriona Matthews, and Paul Astles ~ Learning Designers   In this post, we’re sharing some of the experiences of team members who have worked on external projects. As a team we periodically work with clients both inside and outside the OU to provide Learning Design specialist […]