OU Learning Design team blog

It is fully embedded in the teaching and learning of (inter)disciplinary content (reflects a contextual and epistemological view of skills) At the same time, it is perceived as meaningful and relevant to students’ current and future lives (transferable, flexible) Students are apprenticed into the conventions, techniques, styles and approaches of their field(s) of study (they…

Collaborative learning activities build students’ critical thinking skills and encourage them to reflect on their learning. However, students can struggle to engage with them if they don’t feel supported. Use these steps to build in support for students before, during and after online collaborative activities. The steps are based on a study by Zheng et…

When students have the chance to share their insights, they feel more engaged in their study and more connected to their institution. And of course, they can offer fresh perspectives that will benefit future students. That’s why it’s vital to gather student feedback on your courses – not just through with end-of-course evaluations but also…

Read the following text [‘A bit passive’] :: and:: [‘Ooh, there’s more!’] discuss your interpretation… [‘Bringing in active skills! Now you’re talking!’] Watch this video :: and :: summarise it in an infographic… Listen to this lecture :: and :: present your own research… Read <crossed out> Review <replaces ‘read’. ‘A switcheroo from passive to…

Retention – helping students complete the studies they’ve signed up for – is an essential element of learning design. Open University researchers Jitse van Ameijde, Martin Weller and Simon Cross developed the ICEBERG principles (2015) to highlight seven learning design elements that support retention. We’ve created a quick guide to the principles and some prompts…

Retention – helping students complete the studies they’ve signed up for – is an essential element of learning design. Open University researchers Jitse van Ameijde, Martin Weller and Simon Cross developed the ICEBERG principles (2015) to highlight seven learning design elements that support retention. Below we’ve outlined briefly what the principles look like in practice.…

Key questions to ask STUDENTS • Who are your learners? • What is their starting point? What are the enablers and barriers to learning? • What outcomes do they need to achieve? • What will they do to learn? • How will you measure success? INCLUSION & DIVERSITY • What do you want the student…

Quizzes aren’t just for testing knowledge. They also encourage students to recall their course material, apply it and reflect on the feedback they’re given, whichin turn prompts learning. This is known as the testing effect’ and there’s plenty of research (including a paper by Roediger and Karpicke (2006)) that explores it. Use our quick tips to…