OU Learning Design team blog

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 […]

In an online classroom, learners engage with materials at their own pace. This helps them develop independent learning skills, but it can also make it tricky to manage workload. As a result, they may fall behind or become overloaded. Use our tips to make sure workload is consistent and clear, and that students learn to […]

The Open University’s mission is to be open to people, places, methods and ideas. We have a similar role as learning designers: we’re committed to meeting the needs of all students. Inclusive curriculum is at the heart of this. Here are the three principles developed by the OU’s Access, Participation and Success team to guide […]