
You may have heard that to design successful learner experience, you first need to understand each learner’s needs, program requirements,outlines learning outcomes,etc but what exactly do you need to know?
Any design process is a loop between three dimensions: the What (content), The How (methods) and The Why (purpose). The same goes for any successful learner experience, the designer has to properly define and pinpoint these three dimensions, which can be possible through asking three simple questions:
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What is the content?
The knowledge background and the content covered during the training program; it identifies the main topic and outlines of the program.
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How is it being facilitated?
It represents learning methods, strategies and techniques used to facilitate the learning to the learners.
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Why is it being delivered?
This dimension is concerned with the purpose, objective of the training; and learning outcomes which eventually drives the choice of the what and the how.
The answers to these questions should demonstrate a clear, cohesive and interrelated pattern between the delivered content, its value to the learners and the way its being facilitated.
To further explain, let us assume you are designing a session about Effective Listening.
The WHAT dimension could cover the content of the following topics: ‘the importance of effective listening’, ‘the levels of listening’, ‘how to listen effectively’ or ‘empathic listening’.
While the HOW dimension is concerned with how you facilitate the learning of this knowledge or skill to learners, which methods, strategies and activities you use to cover and facilitate the WHAT. So when you choose between enacting a role-playing activity, playing a video or conducting a discussion about how to apply empathic listening steps, you are essentially dealing with the HOW dimension.
The WHY dimension focuses on the purpose of the whole session; why do our learners need to learn about effective listening? It is of paramount importance for you, as a facilitator, and for your learners to be clear on the why dimension. Learners need to find value and relation to what they are learning. So, making learner realize the importance of effective listening can help increase the session’s impact.
The main focus of SeGa and FIRST framework is to improve the way of learning and facilitation”What” regardless of the topic or content “What and Why dimensions”.
Our aim is to qualify facilitators who already possess “High what” with “High how”, so to be able to make a comprehensive Active Deep learner experience.