Design for How People Learn

Instructional designer Julie Dirksen teaches how to use key principles behind learning, memory, and attention to create effective educational materials, with over 400 pages covering learning gaps, motivation, habits, and social learning. The book emphasizes that the most important learning happens through interaction and experiential job experiences rather than in classrooms. Written in a fun, reader-friendly style with liberal use of drawings and stock photos, it combines rigorous research citations with pithy, humorous prose and practical case studies.

6 sections ยท 34 lessons

Course outline

Diagnosis

  1. Diagnosis
  2. When Not to Train
  3. Diagnosis

Learner Analysis

  1. Know Your Learners
  2. Multiple Learner Types
  3. Learner Analysis

Goals & Content

  1. Performance Goals
  2. Essential Content
  3. Goals & Content

Memory & Cognition

  1. Memory Systems
  2. Working Memory
  3. Long-Term Memory
  4. Strategy Alignment
  5. Chunking
  6. Capturing Attention
  7. Sustaining Attention
  8. Meaningful Processing
  9. Spacing & Context
  10. Memory & Cognition

Design Strategies

  1. Knowledge Design
  2. Knowledge Alternatives
  3. Practice Requirement
  4. Practice & Feedback
  5. Spaced Practice
  6. Effective Feedback
  7. Elephant & Rider
  8. Intrinsic Motivation
  9. Motivation Gaps
  10. Habit Formation
  11. Environment Design
  12. Context & Transfer
  13. Storytelling
  14. Social Learning
  15. Performance Support
  16. Visual Design
  17. Design Strategies

Assessment

  1. Recognition vs Recall
  2. Evaluation
  3. Iterative Design
  4. Assessment

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