Development, deployment, and assessment

Development

The development phase encompasses scripting, storyboarding, structuring, and approving the deliverables that will be produced for the project. Effective development necessitates consistent contributions from a subject matter expert—typically a faculty partner. Your expertise is indispensable in ensuring that the content is accurate, relevant, and aligned with the learning objectives, thereby significantly enhancing the quality and effectiveness of the project.

The Learning Science Lab (LSL) provides specialized expertise in learning design and resources for content production; however, without the input of a subject matter expert to develop and validate the content, these skills remain underutilized. Roles and commitments should be clearly delineated during the planning stages, but ongoing engagement from the subject matter expert is often required in tasks such as:

• Crafting scripts or developing instructional text

• Verifying the accuracy and integrity of content produced by the LSL

• Testing interactive modules and providing iterative feedback

• Granting final approval for comprehensive course content

While these tasks may not always demand extensive time commitments, especially when they primarily involve content review, they are critical to the project’s success, and timely completion is essential for maintaining momentum.

Deployment

Upon completion of the development phase, the project must be deployed to students. In some instances, such as a standalone module, deployment may be as straightforward as sharing a URL. In other instances, where the interactive content is more intricately integrated with student activities, the release process may be more complex and require additional communication or training (e.g., ensuring teaching assistants are proficient in using a new tool). The release plan should be articulated during the initial project scoping, and more sophisticated deployments may necessitate continued involvement from subject matter experts.

Assessment

An essential component integrated into all our projects is self-assessment—not student assessment, although that is an important consideration in some contexts, but rather an evaluation of whether the project, as designed, achieves the intended goals and learning objectives. This self-assessment process requires continuous reflection, including the preparation of instructional reports and soliciting feedback from students to gauge effectiveness.

There is always potential for refining and enhancing instructional designs. In some cases, insights gained from one project will inform future endeavors. In other cases, further iteration and development might be within the current project scope, allowing for the direct enhancement of existing content. But whatever the project structure, we always seek to identify actional lessons from the student experience.

Next steps

Now that you've got an idea of the development process, take a look at some past examples of interactive work. These examples will have a well-established process in place, but if you have other ideas, let us know! We can work to help develop them.