Instructional Innovation Lab:
Instructional Innovation Lab:
Prototyping Humane Design for Learner Wellbeing and Engagement
Prototyping Humane Design for Learner Wellbeing and Engagement
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The Instructional Innovation Lab is an intensive, three-module Design Sprint focused on prototyping and rigorously testing innovative, learner-centered learning experiences. Moving beyond static instructional templates, participants will collaboratively develop and iteratively refine a single High Engagement Learning Module prototype through the critical lenses of cognitive science, ethical motivation, and Humane Design.
The core goal of this lab is to provide practicing instructional designers with a dedicated space, via facilitated brainstorm sessions and structured group work, to collaboratively explore and experiment with Humane Design solutions. This approach allows designers to directly tackle the complex pedagogical challenges routinely encountered in their often individual and solitary work. The lab’s unique structure employs dual-role testing, where every design solution is immediately pressure-tested from both the learner’s subjective experience and the instructor’s logistical perspective.
The blended format leverages mandatory, weekly in-person sessions for crucial collaborative testing and hands-on experimentation, with online time reserved for asynchronous design and analysis, resulting in an efficient and high-impact educational experience.
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1. Foundational Prototype and Humane Design Alignment
1. Foundational Prototype and Humane Design Alignment
This collaborative activity prompts participants to design the core architecture of the learning experience (Presentation, Practice, and Performance Feedback). The primary task is to envision and integrate Humane Design Micro-interventions (e.g., presence cues to manage cognitive load, micro-breaks to combat digital fatigue, etc.) directly into the foundational structure. The output is a structurally sound prototype, immediately validated through dual-role testing focused on the cognitive, emotional, and physical well-being for the target audience, anticipating and removing potential instructional barriers proactively.
You will develop a robust learning module prototype by designing its core components while proactively prototyping micro-interventions to support sustained focus and combat digital fatigue.
Core Objectives
Objective: To design a complete, structurally sound learning module prototype where the three core instructional components are custom-aligned with the emotional and cognitive needs of a designated target audience, establishing a viable experimental ground for subsequent advanced strategies.
Process: Integrated Design and Customization
Your primary task is to build a high-fidelity prototype by designing and customizing its three core instructional components based on your target audience's capabilities and context:
1 Presentation (Structure & Sequencing): Architect the content structure and sequencing, integrating Presence Cues and explicit navigation aids to manage cognitive load and encourage mindful attention (a humane design element).
2 Practice (Tasks & Application): Develop aligned hands-on application tasks, integrating Micro-Breaks or opportunities for flexible pacing within the activity flow to support sustained focus and combat digital fatigue.
3 Performance Feedback (Assessment Touchpoints): Define meaningful assessment moments, customizing the format, tone, and timing of the feedback to meet the target audience's emotional and developmental needs.
Collaborative Validation and Dual-Role Testing
This module culminates in a collaborative analysis session. After drafting your integrated design, you will present it to the group for peer review and hands-on testing.
Your peers will rigorously validate your design from two essential perspectives:
• The Learner's Role: Experiencing the module as a student, testing the cognitive flow, emotional load, and the perceived efficacy of your integrated humane micro-interventions.
• The Instructor's Role: Evaluating the design's instructional feasibility, technical alignment, and the operational effort required for successful implementation.
Outcome: You will complete this module with a peer-reviewed and pressure-tested foundational prototype that is both structurally sound and intentionally learner-centered, ready to receive further advanced design elements in Module 2.
The collaborative validation testing of the Humane Design aspects move beyond simple usability to focus on the learner's cognitive, emotional, and physical well-being.
The specific aspects of humane design that participants should test and analyze when engaging in the dual roles of student and instructor:
Validation testing of the Humane Design aspects
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2. The Growth Loop - Feedback and Adaptive Motivation
2. The Growth Loop - Feedback and Adaptive Motivation
Building upon the stable, Humane Design foundation, this activity prompts participants to transform static assessment into a dynamic Growth Loop. Participants explore design solutions to ensure the performance feedback methods they design meet specific developmental needs and serve as motivation/reward. This involves two critical, integrated tasks:
• Feedback Redesign: Prototyping relational and reflective assessment prioritizing developmental dialogue, exploration, and experimentation over mere compliance. Since designing for compliance is straightforward, collaborative brainstorming will focus on finding innovative solutions for challenging reflective assessment designs.
• Motivation Prototyping: Exploring possibilities of implementing Ethical Adaptive Motivation models using Variable Reinforcement Schedules (VRS) to intrinsically incentivize high-value cognitive actions (e.g., reflection, synthesis) rather than shallow clicks.
Core Objectives
To prototype an integrated Relational Feedback system alongside an Ethical Adaptive Motivation model. The goal is to design a learning environment where feedback drives intrinsic motivation by linking intellectual progress to customized incentives, compelling the learner to seek genuine growth rather than simple compliance.
Process: Integrated Exploration, Design, and Customization
Process: Integrated Exploration, Design, and Customization
Participants will engage in a collaborative process of exploring, designing, and integrating these critical growth elements into their prototype Draft:
1. Exploration and Foundational Analysis (Feedback & Motivation)
Critically analyze existing assessment practices, contrasting compliance-driven methods (grades/scores) with development-driven methods (insight/reflection).
Revisit behavioral science principles and the popular engagement models used by social media, specifically Variable Reinforcement Schedules (VRS), and define the difference between shallow behaviors (clicks) and high-value cognitive actions (intellectual discovery, synthesis) relevant to their prototype.
2. Design and Fine-tune: Prototyping the Growth Loop
Feedback Redesign: Prototype and redesign key assessment moments to embody "Feedback design: from score to story." This involves developing Relational and Reflective Assessment models that prioritize developmental dialogue and connection over mere summative judgment.
Motivation Prototyping: Design adaptive engagement elements (gamification, reward structures) that ethically apply VRS. The reward must be intrinsically tied to the intellectual discoveries identified in the analysis phase (e.g., unlocking a new insight after complex reflection), ensuring the system promotes persistence with complex tasks.
Collaborative Validation and Implementation
In a concluding collaborative session participants will integrate their new designs into the initial prototype and test the resulting Growth Loop.
Testing Efficacy (Learner's Role): Participants experience the redesigned feedback moment, assessing whether the feedback is genuinely motivating and reflective. They test the adaptive motivators to confirm the incentive encourages a focus on deep learning (e.g., reflection) rather than simply seeking the extrinsic reward.
Testing Feasibility (Instructor's Role): Participants analyze the logistical viability of providing relational feedback and managing an adaptive VRS system. They evaluate the sustainability and scalability of the integrated Growth Loop within the instructional context.
Outcome: You will finalize an integrated prototype featuring a robust, relational feedback structure that strategically employs ethical motivation techniques, ready for the final UDL-driven synthesis.
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3. UDL Synthesis and Prototype Validation
3. UDL Synthesis and Prototype Validation
This culminating activity frames Universal Design for Learning (UDL) not as a compliance checklist, but as the essential, final step of instructional design iteration and synthesis. Participants collaboratively apply the three UDL Principles (Engagement, Representation, Action & Expression) to rigorously assess and refine the fully integrated prototype. The process ensures the maximal accessibility, flexibility, and effectiveness for all learners. The lab concludes with a formal presentation and validation of the final instructional designs, where teams demonstrate both the designed module pedagogical viability (instructor's lens) and its inclusive experience (learner's lens).
Core Objectives
Core Objectives
To finalize the comprehensive learning module prototype by applying the three UDL principles (Engagement, Representation, and Action & Expression) as lenses for refinement. The work culminates in a complete, validated design that maximizes accessibility and pedagogical viability.
Process: Collaborative Exploration, Synthesis, and Refinement
Process: Collaborative Exploration, Synthesis, and Refinement
Participants will engage in a systematic process of applying UDL to synthesize and enhance their integrated module:
Framing UDL & Analysis: Participants collaboratively assess and analyze their integrated prototype through the lenses of the three core UDL Principles, treating them as design guides rather than mere regulatory checks. This involves actively exploring potential barriers and identifying areas where learner variability has not yet been addressed.
Synthesis and Refinement: Teams experiment with various inclusive solutions, systematically applying the UDL principles to iterate and refine the module's instructional elements. This ensures instructional barriers are anticipated and removed proactively across the entire learner experience.
Final Validation and Dual-Role Presentations
Final Validation and Dual-Role Presentations
The lab concludes with a formal presentation and final validation of the integrated design, where teams demonstrate the accessibility and pedagogical power of their prototype.
Final Presentation (The Instructor's Lens): Teams present the finalized module, articulating the design choices, justifying the UDL alignment, and detailing the pedagogical viability—the operational ease and support for diverse teaching methods.
Final Validation (The Learner's Lens): Teams showcase and demonstrate key accessible features, providing scenarios where differently-abled learners (representative of the target audience) successfully navigate and engage with the material, thereby evaluating the inclusive experience and accessibility.
Outcome: You will leave the lab with a complete, High Learning Engagement Module prototype, fully synthesized, UDL-aligned, and validated through the practical lenses of both the learner experience and the instructor's implementation needs.
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Illustrations by Storyset.com
Suggested Reading List
Meyer, A., Rose, D. H., & Gordon, D. (2014). Universal Design for Learning: Theory and Practice. CAST Professional Publishing.
Fink, D. L. (2013). Creating Significant Learning Experiences: An Integrated Approach to Designing College Courses. Jossey-Bass.
Wiggins, G., & McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by Design. ASCD.
Pink, Daniel H (2018) When: the scientific secrets of perfect timing. NY Riverhead Books.
Unique Features: Collaboration, Experimentation, and Innovation
The Instructional Innovation Lab addresses a critical need for practicing instructional designers by offering a highly unique, experimental framework.
The lab's defining feature is its dual-role, collaborative experimentation focused on exploring the intersection of humane design (learner well-being) and learning science. The course stands out because it mandates a rigorous, experimental approach to instructional design that bridges theoretical concepts with practical, collaborative validation.
The lab serves as a vital antidote to design isolation, transforming individual challenges into a shared opportunity for collaborative problem-solving. It deliberately facilitates group work to boost design imagination and provide the necessary collegial validation for implementing innovative concepts focused on engagement and well-being.
Stand-Out Activities
These activities drive the prototyping process and ensure Humane Design is validated through dual-role testing:
• The Dual-Role Stress Test: Every core design choice is tested by participants alternating between the "Learner's Role" (focusing on subjective experience, well-being, stress, and flow) and the "Instructor's Role" (focusing on logistical feasibility and scalability). This unique, embedded experimentation model ensures practical, learner-centered outcomes.
• "Score to Story" Redesign Solutions: An intensive, in-person session in module 2 where teams collaboratively transform a compliance and grade-focused assessment scenario into a highly motivating developmental dialogue, aligning feedback with learner growth.
• Ethical Gamification Pitch: Teams will present and justify their adaptive motivation solutions, explaining how their Variable Reinforcement Schedule (VRS) is ethically engineered to compel learners toward a complex intellectual action (such as deep reflection or synthesis). This activity focuses on prioritizing deep engagement over shallow, clickbait-style behaviours.
• UDL Barrier Audit: The final presentation in module 3 includes a UDL demonstration where teams simulate how their integrated prototype successfully supports learners with high variability, ensuring inclusive design is proven, not just promised.
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