Vision

The Reality: Instructors Piece Together Learning

The foundation for the vision was the instructor mental model for teaching a course – create the course, curate content, check understanding, and improve the course ahead of the next semester. I mapped the current instructor workflow against this model to identify gaps and pain points.

The Problem: Pedagogy Isn’t Built into the Experience

As I mapped the instructor workflow and compared it to the ideal teaching mental model, a clear gap emerged. Content and tools existed but they were not connected by a consistent pedagogical layer.

The Missing Layer

• Instructors must translate pedagogy into the experience on their own

• Learning design varies widely across courses

• Effective teaching requires significant time and effort

The Opportunity: From Assembly to Guided Learning

To address this gap, the vision starts with the instructor’s learning goal. Pedagogy then sequences content, tools, and assessments into a guided learning experience with built-in checks for proficiency.

Give us the learning goal. We’ll apply the pedagogy.

• Intentionally sequenced to guide learning

• Aligned to instructor-defined learning goals

• Built-in checks for proficiency and adaptive learning

Pedagogical Layer

To make the vision more tangible, I outlined how the pedagogical layer connects content, learning tools, and assessments at the topic level to guide the learning experience.

Pedagogical Model

• Learning goals are broken into topics

• Each topic is structured with content, practice, and assessments

Authoring Platform

• Aligns content to learning goals across topics

• Defines sequencing and scaffolding across topics

Learning Tools & Assessments

• Recommends learning activities per topic based on the learning goal

• Selects appropriate tools for practice and interaction

• Measures proficiency through formative and summative assessments

• Enables adaptation based on student performance