Learning Design and Technology: Admission Details

What to Expect

Core Values and Pedagogical Approach 

1. Learner-centered design 

At the center of the LXD concentration is the principle that sound pedagogy must guide design decisions, particularly in supporting learner agency. In line with the LDT program’s objective to apply theory and evidence to digital curriculum and environment design, students will explore how design decisions affect learners’ autonomy, engagement, and motivation, in addition to learning outcomes. This learner-centered approach draws on constructivist theories, which emphasize that learning is most effective when learners are actively engaged in shaping their educational experiences. Students will integrate foundational instructional models and ideas, such as experiential learning and scaffolded instruction, into their designs, ensuring that learning is both practical and immersive. 

The curriculum encourages the use of evidence-based strategies and digital tools to create learner-centered designs, while continuously putting ideas into practice through hands-on projects and assignments. By designing with empathy and attending to learner needs, students ensure that their designs are not only functional but also engaging and motivating. The emphasis on learner agency is not just theoretical. Students develop practical user experience research skills and apply them by designing learning prototypes using cutting-edge tools. This pragmatic approach ensures that students understand design principles and gain the technical expertise to bring their ideas to fruition. 

2. Ethical responsibility and inclusivity 

Commitment to equity and social justice in educational design is a core value of the concentration. Students critically examine how their design choices affect diverse learners and strive for solutions that promote fairness, belongingness, and inclusivity, aligning with the LDT objective to assess technology’s sociocultural impact. Informed by critical pedagogy and social justice frameworks, students are also taught to develop learning environments that are responsive to the needs of diverse learners, ensuring that each design promotes equitable access to education. Courses emphasize ethical decision-making, challenging students to address the needs of marginalized populations through thoughtful and intentional design choices. 

Pedagogical frameworks such as Universal Design for Learning (UDL) inform students’ design decisions, guiding them to create flexible learning environments that accommodate individual learning differences. By embedding pedagogy at the core of their design practices, students are better prepared to evaluate the sociocultural impact of their designs and to create educational solutions that are inclusive, accessible, and socially just. Students critically examine how their design choices affect learners from different backgrounds and work toward developing solutions that address educational inequities. This reflective process allows students to craft ethical, inclusive learning environments that go beyond addressing surface-level needs, fostering a deeper sense of belonging and engagement for all learners. 

3. Interdisciplinary knowledge and evidence-based design 

Pedagogical theory plays an integral role in shaping the aesthetic principles applied in the LXD concentration. Rather than seeing aesthetics as separate from pedagogy, students will explore how the form and structure of a learning experience can support instructional goals. The concentration is grounded in an interdisciplinary framework, integrating insights from learning sciences, cognitive psychology, human-computer interaction, and the arts. By exploring multiple perspectives, students develop a deep understanding of how learners interact with technology and how design choices can influence learning outcomes. This approach reflects the LDT program’s objective to integrate evidence and ideas from learning sciences, motivation theories, and critical technology theory into designs. Further, students are guided to create learning experiences that are both practical and aesthetically rich. By integrating principles such as cohesion, immersion, and emotional resonance, students learn to create learning environments that are not only intellectually stimulating but also emotionally and experientially engaging. 

Students will learn to blend aesthetics with pedagogy to create environments where learners are not only engaged intellectually but also emotionally and experientially. This integration ensures that designs are not only effective in achieving learning outcomes but also promote meaningful, lasting experiences that reflect pedagogical best practices. Students apply their understanding of user experience (UX) principles and research methods to design intuitive and effective learning environments. Empathy in design is emphasized, ensuring that user-centric solutions are both functional and engaging. The practical focus ensures that students continuously practice what they learn, refining their designs based on user feedback and data-driven insights. 

4. Collaboration and leadership in learning design 

Collaboration is essential to successful design, and the concentration fosters this through team-based projects and real-world applications. In alignment with the LDT objective to collaborate and lead in educational technology solutions, students work closely with peers and diverse stakeholders throughout the program, developing technical competence and leadership skills. This prepares graduates to take on leadership roles in the design and implementation of educational technologies that meet the needs of specific environments. 

The program encourages collaboration not just as a practical necessity but as a means of augmenting creativity and innovation. By working with others, students learn to integrate diverse perspectives, balancing technical, pedagogical, and aesthetic considerations to create comprehensive and effective learning solutions. 

5. Reflection, Iteration, and Continuous Improvement 

Reflection and iteration are central to pedagogy and design. Students learn to engage in reflective practice and to continuously assess and improve their work. Drawing on models of reflective practice, such as Schön’s reflective practitioner model, students engage in ongoing evaluation of their instructional designs, using feedback to refine their pedagogical strategies and ensure learner success. As part of the LDT program’s objective to use data to inform learning design and implementation evaluation, students are trained to use both qualitative and quantitative data to evaluate their designs, identify areas for improvement, and optimize learner outcomes. This process of reflection and iteration is woven into each course, ensuring that students develop the habits necessary for ongoing professional growth. 

The iterative process fosters a mindset of continuous improvement, where learning is about achieving specific outcomes and about improving the design process itself. This reflective approach ensures that graduates can create high-quality learning environments and are prepared to adapt and evolve in response to emerging challenges. 

Student Outcomes

Upon successful completion of the program, we expect students will:

• Lead their organization in the effective use of technology for digital learning
• Establish leadership skills for supporting data-driven decision-making
• Develop skills for advanced technologies — including online and blended learning, mobile learning, multimedia-based instruction, tools for instructional management and assessment, and the integration of technology in universal design for learning (UDL)
• Engage in technology integration — applying evidence from cognitive science and the learning sciences, digital age skills, and a constructivist approach to teaching and learning, as well as the use of authentic assessment strategies, differentiated instruction, and appropriate technology tools to accommodate all learnersBuild leadership skills through mentoring, consulting, professional development, and systems change

Learning Experience Design Concentration Course Descriptions

ED.XXX.XXX, LXD Concentration 1: Foundations and Applications of Learning Experience Design (3 cr.) 

This course provides a comprehensive introduction to Learning Experience Design (LXD). Students will explore foundational design principles, learning theories, and user experience research methods, with a focus on adult learning environments. They will apply this knowledge in practical contexts, using tools such as Articulate Storyline 360, Adobe Illustrator, iSpring Suite, and front-end web development technologies (HTML, CSS, JavaScript) to create a technology-supported learning prototype. The hands-on approach ensures that students can synthesize theoretical knowledge with real-world application, preparing them for more advanced design challenges. 

ED.XXX.XXX, LXD Concentration 2: Advanced User Experience and Interaction Design for Learning Environments (3 cr.) 

This course offers an advanced exploration of user experience (UX) and interaction design in learning environments. Students will learn about usability, information architecture, and user research methodologies, applying these concepts to create intuitive and effective learning interfaces. The course emphasizes empathy in design, guiding students to craft user-centric solutions that align with clearly defined learning objectives and assessment strategies. (Prerequisite: LXD Concentration 1) 

ED.XXX.XXX, LXD Concentration 3: Strategic Development, Evaluation, and Advanced Practices in Learning Experience Design (3 cr.) 

In this capstone course, students immerse themselves in the strategic aspects of learning design. The course covers needs analysis, alignment of learning objectives with assessments, and the development of digital resources. Working in teams, students will apply instructional design models to create authentic learning solutions that address specific challenges. These team-based projects will ultimately serve as the foundation for students’ capstone projects, emphasizing collaboration, leadership, and adaptability in real-world contexts. (Prerequisite: LXD Concentration 1 and 2)