Introduction

A learning activity can be defined as an interaction between a learner and an environment, leading to a planned outcome. It is the planned outcome which makes learning a purposeful activity.

Practitioners have always planned activities for learning. Designing activities that promote effective learning is an essential component of the practitioner’s art. In a technology-rich context, this process is brought into sharper focus by the extended range of options available but the key elements remain consistent. Each of the three elements at the heart of this process brings with it factors which will have some influence on the designing process. These are:

Learners
Their needs, motives for learning, prior experience of learning, social and interpersonal skills, preferred learning styles and expectations of the course and of the practitioner

Learning environment (face-to-face or virtual)
Available resources, tools, facilities and services and their match with the learners’ needs

Intended learning outcomes
The purpose behind the learning activity; internal or external goals and targets

The learning activity at the centre of the process represents the means by which the practitioner brings about learning and seeks to influence the development of learners.

Within the context of any activity, the interaction between these three elements will be dynamic and may influence decisions in an unequal way. The decisions that underpin designing for learning in any particular context, and in any given pedagogic approach, will increasingly involve a selection from both new and established practices, based on perceptions of the learners’ needs, the nature of the learning environment and the intended outcomes, as practitioners seek to orchestrate effective learning by seeking out the most appropriate tools.

A model of learning activity design illustrates more fully the art of the practitioner at work in creating and sequencing learning activities, by highlighting the importance of aligning the three essential elements at the heart of learning activity design with the overall pedagogical approach and practice.