How to design a learning activity in nine steps

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This article series explains how to develop a learning activity in nine steps.

Past articles - including Ice breakers are harmful to the learning process, Ten concrete steps for beginning a learning event, Learning in an anxious economic environment, and Eight show-biz secrets to effective learning, - have discussed the difficulties learning professionals face when activities are poorly integrated into the learning.

Poorly designed, plug and play activities look and feel artificial to attendees. When these activities aren’t tightly connected to the content being taught, they foster learner resentment.

On the other hand, adult learners like involvement. They get excited, sometimes too much so, by competition. They relish a chance to play with, to get their hands on, to explore the content, to be involved in their own learning. And when the activity works, the discussion that follows is meaty and informative. The resulting learning is richer and more meaningful than what is possible by almost any other method.

The challenge for the learning leader is to design and deliver activities that fully engage, are completely aligned with content, surface meaningful discussion and dynamically propels the learning forward. What follows is a nine-step plan for creating an activity. It will not by itself guarantee you activity success. It will however provide a logical sequence for creating the best possible activity.

Step One – PURPOSE
Identify the purpose of the activity. Ask yourself what the activity trying to accomplish. Identify what the participants will have learned when the activity has been completed.

PURPOSE Applied
Let’s apply this process to an opening activity for a diversity training program. At the start of the program, it is important for people to become comfortable in the learning environment. One way to build that comfort is for the learners to hear their voices within the learning room. In addition, the trainer will likely want to know who the participants are and the learners may want to know something about each other. It would be ideal if the entire presentation could be set up from the introductory activity.

In the next article, we will examine Step Two - Message as we continue examining the process for developing a learning activity in nine steps.