Our industry is still plagued with eLearning designs that focus too much on content, that is, what the learner needs to know. I believe eLearning Instructional Design should focus on what the learner needs to do. The interactivity we design for eLearning must require the learner to do something that is cognitively demanding and that leads to improved performance. So how do you create a successful eLearning course that achieves this? The answer is CCAF (Context, Challenge, Activity, Feedback). The CCAF Design Model drives instructional purpose and interactivity for each learning project.
1. The 4 Elements Of CCAF
Context: a meaningful framework and conditions.
Challenge: a stimulus or urgency to act.
Activity: a physical response or gesture in response to the challenge.
Feedback: the reflection back to the learner about the effectiveness of their actions.
What’s the importance? Instructional interactivity is what engages the learner’s mind to do those things that improve ability and readiness to perform effectively. I believe that this is the key to authentic, scenario-driven eLearning experiences that get people to think differently, act differently, and work differently.
2. Towards Performance Outcomes
Here are 3 tips for you to create eLearning courses that will help you achieve your performance outcomes:
- Enhance the learner's motivation and desire to learn
- Focus the learner on behavior-enhancing tasks
- Create meaningful and memorable learning experiences which transfer to effective job performance
If you can come up with the Context, Challenge, Activity, and Feedback for any topic for your audience, you can design learning experiences that are right for them. And, not just learning experiences, but learning experiences that are meaningful, memorable, motivational, and measurable.