Taken from ASCILITE 2023 Te Pae Christchurch Conference Centre, NZ
What is the Learning Wave?
Using the wave
Advanced concepts
is the common response when friends or family mention they are taking some online learning recently. They describe their experience as “a handful of boring videos, links to read huge PDFs and a quiz. This is not a motivating learning experience”.
Today’s learners have high expectations of a good digital experience. Digital platforms developed by large companies invest in the design and engagement of their product to make users the centre of the experience.
Connect with their users using engaging stories and characters within interesting scenarios. Viewers can watch almost everything when and where they want to.
But they are a one-sided affair with little interaction from the user besides choosing another show to watch.
Have you lost track of time looking for the latest bargains online? Most online shopping websites enable users to explore, research and review products, and this creates a more engaging experience.
Well designed online shopping sites have a variety of content types and voices of current customers and an easy to complete shopping cart experience.
Short, bit-sized content featuring community feedback and personalised channels based on areas of interest create an engaging experience for users.
The most engaging technology of today, modern digital games are sophisticated, highly engineered experiences design to motivate and engage players, through long journeys and increasingly hard challenges.
Education can learn from digital games with concepts such as choices with consequence, instant feedback, puzzle-solving, increasing difficulty, reward and recognition for progress and achieving goals.
The user is at the centre, with the digital platforms built around continuous engagement with the user and motivating them to continue using the platform and become more invested.
Many strategies are employed to engage users such as storytelling, problem-solving, the rhythm of the platform, interactivity, challenges, feedback, variety of media, choices and personalisation.
Each platform has a rhythm or loop, the optimal cognitive flow of how users interact with the system.
Digital games have similar time investment to online learning from 10’s to 100s of hours, requiring long term motivation and goal setting.
Sense of progression, goals, rewards, recognition of achievement, choice, ability to fail safely, connection with others and agency are key motivational principles that keep players invested for the duration of the experience.
Stories are a powerful tool in connecting with users, as a good story will drive the experience, providing emotional connection and participation. From a simple fable to an epic hero’s journey , humans have always used stories for passing on knowledge and connect with others.
Modern digital platforms don’t just tell a story, they let users create their own stories in how they react and participate.
A Learning Experience Design framework, designed to positively impact learning behaviour through storytelling, motivation and engagement.
Making learning more memorable and relevant through authentic and engaging stories and scenarios. The Learning Wave can help transform abstract concepts and weavethem into relatable narratives, helping learners grasp complex ideas and connectkey points of knowledge. A strong narrative encourages active participation and critical thinking, and nurturing empathy and emotional connections.
Of all the digital platforms available, digital games are the most sophisticated in their ability to motivate their players. Digital games have tapped into the principles of Self-Determination Theory (SDT), a psychological framework aligned with intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. The Learning Waves uses the SDT principles of autonomy, competence and relatedness to motivate learners.
Constructing knowledge isn’t just about acquisition, learners need theopportunity to use their new skills and be challenged in authentic scenarios. The Learning Wave aligns instructional design with narrative and experiential learning experiences, moving learners from understanding information to applying in authentic problem-solving scenarios.
The Learning Wave can be used at the scale you need, from a learning activity to an entire short course or microcredential.
Each Learning Wave is unique to your learner’s needs and is adaptable to work with different frameworks, models and theories.
The Learning Wave is driven by moving with defined timeline to turn abstract information into strategic knowledge.
The Learning Wave builds on the concept of Semantic Waves, the unpacking and repacking of information to achieve technical understanding. Complex and abstract information is broken down into scaffolded “packages”, with the learner “repacking” knowledge by drawing on context-specific activities to reframe the concepts for themselves.
Read more at Karl Maton’s Legitimation Code Theory.
The x-axis shows the learner’s understanding over time
The y-axis shows the complexity of the concept
Moving from the learner having little or no understanding tobeing able to problem-solve real-life scenarios.
Key learning activities and moments define the rhythm of the learner’s experience, keep them on track and in sync.
THE BEAT:
Each beat is a Learning Moment, an event associated with completing a learning activity or assessment.
COMPLEXITY:
This is where the beat aligns with the expected competency and understanding.
LEARNING TIMELINE:
At this point in the time, the learner needs to be at this level of understanding.
A good learning wave takes learner’s on a journey defined by goals, rewards and opportunities for learning and reflection.
THE LEARNING JOURNEY
Using familiar and proven concepts from digital games particularly the concept of quests, the learning journey provides the learners with different phases, providing a dynamic experience involving goals, obstacles, events, rewards and moments of reflection.
Creating a sense of progression
Learners are guided and motivated through the learning journey, keeping their instrinsicmotivation level high with:
PHASE 1: ACQUISTION
The Acquisition phase is defined by a series of Learning Moments aligned by the learning objectives that guide the learner’s progress through a continous narrative and interconnected activities and rewards in preparation for problem solving scenarios.
Learning moments
Key concepts and facts are gathered and activated in defined moments to promote deeper learning and interaction. Learning activities and reflections are strong drivers to create learning moments.
PHASE 2: REFLECTION
The Reflection Point is a moment in time where learners pause to analyse their performance up to this point, and to reflect on their experience so far. The learner is informed of the challenges ahead and provided the opportunity to review and prepare.
Reflection Points
This phase is where the system or learner can instigate a pause, where the learner is provided an opportunity and resources to review, reflect and prepare for the challenge phase.
PHASE 3: CHALLENGE
The learner is presented a series of Challenge Events, which are authentic scenarios that require problem solving using their newly acquired knowledge and skills. Each event increases in challenge and complexity, finalising in a summative activity and reflection.
Challenge Events
Key concepts and facts are gathered and activated in defined moments to promote deeper learning and interaction with the leaner. Learning activities and reflections are strong drivers to create learning moments.
The waveform of a Learning Wave is a visual representation ofthe learner’s journey and experience to create “flow”*.
Balanced knowledge and challenge
Progressive knowledge with short hard challenge
Knowledge review with paced challenge
Rapid knowledge with steep challenge and long resolution/reflection at end
*Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s concept of “flow” refers to a state of complete absorption in an activity, where individuals are fully engaged and lose track of time. It occurs when the challenge matches one’s skill level, resulting in deep concentration and a sense of fulfillment.
The key concepts of storytelling, knowledge acquistion andlearning experience driven from Self-Determination Theory.
Digital games are ingeniously designed to tap into the principles of Self-Determination Theory, offering players a sense of autonomy by granting them control over their in-game choices and decisions. Through challenging gameplay and progressive skill development, these games empower players to experience competence, fostering a profound sense of achievement and mastery. Additionally, video games often facilitate relatedness by creating vibrant online communities where players connect, collaborate, and share experiences, ultimately enhancing the player’s overall sense of well-being and motivation.
Read more on Self-Determination Theory [insert link]
The Learning Wave distills this concept into 3 different waveforms each based on pillars of Self-Determination Theory, aligning to a proven methodology or model.
Aligning with relatedness, the Narrative Wave provides a meaningful connection to the knowledge with context, perspective and emotions.
The Narrative Wave is based on a story-telling framework or system that effectively aligns with the knowledge construction.
Aligning with competence, the Knowledge Wave provides opportunity for learners to master their abilities and be challenged.
The Knowledge Wave is to be based on an instructional design method to provide the solid foundation for the learning experience.
Aligning with autonomy, the Experience Wave provides learners self-direction, ownership and motivation through an engaging experience that provides choice and decision-making.
The Experience Wave is to be based on frameworks aligned with experential learning, active learning, gamification, UX and LX.
The story that connects all the learning, reflection, assessment and learning outcomes, determining how learners will learn.
Freytag’s Pyramid is a classical narrative story structure design modelled after literature and theatre. The stages of this storytelling framework align with Gagne’s Nine Events of Instruction, making it perfectly suited to creating an interesting and authentic, relevant story aligned to knowledge acquistion and challenges.
Using Freytag’s Pyramid to create interesting narratives
A powerful and rapid piece of engagement that bring to the learner’s attention what is at stake in the story and introduce characters, tasks, and skills to learn.
This is where the story gets interesting. The protagonist starts their arc or journey, faces adversity and challenges to overcome on them to the final goal.
This is the consequences and fulfillment of the protagonist’s choice, knowledge, and determination.
Going deeper with Freytag’s Pyramid
Setting up the story, characters, tone to set up the Inciting Incident to get the plot going.
The “complication” or the scenario that drives the story aligned with the learning objectives and narrative decisions.
The story builds, the action and challenge to the protagonist gets harder. This is where the learner needs to be ready for the challenges ahead.
The protagonist has a crisis or major challenge thrust upon them and now they must prepare themselves for the battles ahead. The learner has a chance to reflect, review and judge their knowledge ready for apply their skills.
Now there are problems, challenges and battles coming to the protagonist left and right, they need to dig deep and use their skills to overcome and succeed. Learners are provided scaffolded problems with increasing difficulty, aligned to a larger story or narrative.
Everything has gone well for the protagonist (or not, depending on the narrative choice) and there are rewards to be gained and almost time for a well-earned rest. This is where learners finish their final assessment, culminating all the knowledge and skills they have developed over the course.
Time for reflection. What went well, what didn’t, what was learnt,what can be taken away to the next story / course.
This is ‘what’ the learners do and how they learn. Connecting knowledge using instructional design within a narrative.
Gagné’s Nine Events of Instruction is a systematic teaching strategy that emphasizes the entire learning process, from capturing the learner’s attention to ensuring knowledge retention and transferability. The structure of flow of Gagne’s Nine events aligns with the story structure of Freytag’s Pyramid, allowing for the concept of instructional storytelling.
The basic instructional design framework
Sparking interest and stimulating learners for the acquisition of new knowledge or skills. The aim is to alert the cognitive structures necessary for learning and help students understand the learning objectives and expected outcomes.
The focus is on delivering the content by showcasing the information, demonstrating tasks, and then allowing learners to try these tasks themselves to reinforce their understanding and abilities. This stage is crucial for developing proficiency and ensuring that learners can apply what they’ve learned in a controlled context.
This final stage is where learning is evaluated, and the emphasisis on the application of new knowledge or skills in differentcontexts. The goal is to assess whether learners have met the objectives set out at the beginning and can now extend what they’ve learned to real-world scenarios, effectively transferring the instruction beyond the learning environment into practical use.
Using Gagne’s Nine Events of Instruction
Ensure the learners are ready to learn and participate in activities by presenting a stimulus to capture their attention.
Inform learners of the objectives or outcomes for the course and tasks to help them understand what they are expected to learn and do.
Help learners make sense of new information by relating it to something they already know or something they have already experienced.
Use strategies to present and cue lesson content to provide more effective instruction. Organize and group learning resources in meaningful ways and provide explanations after demonstrations.
Advise learners of strategies to aid them in learning content and of resources available. In other words, help learners learn how to learn.
Learners reflect on their own performance and consider how they can apply what they’ve learned to new situations. Reflection at this midpoint can solidify learning and increase the potential for transfer to other contexts.
Have students apply what they have learned to reinforce new skills and knowledge and to confirm correct understanding of course concepts.
Provide timely feedback of learners’ performance to assess and facilitate learning and to allow learners to identify gaps in understanding.
Test whether the expected learning outcomes have been achieved on previously stated course objectives.
Help learners demonstrate their learning by providing them opportunities to connect course concepts to real-world applications.
This wave is applied to the Narrative and Knowledge Waves to ensure there is fun, motivation and engagement.
The Octalysis Actional Gamification framework is a design approach around human motivation, taking elements from digital and physical games and applying them to realworld activities. The Experience Wave uses the four stages of the framework to create an engaging experience from initial interest to long-term engagement. The 8 Core Drives can be implemented throughout to continually motivate and engage with learners.
Based on the Octalysis Actional Gamification framework
The initial stage where learners are introduced to the experience. The focus is on intriguing learners with the learning experience’s unique value proposition. It is crucial for a learning experience to make strong first impression to encourage learners to start learning and become immersed in the experience.
Once the learner is learning they enter the onboarding stage. This phase is about informing and showing learners how to learn and get this most from this experience in a simple and engaging way. The goal is to minimise frustration and confusion and help learners understand the basic objectives, expectations, and requirements. Good onboarding leads to greater retention as it paves the way for a smoother learning experience.
The endgame is about providing deeper engagement for learners and is where they are challenged and use their new skills and knowledge to solve scenarios. This stage compels learners through the ability to fail safely, learning from mistakes with instant feedback and recognition of progress and success.
In scaffolding learners are already familiar with the basics requirements and are already engaging with main content. The focus shifts to maintaining interest and engagement through challenges, new skills and progressively unlocking features or content. This stage is crucial for keeping the learning interesting and challenging over time.
Core Drive 1: Epic Meaning and calling
The learner believes they are doing something greater than themselves.
Core Drive 2: Development and accomplishment
Development and accomplishment is our internal drive for making progress, developing skills, achieving mastery and eventually overcoming challenges. Challenge is important, as a badge or trophy without challenge is not meaningful at all.
Core Drive 3: Empowerment of creativity and feedback
This is expressed when learners are engaged in the creative process where they repeatedly figure new things out and try different combinations. Learners need to express their creativity and in turn see the results, receive feedback and adjust in turn. If these techniques are properly designed and integrated to empower learners there’s no need to continuously add additional content to keep the activity fresh and engaging – the brain entertains itself.
Core Drive 4: Ownership and possession
Where learners are motivated because they feel a sense of ownership over their actions and achievements.
Core Drive 5: Social influence and relatedness
Incorporates the social elements that motivate learners, including: mentorship, social acceptance, social feedback, companionship, and competition.
Core Drive 6: Scarcity and impatience
Wanting something simply because it is rare, exclusive or immediately unattainable.
Core Drive 7: Unpredictability and curiosity
Constantly being engaged because you don’t know what is going to happen next.
Core Drive 8: Loss and avoidance
Motivation to avoid something negative from happening. Opportunities that fade away (such as limited time/quantity) have a strong utilisation of this drive.
For more information visit The Octalysis Framework for Gamification & Behavioral Design
The flexibility and deeper advanced concepts when using and adapting The Learning Wave.
The Learning Wave has been designed to be flexible, adaptable and usable at any detail or scale the designer requires. A single Learning Wave is powerful, using multiple waves allows for more opportunities to motivate and engage learners. There are many different ways to use and adapt The Learning Wave for a designers needs....
Linear pathway in series
Learning Waves can be connected to define a series of activities, or modules within a course, there is no minimum or maximum baseline. When planning and connecting multiple waves the best results are when the last beat of a wave, retention and transfer (resolution) aligns with the gaining attention (hook) of an incoming wave, for a smooth transition.
Narrative
Define the cadence and rhythm of the learning experience with an authentic and engaging narrative.
Provide context, perspective, and emotional elements to the learning for increased immersion and connection.
Knowledge
Align the knowledge components with the beats of the story, providing the academic aspect of the situation.
The phases of learning (construction, reflection and challenge) will align with the story, creating a dynamic experience.
Experience
With the narrative and knowledge aspects sorted out, the experience waves can now ensure that learners are motivated and engaged throughout the experience and the goals and rewards align to the story and knowledge and skills acquired.
Instructional storytelling
Defining and creating an engaging learning experience requires multiple elements and concepts all happening at the same time. To help with cognitive load and simplifying the process, creating aligned parallel waves aids in the construction by allowing the designer to develop in “layers”.
All learning moments / beats need to align and starting with the narrative provides an engaging foundation to apply the learning content to.
Creating depth and detail
Each learning moment / beat can be seen as a potential Learning Wave, with its own ministory that aligns to the overall narrative. This is a decision for the designer and their overall vision for the learning experience. It is recommended to create Learning Waves for the challenge events, ensuring the difficulty and topics are aligned with the expectations of the learner at that point in time.
Challenge event with quick knowledge review followed by a series of increasingly complex challenges
Learning moment with long knowledge acquisition followed by a short knowledge check.
Make The Learning Wave work for you
The Learning Waves has three waveforms for Narrative, Knowledge and Experience being based on the principles of Self Determination Theory. This is just the beginning and the foundations for going foward.
The Narrative Wave is aligned with Freytag’s Pyramid and a designer could create a new Learning Wave based on The Hero’s Journey or the Three Act formula. The Knowledge Wave could be aligned to other instructional frameworks such as ADDIE, and the Experience Wave is open for ideas in gamification, experiential learning, user experience.
And there’s nothing stopping at just 3 different Learning Waves.
What ideas do YOU have?
The flexibility and deeper advanced concepts when using and adapting The Learning Wave.
The Learning Wave © 2023 by Andrew Komoder, Education Innovation, Office of DVC (Education), Western Sydney University is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0
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The Learning Wave was designed and developed by Andrew Komoder on behalf of Postgraduate Transformations/Education Innovation, Western Sydney University.
With special thanks to Lynnae Venarruzzo for your contributions and guidance to help make The Learning Wave what it is.
With thanks to: Cherie Diaz for your support and advocacy of novel digital pedagogy and Ashraf Ashraf for your UX and design talents. I also thank my colleagues who provided insights and critique to help shape the Learning Wave and apply it in practice: Matthew Bennett, Botong Cheng, Josh Byrnes, Iona Reid, Sam Dessen, Emily Collins, Yasmine Tolentino, Carmen Young, Cindy Setiawan, and Glenn Mason.
