Overview

Laurillard (2012) advocates using ‘designing for learning’ rather than ‘learning design’ because it places the focus on the learner. She further argues that we cannot design learning; we can only “create the environment and conditions within which the students find themselves motivated and enabled to learn.” There are two separate but overlapping fields which focus on designing for learning: Instructional Design (ID) and Learning Design (LD). In the sections below, you will find an overview of the key ID and LD approaches. I will also set out an integrated approach which uses what I think are the most valuable ideas and methods from both fields.