EDF1401 Foundations of Learning Design and Technology
The Complete Study & Assessment Guide · S1 2026EDF1401 Overview
- Monash University
- S1 2026
- 10 chapters
- Education
EDF1401 Foundations of Learning Design and Technology introduces learning design as a profession, a process and a product.
- Assessed by 1. Written: Case study of one learning designer or design team 30% · 2. Quiz / Test: Learning Objectives Quiz 10% + 1 more
- Key terms Learning design, ADDIE, Performance gap, Learner analysis
- Assessment move Build one design-decision notebook across the semester.
- Most asked Is there a hurdle requirement?
How EDF1401 is assessed
| Component | Weight | Format |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Written: Case study of one learning designer or design team | 30% | Written case study; current due date 15 April 2026 |
| 2. Quiz / Test: Learning Objectives Quiz | 10% | Time-limited quiz permitting course-material consultation; current due date 21 April 2026 |
| 3. Portfolio: linked Structured essay task | 60% | Portfolio category with a Structured essay link; current due date 17 June 2026 |
Current EDF1401 dates
| Date | Item | Control |
|---|---|---|
| 15 April 2026 | Written case study | The current assessment page controls the submission time. |
| 21 April 2026 | Learning Objectives Quiz | The current assessment page controls the quiz operation. |
| 17 June 2026 | Portfolio / Structured essay | The current assessment page controls the submission time. |
Dates are as published in the current Monash Moodle assessment page. Confirm exact deadlines and submission settings in the live LMS.
What EDF1401 covers
Follow the unit from learning-design roles and ADDIE through objectives, assessment, feedback, technology, instructional strategies and evaluation.
Learning Design Roles and the Three Ps
Profession, process and product, professional roles, design decisions and case-study analysis.Learning design can be understood as a profession, a process and a product.
- Learning design as profession, process and product
- Designer roles across educational and workplace settings
- Collaboration with educators, experts and media specialists
- Context, constraints and professional judgement
- Distinguishing description from evidence-based analysis
- Connecting case details with learning-design literature
The ADDIE Design Life Cycle
Analysis, design, development, implementation, evaluation, performance gaps and iteration.ADDIE organises learning-design work into analysis, design, development, implementation and evaluation. It is most useful as a set of recurring questions, not a rule that every project must follow once in a straight line.
- Analysis: actual performance, desired performance and causes
- Design: objectives, evidence, sequence and strategy
- Development: production, review and testing
- Implementation: delivery, support and operational conditions
- Evaluation: formative and summative evidence
- Iteration, overlap and movement between phases
Analysis, Needs and Learner Context
Needs evidence, performance causes, learner profiles, context, constraints and design briefs.Strong design begins by investigating the gap between actual and desired performance, then asking what causes it. A request for training does not prove that instruction is the solution.
- Actual performance and desired performance
- Performance causes versus content gaps
- Learner characteristics that change design decisions
- Physical, social and organisational context
- Constraints, assumptions and evidence quality
- From analysis findings to a design brief
Constructive Alignment and Backward Design
Outcome alignment, acceptable evidence, learning activities and outcomes-first planning.Constructive alignment asks whether intended outcomes, learning activities and assessment evidence require coherent performance.
- Intended learning outcomes and observable performance
- Acceptable evidence of the intended result
- Learning activities that prepare the same performance
- Backward Design: results, evidence, experiences
- Topic overlap versus cognitive alignment
- Diagnosing and repairing misalignment
Writing Measurable Learning Objectives
Observable actions, scope, conditions, Bloom, SOLO and objective critique.A useful learning objective clarifies the performance learners should demonstrate and supports decisions about evidence, activity and feedback. Observable language matters, but a strong objective is more than a verb.
- Observable action and intended performance
- Content, scope, conditions and quality standards
- Objectives as anchors for evidence and activity
- Bloom as a cognitive-process prompt
- SOLO as response-structure complexity
- Critiquing and rewriting weak objectives
Assessment for Learning Design
Diagnostic, formative and summative purposes, reference frames, validity and rubrics.Assessment gathers evidence and supports judgement about learning.
- Assessment as evidence and judgement
- Diagnostic, formative and summative purposes
- Criterion, norm and ipsative reference frames
- Validity, authenticity and fairness
- Products and observed performance as evidence
- Criteria and rubrics for transparent judgement
Feedback That Changes Future Work
Learner sensemaking, agency, future impact, evaluative judgement and sustainable comments.Feedback is not automatically effective because comments exist. In a learner-centred account, learners must make sense of information and use it to improve later work or strategies.
- Information compared with an effective feedback process
- Sensemaking: understanding quality and reasons
- Agency: learners actively seeking and using information
- Future impact: a later opportunity to improve
- Evaluative judgement and comparison with standards
- Sustainable feedback loops and resource constraints
Technology, Delivery Modes and Myths
Synchronous and asynchronous modes, access, equity, affordances and instructional myths.Technology choices should follow learning purpose, learner conditions and evidence rather than novelty.
- Online, blended and face-to-face delivery arrangements
- Synchronous and asynchronous timing
- Affordances connected to a learning purpose
- Accessibility, access and equity constraints
- Technological determinism and digital-native claims
- Storyboarding before production
Selecting Instructional Strategies
Strategy mechanisms, learner fit, peer construction, trade-offs and adaptation.An instructional strategy is not effective merely because it has a recognised name. Selection begins with the intended performance, learner needs, context and the mechanism through which activity is expected to support learning.
- Strategy selection from objective, learner and context
- Mechanisms rather than fashionable labels
- Strengths, challenges and adaptation
- Peer learning and co-constructed curriculum
- Learners as contributors and teachers
- Engagement with peer-created work and evaluation
Evaluation and Continuous Improvement
Kirkpatrick levels, evidence timing, transfer, results and design revision.Evaluation judges the effectiveness of a learning design and informs improvement. It should be planned during analysis, not attached after launch.
- Evaluation for judgement and continuous improvement
- Formative and summative evaluation timing
- Kirkpatrick Level 1: reaction
- Kirkpatrick Level 2: learning
- Kirkpatrick Level 3: behaviour or transfer
- Kirkpatrick Level 4: wider results and attribution
The unit follows the work of a designer from the first diagnosis of a performance or learning need through objectives, aligned activities and assessment, feedback, technology and strategy choices, and evaluation. Its central models include ADDIE, Constructive Alignment, Backward Design, Bloom and SOLO, learner-centred feedback principles and Kirkpatrick’s evaluation levels.
The source sequence also asks students to engage critically with claims about digital natives, learning styles and technology, so the goal is not to memorise labels but to judge when a design idea fits a particular audience and context.
The assessment structure makes that reasoning visible.
A Written case study asks students to describe and analyse a learning designer or team and connect practice with course concepts and readings. A time-limited Learning Objectives Quiz permits consultation of course materials and tests fast creation and critique of objectives, including use of frameworks such as SOLO.
The largest component is listed as Portfolio in the assessment category and linked as Structured essay; teaching materials describe selected design work accompanied by evidence-based explanation and evaluation. Across these tasks, marks are supported by clear connections among the design problem, learner and context evidence, theoretical concepts, the choice made and its consequence.
Polished output without a defensible rationale is not enough.
This guide therefore treats each chapter as a design argument. It uses original scenarios to show how to diagnose a need, align evidence and activity, write observable objectives, choose assessment and feedback approaches, evaluate technology claims, adapt instructional strategies and plan evidence across learning, transfer and results.
Current weights and dates come from the current assessment page; older weekly slides contain superseded dates and are not used for operational guidance.
Worked example · free
Repair a misaligned learning design
- +2State the intended performance: learners must evaluate a response against explicit service criteria in a realistic context.
- +2Explain the mismatch: presentation and definition recall do not provide or elicit evaluative performance.
- +2Add comparison, modelling and guided practice using contrasting cases and the criteria.
- +2Assess an unfamiliar case through a justified evaluation, then use criteria to support judgement and feedback.
Key terms
- Learning design
- A profession, process and product concerned with creating conditions for effective learning.
- ADDIE
- A design-life-cycle framework covering analysis, design, development, implementation and evaluation.
- Performance gap
- The evidence-based difference between actual and desired performance that analysis investigates.
- Learner analysis
- Inquiry into learner characteristics and conditions that materially affect design decisions.
- Constructive alignment
- Coherence among intended outcomes, learning activities and assessment evidence.
- Backward design
- Planning that begins with desired results, then acceptable evidence, before learning experiences.
- Learning objective
- A statement of the observable knowledge, action or value expected from learners.
- SOLO taxonomy
- A framework describing increasing structural complexity in learner responses.
- Formative assessment
- Assessment evidence used while learners and educators can still improve learning.
- Evaluative judgement
- A learner’s developing capacity to recognise and judge the quality of work.
- Technological determinism
- The mistaken assumption that technology itself determines educational outcomes.
- Kirkpatrick model
- Evaluation lenses covering reaction, learning, behaviour and wider results.
EDF1401 FAQ
How is the unit assessed?
The current Monash assessment page lists a Written case study worth 30 per cent, a Learning Objectives Quiz worth 10 per cent, and a Portfolio category worth 60 per cent whose linked task is labelled Structured essay. The three numeric rows total 100 per cent, and no final-exam row is published.
How difficult is the unit?
The unit does not publish a difficulty rating or pass rate. It does show a broad weekly sequence, substantial reading and design activity, a time-limited objectives quiz, and a heavily weighted final portfolio / structured-essay component. The practical challenge is connecting many frameworks to evidence rather than memorising their names.
What does the Learning Objectives Quiz cover?
The teaching materials describe a time-limited quiz permitting consultation of course materials, with multiple-choice and open-ended questions from the Constructive Alignment, Backward Design and learning-objectives material in Weeks 5 and 6. Students may need to create or critique objectives using frameworks such as Bloom and SOLO.
What matters most in the portfolio or structured essay?
The unit emphasises explanation and evaluation of design decisions using readings, course concepts and independent research. Teaching slides say the design artefact itself is not the main marking focus. Describe enough to orient the reader, then spend space justifying choices, evaluating limitations and connecting evidence to consequences.
Is there a hurdle requirement?
The current assessment table and the official handbook extract do not publish a hurdle label for the three components. Separate teaching slides describe attendance and online participation as compulsory, but that statement should not be converted into an assessment hurdle. Check the current task and unit pages for operational requirements.
Which offering does this guide follow?
The unit schedule runs from March to June 2026 and the session is identified as S1 2026, so this guide follows Semester 1 2026. It does not substitute later dates or a future offering. Current Moodle remains the operational reference for any changed submission details.
Can I study the chapters independently?
Yes, although the concepts form a chain. Begin with roles and ADDIE, then analysis, alignment, objectives and assessment before feedback, technology, strategies and evaluation. When reading out of order, carry the same questions: what need is evidenced, what performance is intended, what decision follows and how will its effect be judged?
Questions students ask in each EDF1401 chapter
- What are the Three Ps of learning design?
- They are profession, process and product. Profession concerns the people, responsibilities and relationships involved. Process concerns the analysis and decisions through which learning is designed. Product concerns the resulting resource, experience or environment. The categories overlap, so use them as an organising lens rather than three sealed boxes. Chapter 01 · Learning Design Roles and the Three Ps
- Does ADDIE have to be linear?
- No. The five labels provide a useful structure, but real projects often overlap phases, revisit assumptions and respond to emerging constraints. A strong explanation can use the sequence while acknowledging iteration. The important point is whether relevant questions are answered, not whether every activity fits one box perfectly. Chapter 02 · The ADDIE Design Life Cycle
- Is every performance problem a training problem?
- No. Poor performance may reflect missing access, time, tools, incentives, clear expectations or opportunities to practise. Instruction helps when knowledge, skill or judgement contributes to the gap. Analysis should separate causes so that a learning response is used where it can make a difference and paired with operational changes where necessary. Chapter 03 · Analysis, Needs and Learner Context
- Are Constructive Alignment and Backward Design identical?
- They are closely related but emphasise different ideas. Constructive alignment focuses on coherence among outcomes, activities and assessment, including the learner's constructive activity. Backward Design provides a planning sequence: identify desired results, decide acceptable evidence, then plan experiences and instruction. They can be used together without treating the labels as interchangeable. Chapter 04 · Constructive Alignment and Backward Design
- Why is understand often weak in an objective?
- Understanding can be a legitimate intention, but the word alone does not clarify what evidence would demonstrate it. Replace or unpack it with an observable performance such as explain, compare, apply or justify, then specify the content and context. The chosen action must reflect the real learning intention, not merely sound measurable. Chapter 05 · Writing Measurable Learning Objectives
- Is a quiz always summative?
- No. Format does not determine purpose. A quiz can be diagnostic when it reveals a starting point, formative when its results guide improvement, or summative when it contributes to a final judgement. Explain when it occurs, who uses the evidence and what decision or action follows from it. Chapter 06 · Assessment for Learning Design
- Why is praise alone weak feedback?
- Praise may encourage a learner, but generic approval does not explain quality or identify an actionable next move. It can even create false confidence. Useful information makes reasons visible, supports learner interpretation and points toward a later performance. Praise can accompany that process, but it should not replace it. Chapter 07 · Feedback That Changes Future Work
- Are online and asynchronous the same?
- No. Online describes where or through what environment participation occurs, while asynchronous describes timing. Online activity can be synchronous, such as a live seminar, or asynchronous, such as a discussion completed over several days. Face-to-face and blended arrangements also involve timing decisions, so keep the dimensions separate. Chapter 08 · Technology, Delivery Modes and Myths
- How do I choose an instructional strategy?
- Start with the intended performance and learner-context evidence. Explain how the strategy's activities could support that performance, then test feasibility, access, support and assessment alignment. Compare alternatives and adapt the chosen approach. A familiar label is a starting point for investigation, not proof that a strategy fits every situation. Chapter 09 · Selecting Instructional Strategies
- Is a satisfaction survey enough to evaluate learning?
- No. It can provide Level 1 reaction evidence, which may help improve relevance or experience, but it does not directly show learning, transfer or results. Match evidence to the evaluation question. If the goal is performance in context, include an aligned performance measure and later behaviour evidence. Chapter 10 · Evaluation and Continuous Improvement
How to prepare for the assessments
Build one design-decision notebook across the semester. For every weekly concept, record its purpose, the evidence it needs, one boundary or misconception, and one original scenario where it changes a decision. Use the notebook to compare frameworks instead of keeping disconnected definitions. Before the case study, practise a paragraph sequence of claim, case detail, course concept, significance and judgement.
Before the objectives quiz, time short diagnosis-and-rewrite drills: underline the action, scope and conditions, state likely evidence, then explain the SOLO structure rather than classifying from a verb alone. For the portfolio / structured essay, choose artefacts that give you something meaningful to analyse, not only the most polished outputs.
Map each commentary from need and learner evidence through objective, assessment, activity, feedback, technology and evaluation. Reserve most words for justification, trade-offs and supported revision. Keep current task instructions beside you because early slides contain superseded dates and the Portfolio / Structured essay naming differs across the live surface and teaching materials.
Use APA 7 accurately, paraphrase proprietary examples, and verify any permitted use of artificial-intelligence tools against the specific task guidance.
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