Learning Engineering Spotlight (Oct. 6-12): Your Weekly Dive into LE Research & Practice
Exploring the Future of Learning Engineering
"Learning is one of the most personal things that people do; engineering provides problem-solving methods to enable learning at scale. How do we resolve this paradox?" - E. Wagner
In a recent article published by Campus Technology, Ellen Wagner, a recognized leader in educational technology, shared her insights on the emerging field of learning engineering.
Understanding the "Learning Engineering Paradox"
Wagner highlights what she terms the “learning engineering paradox”: How can we reconcile the deeply personal nature of learning with the need for standardized, scalable solutions? Despite the perceived conflict, learning engineering offers a promising pathway to balance these aspects by applying empirical research to design and implement solutions that work across diverse educational contexts.
A Shift from Instructional Design?
Some view learning engineering as a natural evolution of instructional design, while others argue that it represents a distinct discipline. According to Wagner, learning engineering is a process that brings the scientific rigor of research into practical application.
Instructional designers are primarily focused on supporting educational needs and aligning learning experiences with content and stakeholder requirements. In contrast, learning engineers are more deeply engaged with data analysis, research, and iterative experimentation, applying findings from learning science to create evidence-based educational products.
A Process that Connects Science, Solutions, and Scale
One of the key takeaways from Wagner’s discussion is the value of thinking about learning engineering not just as a profession but as a process. She emphasizes that this process connects science, solutions, and scale to create better learning outcomes. It involves using design and engineering methodologies to transform research findings into practical learning applications that can be scaled to broader audiences.
Learning engineering allows educators and instructional designers to leverage data and technology in ways that were not previously possible. The use of big data, predictive analytics, and machine learning has opened up new possibilities for understanding how people learn and for designing solutions that are tailored to individual needs.
Moving Forward: A Collective Effort
The future of learning engineering will require collaboration between learning scientists, instructional designers, and engineers. Wagner calls for a more integrated approach where these professionals work together to ensure that research drives design and development, leading to reliable and effective learning tools. She concludes by saying that learning engineering is not just about producing new theories or tools, but about making research actionable and scalable for real-world impact.
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Final Thoughts
While it’s still early days for learning engineering, the potential is immense. As Wagner notes, we should focus less on defining whether it’s a profession and more on how it can transform learning. By bridging the gap between science, solutions, and scale, learning engineering promises to make education more effective and accessible than ever before.
Read the full article: Learning Engineering: New Profession or Transformational Process?
Share Your Thoughts ??
Would you like to see learning engineering emerge as a new profession (with its own set of professional standards)? ...or do you think existing professional roles (e.g., instructional designers) and multidisciplinary teams working on teaching and learning should look to evolve and incorporate learning engineering principles and processes into their practice?
Hop over to the comments section and let us know! ?? ?
Further Reading: Reiser, R.A., Carr-Chellman, A.A., & Dempsey, J.V. (Eds.). (2024). Trends and Issues in Instructional Design and Technology (5th ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003502302
Note: If you can't get access to the full book, I'd encourage you to reach out to Ellen Wagner for a 'prepublication' copy of her chapter on "Learning Engineering."
Acknowledgements: Many thanks to Ellen Wagner for prompting the educational community to think more deeply about matters of teaching and learning, particularly as they relate to learning engineering and instructional design.
*This newsletter was generated with the help of ChatGPT 4o (Oct 08 version).
Managing Partner, North Coast EduVisory LLC
5 个月There’s enough going on in the full learning technology value chain to require the expertise and contributions of learning scientists, designers who practice any one of the (validated) learning design approaches, and engineers. The process of learning engineering leverages the strengths of all three arena of professional expertise. That assertion became clearer when we started developing ontologies to sort out descriptors and relationships among descriptor in the three arenas that are materially involved in transforming learning into action. It has helped highlight the importance of information architecture when trying to create something like a “new profession”. Just gotta make sure that all the pieces of the @ puzzle fit, not just the most obvious or favorite pieces. Thanks again for sharing the interview and the new chapter in Bob, Ali and John’s book. I’m looking forward to more good discussions.
K-12 Learning Experience Designer | STEAM Specialist | EdTech Enthusiast
5 个月Thank you for sharing James! I see learning engineering as a natural evolution of our practice. By incorporating data-driven research and iterative experimentation, instructional designers/educators/learning experience designers can create more personalized and scalable learning solutions. This multidisciplinary approach bridges the gap between science and design, which could make learning more effective and accessible. I believe collaboration between instructional designers, learning scientists, engineers and all other areas involved in learning and education is key to driving this transformation forward.