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Activity Design Process (1995) CD
The activity design methodology provides the critical steps for systematically constructing a
learning experience that supports the learning cycle (Learning Process Methodology) so that
learners can effectively meet the intended learning objectives and performance criteria in an
efficient manner.
A Methodology for Designing Learning Activities of a learning activity. That model is still the basic structure
used today in a wide range of Process Education activity
The community of practitioners involved in the Problem books.
Solving Across the Curriculum (PSAC) conference was
interested in active learning and therefore engaged in the Learning Activities and Levels of Learning
development of activity books — a common practice in the
early 1990s (Kramer & Beery, 1990). In the development The research pioneered by Bloom, Engelhart, Furst, Hill,
of their learning activities, this community incorporated and Krathwohl (1956), focused on levels of learning and
the use of PC:SOLVE, a modeling language consisting informed the 1998 Teaching institute handbook (Apple
of tools for use in problem solving. This was a strategy & Krumsieg) and emphasized that activities needed to be
for improving student understanding of key concepts in designed so that learners achieve each level of knowledge
a course, such as those seen in Calculus with Analytical before moving on to construct the next level:
Geometry (Swokowski, 1990).
Level 1: INFORMATIONAL The learner can talk
Following the development of the Learning Process Model about a concept, process, tool, or context in words
(Apple, 1991), these Process Education learning activities and can regurgitate definitions or descriptions.
were comprised of standard components: models, critical
thinking questions, and application challenges (Apple, Level 2: KNOWLEDGE The learner is able to
Beyerlein & Ford, 1993). The first formal Activity Design construct a certain degree of comprehension about a
Methodology, was published in the 1995 Teaching institute concept, process, tool, or context.
handbook (Apple); it closely followed the Learning
Process Methodology and offered 14 steps for creating Level 3: KNOWLEDGE SKILL The learner has
high-quality learning activities: the skill to apply and transfer the particular item of
knowledge to different situations and contexts.
1. Identify the focus
Level 4: PROBLEM SOLUTION The learner has
2. Create the model the ability to integrate the knowledge skill with his/
her other knowledge skills to produce a generalized
3. Assign a title problem solution.
4. Write a “why” statement Level 5: NEW KNOWLEDGE The learner, who is
now defined as a researcher, can develop knowledge
5. Identify learning objectives to a new level of understanding. Through the use of
lateral thinking, the researcher makes new linkages
6. Write performance criteria among concepts and problem solutions which have
not been seen before.
7. Create critical thinking questions
This research was expanded during the Advanced Teaching
8. Identify resources and information Institute held at Madison Area Technical College in 2000,
where the methodology for elevating knowledge from
9. Create a glossary Level 1 to Level 3 was designed (Pacific Crest, 2000). This
methodology was formalized and published in the Faculty
10. Write a plan for completing the activity (meeting Guidebook module Elevating Knowledge from Level 1 to
the learning objectives) Level 3 (Nygren, 2007b) and is shared in Figure 1.
11. Create skill exercises Making the relationship between activity design and levels
of learning even more explicit, An Evaluation System that
12. Develop an assessment component for the activity Distinguishes Among Levels of Learning in Engineering
and Technology (Apple, Nygren, Williams, & Litynski,
13. Create problem-solving exercises
14. Provide a research project
The same handbook also provided information on how to
write three types of critical thinking questions (directed,
convergent, and divergent) and included an activity
template that modeled the organization and presentation
International Journal of Process Education (February 2016, Volume 8 Issue 1) 137
