Episode 56
Balancing Innovation and Practicality in Curriculum Design
Brief description of the episode
Sam Nelson, Director of Technical Curriculum at Multiverse, discusses the intersection of technology and curriculum design in the context of apprenticeships and workforce training. Sam offers valuable advice on balancing industry-specific skills with pedagogical best practices, the importance of using AI and new technologies thoughtfully to enhance learning, and emphasizes the critical role of curriculum design in driving successful workforce development.
Key Takeaways:
- Distinguish between the needs of an edtech company and a tech-enabled school —tailor strategies based on whether the focus is selling technology or creating a learning experience supported by technology.
- Ensure that the learning experience integrates three critical components: the platform (technology), curriculum (learning goals and content), and support systems (help when learners face challenges).
- Develop joint roadmaps across platform, curriculum, and support teams to ensure alignment. Avoid siloed efforts by collaborating early and consistently.
- Incorporate flexibility in support models (automated, in-person, or remote) to accommodate various learner needs across different platforms.
- Ensure that leadership fosters collaboration across teams, aligning priorities and KPIs to prevent competition for resources and territorial behavior.
- Treat both the platform and curriculum as products, with equal importance, to promote a cohesive approach to product development and learning delivery.
- Adapt the learning experience as the company expands into new sectors, recognizing that different fields require different approaches.
- Be willing to decline expanding into areas where the company lacks the capability to provide a high-quality learning experience.
- Clearly define achievable learning outcomes that align with the platform’s strengths and limitations, ensuring learners can meet realistic objectives.
- Select learning activities that align with both the learning objectives and the needs of the specific industry, ensuring that the method supports the desired outcomes.
- Collaborate with learning designers to choose the most appropriate methods for each sector.
- Incorporate maintenance into the curriculum development roadmap to ensure content remains up-to-date as technology evolves.
- Prioritize investments in maintaining existing content alongside developing new courses to address potential skills gaps.
- Allocate resources specifically for content updates, acknowledging the importance of this maintenance in addition to new developments.
- Align new curriculum initiatives with existing programs to create synergies that both capture new revenue and enhance current offerings.
- Track key metrics related to learning outcomes to assess how well learners achieve course goals and career outcomes to evaluate their success post-program.
- Monitor the progression of graduates, such as promotions and retention at their companies, to identify when to invest further in curriculum enhancements.
- Customize programs to meet organizational goals by utilizing a diagnostic process that identifies specific needs and recommends tailored learning pathways.
- Allow organizations to modify suggested learning modules based on their objectives, such as adding or removing content relevant to their specific tech stack or focus areas.
- Implement a skill scan for individual learners to assess their comfort and experience with various topics, enabling a personalized learning pathway while maintaining shared goals.
- Provide learners with choices in the type of projects they undertake, ensuring relevance to their work context and enhancing learning transfer.
- Develop specific projects for different business units within an organization while keeping common learning objectives, allowing for tailored applications of the same curriculum.
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