E-learning design issues for high-order learning - an application and empirical study in the knowledge domain of digital marketing

Abstract

In disciplines requiring high technological intensity the success of e-learning can be hampered by a lack of pedagogical support for the intended outcomes. The design of learning activities through mediating tools (MTs) moderates this difficulty, allowing the adaptation of instructional designs so they are pedagogically appropriate to the learning outcomes. Nevertheless, the provision of methods and empirical results to help design activities and properly organise them in MTs remains a challenge. In this paper, we propose a pattern of alignment among learning outcomes, learning activities and MTs that facilitates instructional design, using pedagogical principles based on Bloom's taxonomy and problem-based learning (PBL). A framework is provided to classify, model and implement teacher-centred content into organised student-centred activities that are clustered in MTs with higher-order learning capabilities. This approach can lead to the development of a consistent instructional design, which is susceptible to evaluation, thus making it possible to test further alignments among the obtained results, the intended design characteristics and the pedagogical principles. The results confirm that high levels of Bloom's taxonomy are achieved, particularly with respect to the requirements of learning model centricity and collaborative learning.