The 4C’s of a Learner-Centered Course and What they Mean for Course Creators

Imagine you’re a time-poor entrepreneur in the early stages of your business, wearing multiple hats and juggling family responsibilities. You’ve signed up for an online course on time management to learn some simple strategies to help you manage your life and business demands.

You’re excited and can’t wait to start. Then you discover that the course is delivered in long lecture-style videos, the simple strategies aren’t that simple, you don’t really know how to apply them to your life, and there are too many action tasks for you to complete in the time provided.

That doesn’t sound like a good learning experience does it?

That’s because it’s not learner-centered. The creator of this hypothetical course did not consider the needs of their ideal learner when creating their course. This means their course will likely never make it past its first round.

So, what is learner-centered course design? It's a course focuses on the person, rather than the process. Why is that important? Because when your students love your course, that means you've succeeded. You've succeeded in helping them get the desired result, and also succeeded in creating a course that people will flock to sign up for.

How do you create such a course? By following my 4C's of learner-centered design.

The 4Cs of a learner-centered course

1. Content

Using varied content types will provide a more engaging learner experiences. Rather than relying solely on talking head videos consider different ways you can present information, such as infographics, podcasts, guest interviews, booklets, and quizzes.

It’s not just about diversifying the content for the sake of it. It’s about thinking of other ways the same thing can be learned using a different medium to engage your audience. All decisions about the types of content you use should be meaningful and all come back to who your ideal learner is and how they’ll best learn. In the example of the hypothetical time management course above - long lecture style videos are not appropriate (if ever), and short, sharp and action-oriented videos would better suit the course topic itself, as well as the needs of the target audience. Think about the different ways you can bring your content to life to make your course more learner-centered.

2. Context

Connect each piece of content with what came before it, and what comes after it. What might seem obvious to you, is not necessarily obvious to your learners. Clearly contextualising your content by linking it all together will not only help with the flow of your course, but also with coherence and sense-making.

Also, all learning content should be presented within a real world relatable context. If you’re teaching theoretical or abstract concepts, try to link them to the lives and experiences of your people so that it’s relevant and applicable to them. You want learners to relate to and connect with what they are learning on a personal level. When we can connect our own experiences to what is being taught, then we can internalise the lesson being delivered. Failing to do this in a meaningful way (by not intimately understanding your ideal learner), could mean that they disconnect and drop off and don’t end up finishing the course.Think about how you can contextualise your content in a way that’s meaningful to your audience.

3. Consolidation

One of the biggest mistakes online course creators make is not providing consolidation activities. You want your learners to walk away knowing more and being able to do more than when they came into your course. To do that, they need to have lots of opportunities to consolidate their learning through both theoretical and application. This means different types of activities that help them integrate their newfound knowledge and skills. Do this and your students will undoubtedly thank you for it! Think about different types of tasks or activities that will help your students consolidate their their understanding in real and meaningful ways to their own lives.

4. Community

Community is a powerful element when it comes to learning, even more so in the online space. A learning community means that students feel connected, supported, and part of a network of peers. Some of the most powerful learning happens in a social context where people engage with different perspectives and approaches, share personal experiences, and solve problems by leveraging the expertise of other individuals in the group. It also gives them a forum to share their challenges and wins and to feel a sense of belonging. When done well, community can be one of the most effective elements of the learning experience. Think of how you can foster a strong community within your course.

2 Tips for creating a learner-centered course

To create a learner-centered course, it’s important to understand your learner, and shift your mindset from the traditional teaching and learning model.

Final thoughts

Imagine how impactful your online course would be when your students enjoy the course content, feel included and engaged, get to integrate and apply their learning, and build relationships and interact with others on the same learning journey? Changing your approach from a traditional online course to a learner-centered one will get better outcomes for your students, and better outcomes for you. Because when your students succeed, your course succeeds - time and time again.

Want to create a learner-centered course? I’m here to help! Download the Course Alchemy Guide to learn about my 12-Week 1:1 Course Consulting program. Before starting my business, I spent more than 10 years as an educator, and 5 years years doing online learning design for higher education institutions and industry specialists. Learn more about me here.