T522: Impact by Design

For learning designs and innovations to be effective, they should be based on and inspired by rigorous evidence about how and why people learn and behave. This process of translating evidence from the learning sciences into practices that can drive learning impact in real world contexts is the focus of Impact by Design. Students will learn and apply generalizable tools and habits through projects addressing one of several impact design challenges. Students will: do accelerated, AI-supported literature reviews to gain an understanding of the existing relevant research; identify and reach out to relevant domain experts to inform problem-definition and potential solutions; interview members of the impact ecosystem in which their problem persists to understand contextual needs and constraints; ideate and articulate testable, evidence-supported theories of action that can generate observable change; and develop minimal prototypes to evaluate their theories of action and guide iterative revisions. This hands-on course prepares students to engage effectively in impact-centered, research-informed learning design across settings and domains.