New Month - New Theme: Learning Design

Hey everyone,

It’s a new month, which means we’re kicking off a brand-new theme in the community:
Learning Design

As instructors, you do more than just share knowledge. You craft experiences. On Udemy, Learning Design is at the core of what you do. It’s about organizing content in a way that truly supports learner success, whether that means breaking down complex ideas, structuring lessons for better retention, or creating activities that keep learners engaged.

This month is all about exploring what makes great course design tick.
What’s one thing you always keep in mind when designing your course content?

Share your thoughts in the comments! We’d love to hear your insights and ideas.

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Comments

RonErez

Hi everyone,

I teach programming and math, so building a strong foundation is key. I start with the basics and slowly add more complex ideas. But to keep things interesting, I show something cool early on, like my “Greetings App,” which teaches animations, buttons, layouts, and more, all in one small project.

I also try to explain why topics matter. For example, when teaching Optionals, I talk about how null was called the "billion dollar mistake" by its creator, Tony Hoare and optionals are meant to remedy this issue.

And to keep things light, I try to add a bit of humor, like references to Sesame Street, Hummus amd skateboarding. I try to make learning fun but still professional. I do not go overboard with silly references since I do assume it is not everyone's cup of tea.

Each section should have a definite outcome. Usually an app or some kind of well-defined piece of knowledge. Some of my sections are also fairly self-contained although this is not always entirely possible. At the beginning of each video I do try to mention what we will cover in the first 3 seconds and possibly display the end result of the video just to motivate students to continue watching.

Thanks!
Ron

KylePew

Great topic!

I look to have each of my lectures build on the previous lecture. I want the student to feel like they're moving along a path, from step 1 to step 2 to step 3, taking the knowledge, they mastered in the previous lecture/section, and tackling a large task/concept.

Along that path, I add milestones the students can recognize. Little wins so the students can feel good about the progress they've made and entice them to continue moving to the next lecture/topic. The "wins" might come in the form of extra exercises provided in the course to practice the concepts covered up to that point or when covering a larger topic that spans multiple lectures, breaking it up with incremental successes so they can see the progress.

My own personal learning experience sometimes gets hindered by motivation. I lose focus quickly and want to move on which sometimes causes me to miss little important pieces that will set me up for success in more complex scenarios. Using my own experience, I try to look for ways to motivate the learner through the learning experience, using small building blocks to move through the topics.

KatherineMiran

It’s not just throwing information out there, but carefully crafting the whole learning journey. Thinking about how students retain information, the structure of lessons, and keeping them engaged is key. I often find myself thinking about the user experience, almost like designing a level in (Link Removed by Moderator), where every obstacle and challenge needs to be perfectly placed for maximum engagement and fun.