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Academic Development Program

Lesson Planning Template from Instructional Skills Workshop

Lesson Title Date
Digital Design Principles October 11, 2023
Bridge-In
The students will be placed in breakout rooms. They will be asked to list all the design principles they know by filling out a table. This exercise intends to engage the students with graphic design experience with those without experience in the discipline.
Learning objective(s)
  1. Understanding of Design Fundamentals
  2. Application of Design Principles
  3. Critical Evaluation Skills
  4. Design for User Experience (UX)
Pre-assessment Materials
  • Students will be asked to complete a self-assessment of their strengths and weaknesses in design principles.
    • The self-assessment will then ask the students to reflect on their competency in digital design, such as websites or online content.
  • We will review the areas of concern by looking at the survey results.
  • Computer
  • Slide advancer
  • Pre-established quiz in Microsoft Forms
  • A QR barcode created for the survey link
  • Microsoft Forms open at the start of the class
Participatory Learning
Time Instructor Activities Learner Activities Lesson Resources
9 mins The Bad

The instructor will break the class into breakout rooms. They will be given ten minutes to discuss a specific website and have one person act as the recorder (writing the bullets) and one person act as the timekeeper for the discussion. They should take three minutes for image selection/recommendations, three minutes for font and colour selection, and three for the navigation/user experience.

  1. Students will work in groups of four or five and review different websites assigned to them (bad examples).
  2. Based on the headings provided, they are to fill out the table listing issues with the site.
  3. After fifteen minutes, the students will reconvene and discuss the results of their conversation.
  • Microsoft Teams
  • Breakout rooms
  • Table for filling out in the group
15 mins The Good

Based on the discussions in class, the students are split into breakout rooms with the same students. The roles of recorder, timekeeper, researcher, and designer will be assigned within the group (they must differ from the first part). The team needs to find an example of a great website based on the discussions in class using specific examples of how the site has kept the design principles, such as font selection, colour, and navigation system. The team must then add slides to their group section of the prevention slide deck and present these findings.

  1. The students will work in breakout rooms, determining the roles within the team.
  2. The team must assign the roles based on experience and comfort of the tools.
  3. They must collaborate to determine the best site they know of and develop an ad hoc presentation.
  • Computer (students)
  • Access to the Internet
  • Google slides access

Note: The discussion following the presentation will include conversations about challenges with the exercise, how they would do it differently, and if there were any a-ha moments. This is key as they develop collaborative, problem-solving, and critical-thinking skills.

10 mins
  • As a class, present the following dilemma:
    • You are a UX/UI designer working for a prominent bank. The bank’s mobile banking app has been used for several years, but it has received mixed user reviews. The bank’s leadership has decided it’s time for a major redesign to improve the user experience and increase customer satisfaction.
  • Ask the class to suggest improving customer satisfaction and user experience using Jamboard.
  1. Complete the post-it notes.
  2. Ask them to look at the responses as they are sorted.
  • Computer
  • Access to the internet
  • Phone or computer
Post-assessment
The students will be asked to complete a reflection paper as a bonus-mark assignment. The students should indicate an a-ha moment and one area that surprised them or didn’t know. They should then indicate what is the next part of the strategy so they can overcome this issue.
Summary/Closure
This digital design principles class aims to equip students with a solid understanding of fundamental design concepts and the ability to apply them effectively in practical projects, focusing on user experience. Students will develop critical evaluation skills and learn to create visually appealing, user-friendly digital designs.
Notes for next time
TBD