Before developing your digital content, develop a clear idea of what you want your learners to achieve. What are the specific skills, concepts, or competencies that you want them to develop or demonstrate? How will you measure their progress and performance? How will you align your content with the curriculum standards or learning outcomes of your course or program? Having well-defined and measurable learning goals will help you design your content more effectively and efficiently.
Depending on your learning goals, you may want to use different formats and tools to create your digital content. For example, you may want to use videos, podcasts, infographics, or animations to present information, explain concepts, or demonstrate processes. Consider using interactive elements, such as quizzes, simulations, games, or scenarios, to test learners' understanding, provide feedback, or create challenges. Collaborative platforms, such as blogs, wikis, or forums, to facilitate discussion, debate, or peer review, can also be beneficial. Authoring tools like Storyline, Captivate, or H5P can help create engaging and interactive digital content. Whatever format and tools you choose, make sure they are appropriate for your learning goals, audience, and delivery method.
To develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills, it's important to engage learners in higher levels of cognitive skills, such as analyzing, evaluating, and creating. You can do this by incorporating higher-order thinking skills into your digital content. For example, ask open-ended questions that require learners to explain their reasoning or justify their opinions. Provide them with authentic and complex problems or cases that require them to apply their knowledge and synthesize information. Encourage learners to explore multiple sources, perspectives, or alternatives that challenge their assumptions and biases. Invite them to create digital products like presentations or portfolios that demonstrate their learning, creativity, or innovation.
One of the challenges (that you explicitly state) to learning higher-order thinking skills (abstract cognitive enablers) is asking them the questions you want answering. Instead of asking a question they don't really want the answer to, ask them to tell you what they want to know about the subject in the form of a short piece. Expect their peers to engage in what they say, and watch your content and their thinking emerge. It takes time, but their engagement soars and all you have to do is nudge them in specific directions to get them to think. I've done it for years and know it works. As one of my students asked me in class, "Why are you the only professor that expects us to actually think?" I don't know.
Developing critical thinking and problem-solving skills requires providing learners with the necessary support and guidance to assist them in their success. To do this, you should include scaffolding and feedback in your digital content. This could include giving clear instructions, expectations, and criteria for each task or activity, as well as providing examples, models, or demonstrations of good practices or outcomes. Additionally, offer hints, tips, or prompts to help learners overcome difficulties or obstacles. Furthermore, provide formative or self-assessment opportunities that help learners monitor their progress and performance. Keep in mind that constructive, specific, and timely feedback can help learners improve their skills, identify their strengths and weaknesses, or recognize their achievements.
Encouraging reflection and metacognition in your digital content is a great way to develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills in learners. You can do this by asking them to write journals, blogs, or portfolios that document their learning journey. They can also complete self-evaluation or peer-evaluation forms, and share feedback, questions, or suggestions with you or other learners. Ask them to review their digital products, identify areas of improvement, or plan their next steps. As you guide learners through their digital learning experiences, remember that developing these skills takes time, so be patient and supportive throughout their learning process.
In my experience, conducting a retrospective is very valuable. In an assignment, it could be worth pulling out a framework such as the 4L's: Things liked, lacked, loved, longed for. This can be used as a class-wide exercise or asynchronous for the learner. This technique allows for candid responses, planning beyond the assignment, and offering constructive criticism towards peers. Retrospectives can be easily performed on a digital whiteboard tool like MIRO or for individual critique, required as part of written documentation.
In my experience, incorporating constructivism as a learning theory in digital content can significantly enhance the development of critical thinking and problem-solving skills. By encouraging learners to actively construct knowledge through reflection and collaboration, they can connect new information with their existing mental frameworks. This approach promotes engagement through hands-on activities, exploration of real-world contexts, and participation in collaborative discussions. By embracing constructivism, learners are better equipped to construct knowledge, think critically, and develop effective problem-solving strategies within the digital learning environment.