M06-08 · AI + Learning & Training Design

Professional Practice in Learning Design

The capstone integration course for learning design professionals. Builds on CORE-08's freelance operations foundation with L&D-specific professional practice: learning platform strategy, content partnership evaluation, translating learning science into product requirements, building scalable content production systems, using learning design expertise as a sales and consulting differentiator, and navigating L&D career paths. Students complete a multi-week engagement simulation that integrates every skill from the major.

60 Hours

8 Learning objectives

Evaluate Bloom's ceiling (?)

5 Competencies

What You'll Be Able To Do

Learning Objectives

Objectives

Depth

Evaluate content partnerships and off-the-shelf providers (LinkedIn Learning, Udemy Business, OpenSesame, Go1) for integration fit, content quality, technical compatibility (SCORM/LTI/API), and curation value vs. build cost Evaluate
Write learning design principles documents that establish quality standards, pedagogical approach, and production guidelines for a team or organization Create
Translate learning science research into actionable product requirements: adaptive learning paths, spaced repetition engines, assessment randomization, pre-assessment gating — prioritized by learner impact and engineering feasibility Apply
Build scalable content production systems: course templates, authoring guides, quality checklists, and review workflows that enable non-ID team members to produce consistent content Create
Use learning design expertise as a consulting and sales differentiator: join customer calls to answer program structure questions, conduct needs analyses that close deals, and position pedagogical rigor as competitive advantage Apply
Analyze L&D career paths (instructional designer to senior ID to learning experience designer to L&D director to VP talent development, plus specialist tracks) and build a career development plan Analyze
Design a learning consulting engagement: scope training needs assessments, curriculum designs, and measurement frameworks with realistic timelines, deliverables, and pricing ($150-250/hr consulting, $3K-15K per course, $10K-30K for program design) Create
Evaluate the boundary between engagement optimization (completion rates, time on platform) and actual learning outcomes, and advocate for measurement that captures behavior change, not just consumption Evaluate

Levels: Remember · Understand · Apply · Analyze · Evaluate · Create — highest demands most original thinking.

Core Competencies

What You'll Master

Learning Platform Strategy

Content partnership evaluation, curation vs. creation decisions, platform feature advocacy based on learning science, technical integration assessment (SCORM/xAPI/LTI).

Content Production Systems

Templates, authoring guides, quality checklists, review workflows, and team enablement tools that scale content production without sacrificing quality.

Learning Science Advocacy

Translating pedagogical research into product requirements, business cases, and stakeholder-ready arguments for better learning design.

L&D Consulting Practice

Engagement scoping (needs assessment, curriculum design, measurement framework), pricing models, revision limits, content licensing terms, deliverable formats.

Strategic Measurement

Distinguishing engagement metrics from learning metrics, advocating for behavior-change measurement, building Learning Impact Reports that earn L&D budget and credibility.

Portfolio Artifact

What You'll Build

End-to-End Learning Design Engagement — Student completes a multi-week simulated consulting engagement: receives a client brief (e.g., "redesign our onboarding program"), writes an engagement proposal with scope, deliverables, timeline, revision limits, and pricing. Conducts needs analysis, designs a multi-course learning path, builds one complete course module (in Storyline or Rise, accessible, SCORM-tested), creates a measurement plan (Kirkpatrick L1-L3), manages a simulated stakeholder review cycle, and delivers the final package. Also produces: a content production system (templates + authoring guide + quality checklist), a content partnership evaluation for 2 providers, and a personal career development plan mapping current competencies to a target L&D role. Includes a retrospective on time allocation and lessons learned.

Tools You'll Use

Industry Tools, Not Toy Projects

Articulate 360 (Rise, Storyline)

Full authoring suite for building accessible, SCORM-tested course modules as consulting deliverables.

LMS Platform / SCORM Cloud

Learning management system for deployment and SCORM Cloud for package validation and testing.

Claude

AI assistant for content drafting, proposal writing, assessment generation, and engagement planning.

Google Docs / Notion

Documentation platforms for proposals, production systems, authoring guides, and client deliverables.

Google Sheets

Pricing models, engagement tracking, project timelines, and content production metrics.

Bonsai / FreshBooks

Freelance business tools for invoicing, contracts, and consulting engagement management.