In search of design principles for developing digital learning & performance support for a student design task

A digital learning and performance support environment for university student design tasks was developed. This paper describes on the design rationale, process, and the usage results to arrive at a core set of design principles for the construction of such an environment. We present a collection of organizational, technical, and course-related requirements that led to the particular choice and setup of the targeted environment. Building upon the established learning management system “Moodle”, we designed a backbone structure called Product & Process that fitted onto the ASCE intervention model. Within the four phases of this model, students could find activity checklists, tools, and background information to support their design activities. In addition, the environment was supplemented with tools for group Communication and collaborative Report writing. The environment has been used for 5 weeks by 35 students who worked in small groups on a design task. We analyzed the students’ appraisals for usability, and examined usage data from their action logs. The results indicated that the students were positive about the environment, and generally used its facilities fairly frequently. The discussion revolves around the issue of how to achieve a balance between constraints, freedom, and scaffolding. In addition, a set of design principles is proposed for the constructing of a future version of a learning & performance support environment.