Instructional Design Best Practices

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The rule of thirds The rule of thirds is a photography concept that suggests that images can be...

Amanda.D.639
Amanda.D.639 Posts: 26
edited November 2022 in Social Groups

The rule of thirds

 

The rule of thirds is a photography concept that suggests that images can be divided into nine smaller squares, with four possible focal points on the image, at the intersections of these squares. The eye is naturally drawn to these lines, so often hands or eyes fall close to or on a line in a portrait image. For landscape images, there may be a person or natural focal point on the lines. This is pleasing to the viewer’s eye and the brain.

A picture containing two children with their hands and eyes close to or on the lines denoting the rule of thirds.I’ve been thinking about this concept as an Instructional Designer. Teaching chemical equations or corporate compliance isn’t thought of through the lens of photography, but if we as IDs can start thinking about layout in thirds (one-third image, two-thirds text, for example, or one-third text, one-third tabbed panel and one-third inline quiz), we can help our Courseware Developers develop Brightspace pages that will please the eye and further engage the brain.

 

There’s another way to apply the concept of the rule of thirds for IDs. There are three elements to a successful course: content, assessment and engagement. Our SMEs are great at bringing the content. They generally have a good idea about assessment already too, even if they might need some help adapting their assessments to the Brightspace environment. It’s easy to focus on the content primarily, the assessment secondarily and to give whatever time and attention we have remaining to learner engagement. But this can be a mistake. In terms of online course engagement, that’s where IDs have their chance to shine. By thinking of learner engagement as an equal third in the learning experience, we are truly helping to create a learner-focused course.

 

We can consider the focal points of content, assessment and engagement as the following:

·       content and assessment, where we learn by doing

·       content and engagement, where we fuse learning with interest

·       assessment and engagement, where we are happily committed to proving our knowledge

 

By keeping these focal points in mind, IDs can naturally find ways to direct SMEs and eventually learners toward a more fused, organic learning experience. It is impossible to quantify the levels of learner engagement compared to content and assessment, but it would greatly benefit our learners for us as IDs to consider learner engagement equal in value to the content and assessment inherent in every course.

 

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