Beyond Curriculum Design: Toward a Badge System Design Framework

• In Event: Democratizing Learning Through Digital Badges: Theoretical and Analytical Frameworks to Advance Design and Research

Abstract

Purpose
Badge system design is a more resource-intensive process than other types of curriculum development. Badges can scaffold into learning pathways or tiers that branch into paths so learners can make choices about how to progress toward competency. Many badge systems aspire to motivate learning beyond the targeted goals of class and some platforms also recognize badges from other organizations of learning. This creates additional design challenges because it requires thinking about multiple learning pathways across content areas, which demands a more interconnected architecture for design.

The purpose of this research is to identify different design approaches used by thirty organizations engaged in early stages of badge system development (Grant, 2014), and to provide a working framework for future research and development on similar projects.

Data and Methods
Using a grounded theory approach, data provided by thirty organizations were coded and analyzed, five main badge system design approaches or “builds” emerged. Of this sample, some projects designed their badge systems to layer on top of existing learning content and legacy technology platforms. Others co-created learning content alongside a system of badges, and integrated them into a legacy technology system. A handful simultaneously designed the badge system, learning content, and technology platforms together. Organizations aligned with each of the five builds are interviewed to better understand how their design approach influenced pedagogy, assessment, and system outcomes.

Results
While other design approaches are possible, these five builds represent an emerging framework based on common organizational scenarios in the early stages of badge system development:

● New build. The badge system, learning content, and technological platforms are designed simultaneously.
● Integrated build. The badge system and learning content are co-created and integrated into a pre-existing technological platform.
● Layered build. The badge system is layered on top of pre-existing learning content and pre-existing technological platform.
● Responsive build. The badge system responds to pre-existing learning content, and the technological platform does not yet exist, is optional, or is distributed
● Badge-first build. Badges are designed first and the learning content and technological platform are designed around the badges.

Significance
Designing badge systems can be difficult, particularly during the early stages of innovation when empirical research to guide development. From a design perspective, the main aspects of the badge system -- learning content, badge mechanics, and technological platform -- are interconnected, and no one aspect takes logical precedence over the other. However, most organizations that undertake badge system development approach the process with some aspects already in place.

Understanding how different approaches affect the design process has implications not only for learning, but for implementation and successful adoption of the system. For example, an organization that develops new learning content alongside a new technological platform and badge mechanics will have more choices to make about the kind of social participation in which learners will engage as part of the learning and badge-earning process. An organization layering badges on top of a pre-existing system with set curricula may confront narrower choices that ultimately constrain how badges function.

Author

• Sheryl Grant