Hi there,
Welcome to Field Notes from Refined Learning Design. Whether you’re back from last month or joining in for the first time, I’m glad you’re here.
Each month, I share an idea I’ve been exploring and something that’s sparked reflection or shaped how I design professional learning. You’ll also find at least one resource recommendation, a quote I can’t stop thinking about, and a peek into what’s happening in my community of PL designers.
This newsletter is grounded in the values I carry into every project: from designing with purpose, cultivating curiosity and understanding, to honoring the people and the process. (Discover my guiding principles here.)
This month’s field note explores how thoughtful structure can make choice more usable for learners.
📓 Field Note: Finding your way into learning
📍 Sparked by: TCEA conference sessions
💡 Big idea: Intentional entry points help learners orient themselves and focus on what matters most.
ideas from TCEA sessions
Entering the Learning
I love a good personality/sorting framework and quiz. I know everything from my Tendency (Obliger) to my Hogwarts House (Ravenclaw).
One of my favorite activities during a session at the recent TCEA conference was an “AI matchmaking tool,” where a short quiz led us to discover which LLM model was our perfect match. (Gemini for me!)
After taking the quiz, we were sorted into groups according to our preferred LLM (Co-Pilot, Gemini, or ChatGPT) and then spent a few minutes sharing and learning how others are using the tool.
✨ Shoutout to Lydia, Sylvia, and Erica from Irving ISD for designing this creative, interactive session!
But after the AI Matchmaking session, I started thinking more deeply about how this type of activity helped me enter the learning with clarity.
The session facilitators didn’t ask us to “explore all three LLMs,” nor did they ask us to inauthentically engage with the content by saying, “Just pretend you’re a third grade reading teacher.”
That short quiz did more than sort us into groups. It helped me decide where to begin and where to focus my attention.
And now I want to unpack why that type of design feels so helpful and how I’m working to replicate it for my own participants.
Why Structure Supports Learning
A few ideas from learning design help explain why intentional entry points and pathways matter so much in professional learning.
One important consideration is how knowledge is meant to be learned. Some professional learning requires explicit instruction, especially when participants need procedural knowledge, routines, or foundational skills. Training on implementing a curriculum, conducting an assessment, or learning a required process often benefits from clarity and direct guidance.
Other learning goals are more conceptual. When we want participants to grapple with ideas, notice patterns, or make sense of mental models, a constructed learning approach can be powerful. In Training Design, Delivery, and Diplomacy, A. Keith Young and Tamarra Osborne emphasize that even constructed learning depends on guiding questions and clear discovery paths. Exploration without direction isn’t inherently meaningful.
Another key factor is levels of expertise. In Design for How People Learn, Julie Dirksen reminds us that beginners tend to need more structure and guidance, while more experienced learners benefit from greater autonomy and optional resources. The design challenge isn’t choosing between structure or choice; it’s calibrating both based on who’s in the room.
Finally, there’s the role of cognitive load. When participants are asked to explore everything, decide where to start, and determine relevance all at once, learning energy gets spent on navigation rather than meaning-making. Clear entry points and intentional pathways reduce that burden, allowing participants to focus on what matters most. (This idea connects to something I explored more deeply in a previous Field Note, When More Becomes Too Much, where I reflected on how excess choice and information can overwhelm learning.)
Many conference sessions aim for constructed learning by inviting participants to explore, notice patterns, or make meaning. But without clear starting points, guiding questions, or boundaries, that openness can quickly turn into confusion. Structure isn’t the opposite of discovery; it’s what makes discovery possible.
I’ve been thinking about how this shows up in my own facilitation, especially when I’m intentionally designing time that looks open.
💡 Design Structure for Unstructured Time
In my recent TCEA session, I knew there would be moments on the agenda that looked open, with “self-directed” time to explore, reflect, or make meaning. But I didn’t want that time to feel aimless or overwhelming.
Instead of inviting participants to “explore the chapters,” I asked them first to identify their learning lens:
Were they preparing for an upcoming session, reflecting on a recent one, or evaluating a learning experience they had attended?
I then offered brief overviews of several chapters and invited participants to choose the one that resonated most with their current lens. From there, they could click into the corresponding section on my site and follow that pathway.
The time itself was open, but the entry point was intentional.
This kind of light structure is one way I try to avoid what Priya Parker describes as the “problem of chill” in The Art of Gathering. Rather than saying, “Take some time to explore,” I focus on designing clear starting points that help people know where to begin.
And this is exactly why the AI matchmaking quiz worked so well for me. It offered a clear way in, mid-session, without requiring everyone to explore everything or pretend the learning was for someone else.
This design move reflects a belief I keep coming back to:
Well-designed professional learning helps adults stop asking,
“What am I supposed to do?”
so they can start asking,
“What matters most for me right now?”
When everything is left open-ended, we often assume participants will naturally know how to engage. In my experience, clear signals about where to begin support participation, especially as learners orient themselves to new ideas.
(I explored this idea more fully in an earlier post, Design for Connection, which focuses specifically on using structure at the beginning of a session to support connection between participants.)
Small Ways to Design Intentional Entry Points
If you’re designing professional learning and want to create clarity without over-controlling the experience, here are a few ideas to experiment with:
Use a brief self-sorting prompt or quiz to help participants identify a focus area or pathway before exploring resources.
Ask participants to identify their current learning lens (planning, reflecting, evaluating, applying) before offering resources or activities.
Offer two or three intentional pathways rather than everything at once, and invite participants to choose just one place to begin.
Preview options briefly so participants understand what each pathway is for before deciding.
Match structure to experience: provide more guidance for those newer to the content, and more autonomy and optional resources for those with more expertise.
When planning “exploration time,” pair it with a guiding question or focus to reduce cognitive load.
Structure doesn’t remove choice. It helps people use it well.
I’d Love to Hear
What small design move could help participants locate themselves in the learning?
What’s one moment at the start of an activity where a clearer entry point could make a difference?
Where might a clearer entry point reduce confusion or cognitive load in your next session?
Noting, reflecting, connecting,
Kathryn
PS: If something here sparked an idea, please forward this post to an EduFriend who’s also designing professional learning. ✨
Highlights from the Community
Here’s what’s happening in our community spaces this month:
February’s Mindful Musing prompts explore the theme of favorites and heart work.
Community members are sharing their reflections from the recent TCEA conference.
We’ll be starting monthly PL design challenges in March. (Here’s a hint about the first topic.)
Learn more about my online minicourse, Begin with Intention.
The Refined Design Learning Community is a space for curious, collaborative educators who design learning experiences for other adults. Our members are professional learning providers, educational coaches, PLC leads, admin, and aspiring PD leaders.
I use the Circle platform to host the community, and it’s free to join and participate. In our spaces, you’ll find thoughtful discussions, book clubs, and virtual meetups, which are open to all in the community. While I plan to offer paid courses in the future, nearly everything available now (except one minicourse) is completely free.
A choice architect has the responsibility for organizing the context in which people make decisions.
Reflecting • Connecting • Refining
📓 Why Field Notes?
This newsletter is inspired by the idea of self-anthropology from Tiny Experiments by Anne-Laure Le Cunff. Just like field notes help researchers make sense of what they observe, these monthly reflections help me capture ideas, tools, and questions from my own work designing professional learning. I share them here in the spirit of experimentation, connection, and ongoing refinement.
🤖 AI helped polish this post, but the ideas, intention, curation, and care are all mine.
