You’re writing a paper during your lunch and need to review the instructions. The syllabus should be in the learning management system (LMS). You don’t have your computer, so you open the LMS app on your phone.
The navigation looks different than in the browser. You tap through several screens before finding the syllabus. You read through the details, which mentions you should refer to another document.
Twenty minutes pass, and you still can’t find the supplemental instructions.
You rub your eyes—it’s going to be another late night. You’ll finish writing the paper after you take your son to practice and help him with his homework. You spend the rest of your lunch sending a hurried message asking a classmate if they know where to find it.
It’s no small thing
As a first-generation undergrad student at a small college, I spent a lot of time in the offices of my professors. One professor always provided a space to bring my concerns. Whenever I shared a barrier to learning, she would respond with a well-timed, “Well, that’s just a small thing. Isn’t it?” I always laughed—her ironic tone told me she got it. I still appreciate how those simple words acknowledged and validated the challenges of my experience—no matter how small they seemed.
Small things don’t feel small. Pressure builds. And you wonder how many more small things you can deal with before you break.
A barrier to learning can be permanent, temporary, or situational—yet the impact to learning remains the same. When we’re anxious, stressed, or dealing with uncertainty, small things feel insurmountable. Schmidt, et al. share how “From the perspective of learners, experiencing challenges navigating an interface or finding homework details might result in frustration or even missed assignments.” (pg. 36-7). While a challenge within learning experience can motivate a learner, a barrier to learning becomes a distraction for attention. Even small shifts in focus require learners to split their attention (a productivity nightmare), and their ability to perform suffers.
Small things can become big problems. It might be a small thing to you, but to a learner it might be a mountain. The mountain might be possible to climb, yet the smallest boulder becomes daunting when the learner doesn’t know the path. As educators (instructors, instructional designers, librarians, trainers, coaches, mentors, etc.) we can find ways to reduce or remove barriers to learning by carefully considering the needs and perspectives of our learners—and supporting them as they navigate through unfamiliar contexts.
Really, it’s no small thing.
References:
Bishop, J. (2018, November 27). Remove barriers to learning with design and plain writing. Model eLearning.
Schmidt, M., Earnshaw, Y., Tawfik, A. A., & Jahnke, I. (2020). Methods of User Centered Design and Evaluation for Learning Designers. In M. Schmidt, A. A. Tawfik, I. Jahnke, & Y. Earnshaw (Eds.), Learner and User Experience Research: An Introduction for the Field of Learning Design & Technology. EdTech Books.
