Designing for online-self-paced

Setting · digital, learner-paced, no live instructor · All situations

152 rows from 146 pages say what to change when the brief's setting is online-self-paced; 99 of them cite a claim. Pages whose rows cite claims come first. Read the basis before relying on a row: many carry a claim to learners or settings it did not test, and say so.

Blended Learning

Pattern

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
The online part is online-self-paced and learners have little experience of it	Add planning prompts, a visible schedule with intermediate deadlines and self-monitoring checks; review them at the next in-person session.	SRL interventions in online and blended environments [+M], pooled across 15 studies, populations not reported on the claim page
No teacher present between sessions, or a large group (from the wording)	Monitor completion each week, contact non-starters within the first week or two, and keep a named person learners can ask.	Online continuing-education persistence [~W], fully online adult continuing education, associational; untested for blends

Case-Based Learning

Pattern

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
Learners work alone (online-self-paced)	Put both cases on one screen with a written prompt to describe their similarities	Comparing cases side by side improves learning and transfer [+M] (undergraduates comparing two cases on one page)
Learners work through cases self-paced online (online-self-paced), with a mentor available on demand	Put the cases side by side with a written comparison prompt; require a short individual written analysis of each new case; have the mentor read a sample and return the principle statement with feedback; add an asynchronous peer exchange on each case; recap the principle in writing; use cases from the learners' own workplaces where possible	Comparing cases side by side improves learning and transfer [+M]; Co-regulation shows stronger relationships with the three CoI presences than self-regulation in an online case-based course [~W]; Some Chinese students felt uncomfortable with case-based learning due to lack of structured instruction content [~W]; mentor role from Mentor Support in Self-Paced Online Learning, untested for case work

Competency-Based Learning

Pattern

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
Learners will set their own pace (online-self-paced, adult or college)	Keep checkpoints or deadlines and monitor who stalls; self-paced mastery courses lost more students, and learner control in general showed almost no effect	Self-paced mastery programmes reduce course completion [-M]; Learner pacing helped on complex material only [~M]
Online, asynchronous, self-paced, with mentors available (online-self-paced)	Have the mentor open with a planning contact in which the learner sets milestones per competency; trigger mentor outreach on a missed milestone or repeated failed attempts, not on calendar dates; plan coaching across terms and measure persistence each term. Follow mentor support in self-paced online learning	Coaching raised 12-month retention [+M] but not 24-month degree completion [~M]; planning prompts raised online completion [+M]; commitment devices are mixed [~M]; none tested inside a competency-based programme

Mentor Support in Self-Paced Online Learning

Pattern

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
Learners new to online or self-paced study, or in their first term (from the wording)	Put the planning contact and a personal reply in the first week, before any content, and the first scheduled check-in before the first milestone; consider a brief belonging message in the first contact	Orientation-week attrition online is twice that of on-campus first weeks [~M]; after instruction starts, online and on-campus drop rates are about the same [~M]; Planning prompts raised MOOC completion [+M]; brief belonging interventions improved first-year college outcomes [+M] (college entry, not self-paced courses)
Online, self-paced, asynchronous, no class meetings (from the wording)	Use a consistent course layout with goals, due dates and feedback turnaround stated, and schedule personal messages rather than waiting for learners to ask; do not count the layout as facilitation	Taking a course online reduced college success compared with in person [-M]; A standard template heightened teaching presence in accelerated online courses [+W]; organization rated high while facilitation rated lower [~M]; Personal messages had the largest association with satisfaction [+M]

Simulations & Immersive Virtual Environments

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
Learners study online-self-paced with no lab access, and the goal is conceptual knowledge or inquiry skill	Use a guided virtual lab in place of the bench: a goal and data table for each run, a required experiment plan before running, prompts during it, an explain-with-the-simulation-off task after; a mentor or instructor reads each write-up and answers within a stated time; schedule a delayed conceptual check	Physical Experience Enhances Science Learning [~M] (physical = virtual for concepts, one undergraduate study); Guidance during inquiry learning improves post-inquiry learning outcomes [+M]; Students perceived online lab exercises as more effective when instructors were present online and used scaffolds and probes [+W]; immediate-only gains (AI-generated and prebuilt simulations … advantage did not persist [~M]); mentor role from Mentor Support in Self-Paced Online Learning, untested for labs
Self-paced online, no lab access, and the competency includes a manipulative or bench skill (from the wording)	Do not credit the skill from the virtual lab; use the virtual lab to prepare (parts, steps, predictions) and add a hands-on component (a local or campus lab, a residency, a home kit) assessed on real equipment	One RCT found AI-assisted simulation inferior to standardized patient simulation for breast self-examination skills [-M] (carried from a tactile nursing skill); Pretraining improves transfer [+M]; no claim in this wiki compares a virtual and a bench science lab on manipulative skill

AI Tutoring

Pattern

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
Online self-paced or asynchronous, no instructor watching (from the wording)	Answer-withholding by default, a hint ladder, logged reliance signals, and a named human handoff with a response time; add reflection prompts before accepting the tutor's answer	Reflection prompt cut acceptance of wrong advice [+M]; Human-AI tutoring raised MAP growth over AI alone [+M]

Analogical Reasoning

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
Learners work alone (online-self-paced)	Show both cases on one screen and ask for a written description of their similarities; reading the same cases separately gave far less transfer	Comparing cases side by side improves learning and transfer [+M]

Anchored Instruction

Pattern

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
The anchor is a simulation or video that learners work through alone (online-self-paced)	Build prompts and feedback into the environment instead of leaving the anchor open	Guidance added to simulation inquiry modestly improves outcomes [+W]

Authentic Assessment

Pattern

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
online-self-paced, no teacher present	Give the rubric and scored exemplars up front; have learners score an exemplar and see the expert's score before self-assessing; use structured peer review in a timed window; reserve teacher or practitioner judgement for the final product.	Peer assessment [+M] (robust to online or offline delivery in the meta-analysis); self-assessment training [~S]; carried to authentic tasks untested

Autonomy

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
An open, self-directed course with little structure (online-self-paced, MOOC-style)	Keep the choice of topic or project, but supply a plan, milestones and a few vetted options; teach planning as in Self-Regulated Learning	Not all students in connectivist courses could direct their own learning [~M]

Check-ins

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
online-self-paced, with no instructor	Turn the check-in into a self-monitoring prompt against a stated goal, with a suggested next step for each answer	Self-monitoring improves self-regulation [+W]

Chunking

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
Recorded lectures for online-self-paced study	Split long recordings into several shorter videos, each on one idea	Long recorded lectures impeded focus [+W]; Segmenting improves multimedia learning [+M]

Cognitive Activation

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
online-self-paced, no teacher present	Put the prompt in the material with a required typed answer before the model explanation is revealed; the learner then compares the two.	Self-explanation prompts improve learning from worked examples [+M] (prompting is tested; the reveal-after-commit step is untested)

Cognitive Flexibility

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
Setting online-self-paced or hypertext	Give a guided route through the cases (a theme per pass) rather than free browsing, and build the comparison prompts into the pages.	A flexible hypertext course group averaged 76% on achievement tests against 59% for a direct-design group that studied different software, so the contrast confounds design with content [~W]: groups studied different software, so it does not isolate the design; navigation burden is untested, from the theory page

Coherence Principle

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
online-self-paced pages, learner-paced	Still cut, but expect a smaller effect; give learners a clear path through essential content so optional extras can be skipped	Design principle effects moderated by pacing and complexity [~M]; Hypermedia usability problems [~M] (distraction and overload in learner-controlled hypermedia)

Collaborative Learning

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
The setting is online-self-paced or asynchronous online groups	Plan the interaction explicitly (shared task, deadlines for responding to each other); do not expect a role or reward scheme alone to raise achievement	Structuring interdependence did not change achievement online [~M]; Students rated collaboration worse online [~W]

Combine intentional and incidental vocabulary learning rather than relying on incidental learning alone

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
Setting is online-self-paced, phone-only, or no teacher present	Put graded readings or audio with tap-to-see glosses in the app; schedule spaced recall of words the learner taps or saves; after each reading ask for one typed or spoken use of a saved word	Listening to vocabulary lessons while physically active… [+M] (ESL students, phone audio added to class teaching); Supplemental computer-based spaced repetition… [+M] (EFL cadets, alongside classroom teaching, not instead of it); in-app glossing carried from Marginal glosses, dictionary use, and repeated occurrence… [+M] (printed text)

Compensate for age-related sensory impairments by combining audio input with visual presentation

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
online-self-paced recordings	Give captions or a transcript the learner can switch on, plus pause and replay; no need to force both channels at once	System-paced but not learner-paced advantage [~M]; modality effect absent when self-paced [~M]

Constructive Alignment

Pattern

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
Setting is online-self-paced with no teacher present	Build practice with immediate feedback into each module ahead of its assessed task; make criteria and exemplars part of the module; audit automatically scored items for recall-only questions.	Practice presence [+M] (computer-based lesson, undergraduates); the audit is untested

Contiguity Principle (Spatial and Temporal)

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
Self-paced online course (online-self-paced), learners can pause and scroll	Integrate anyway; expect a smaller gain than in system-paced media	Design principles matter less when learner-paced [~M] (g = 0.27 vs 0.41)

Debriefing

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
online-self-paced, no facilitator	Replace the live debrief with a written self-debrief: three to five specific questions tied to the criteria, then a model performance or expert commentary to compare with, then one change for the next module, shown back at its start	Reflective Practice Improves Outcomes When Structured [+M] (classroom engineering course); Metacognitive prompts improve learning [+M] (computer-based environments)

Deliberate Practice

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
Setting is online-self-paced, no coach present	Give items with automatic checking or a worked answer to compare; have the learner score against annotated exemplars and keep an error log; require one whole-task submission per session reviewed by a person or a rubric-based check	Self-regulated learning models treat self-monitoring as a core process through which learners notice gaps and adjust strategy [+M] (reviews; untested within deliberate practice or online)

Develop Understanding

Pattern

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
online-self-paced, no teacher	Make every prompt require a typed explanation before the next screen; give worked explanations to compare against; include automatically checked prediction items with feedback; end with an unseen changed item.	Practice present in a computer-based lesson [+M] (undergraduates, one lesson, horizon not reported); the explanation-comparison step is untested

Digital Learning

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
Setting is online-self-paced, no teacher present	Add the contact task in week 1, a fixed weekly rhythm with a deadline, visible progress against a criterion, and a weekly plan prompt; check logins by day 3	Self-regulated learning interventions have a moderate effect (0.65) on learning outcomes in online and blended environments [+M] (15 studies); a diary alone did not help in one course (A daily learning diary alone (Group D) did not produce statistically significant pre-post gains on any measured outcome in an online mathematics preparation course [~M])

Direct Instruction

Pattern

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
online-self-paced, with no teacher to respond in the moment	Use worked examples as the model and build feedback into the guided items; worked examples beat unassisted discovery by more than direct teaching did	Worked examples' advantage over unassisted discovery [+M]

Dual Coding

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
online-self-paced, no teacher present	Build a model drawing to compare with and a self-check list into the material; offer a drawing template as optional, and if the platform adds drawing aids (highlighting where to draw, prompts per part), compare them with plain drawing before keeping them	Drawing in STEM [+M] (online drawing benefited more from instructor-provided scaffolds than paper-based drawing); against: in one tablet experiment the two supports tested did not beat unsupported drawing, and local support lowered recognition [-M] and raised rated difficulty [-M]

Educators should act as mediators and facilitators of learning rather than content disseminators

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
online-self-paced or web-based course, teacher not present in real time	Provide the task, tools and criteria up front; mediate through written questions on submitted work and scheduled feedback rather than live circulation; in a discussion forum, post as a participant and tutor at the edges rather than answer every thread, and post less as groups begin to run the discussion themselves	E-teachers reported shifting toward a facilitator role online [+M] (one teacher's interview; describes the shift, does not test its effect); both teachers remained peripherally active and concentrated their contributions on tutoring [+W] (one networked learning community, content and network analysis, no comparison)

Elaboration Theory

Pattern

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
online-self-paced, no teacher present	Keep the epitome as a persistent map on every page, with the current level highlighted; make each synthesis an activity the system checks (arrange items into the map, mark the new detail), not a passage to read.	Learners explicating the organisation [+M] for the synthesis activity (same 20-student high-school experiment; untested online); the persistent map is an untested proposal

Employ flexible error treatment strategies matched to objectives, competence, affect, and correction effectiveness

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
Online self-paced course or app (from the wording)	Keep practice items and feedback in the lesson rather than cutting them to shorten it; use the correct form with a rule line for novice learners	Learners' attitudes were most negative toward the version of a computer-based lesson stripped of practice and other events (lean version most negative [~M], undergraduates, a computer-literacy lesson, attitudes not learning); carried to language apps

Error Analysis

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
online-self-paced, no teacher present	The system must supply the correct solution and the explanation; log error streaks and self-reported confusion, and switch to a worked example after repeated errors on one item type.	confusion with prior incorrect trials [~W] (exploratory); the switch rule is an untested proposal

Expanding Social Networks

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
Setting is online-self-paced or learners study alone at home	Add a peer group of learners in the same situation with set participation norms (one weekly post, one reply) rather than relying on the tutor relationship alone	The student-tutor relationship alone is judged insufficient: peer mixing and virtual communities are needed to counter isolation in online research supervision [+M] (doctoral supervision, consultation study); SPICE learners report that the virtual Center reduced their rural isolation and made learning enjoyable [+W] (family literacy, testimonials)

Experience with Languaging Activities (ELAs) guided by a sequence of experience-based questions

Pattern

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
online-self-paced, no teacher	Embed the four prompts after each segment; after the learner commits a step 4 answer, show a model answer and ask them to mark what they missed; adapt the stem to the content of the segment.	Metacognitive prompts [+S]: in computer-based environments prompts helped, more so with feedback, task-specific and adaptive (meta-analysis read from its abstract)

Experiential Learning

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
online-self-paced, no facilitator present	Replace the live debrief with specific written prompts after each task and a model answer to compare against; let learners retry a changed task with automatic feedback	Reflective Practice Improves Outcomes When Structured [+M] for specific written prompts (engineering undergraduates, in a classroom course); untested online

Experiential Learning Cycle

Pattern

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
online-self-paced, no facilitator	Replace the live debrief with three written prompts after each task and a model answer to compare against; offer an automatically scored changed task as the retry.	Structured reflection [+M] for written specific prompts (a classroom engineering course); untested online

Explicit Instruction: Computer Basics

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
No teacher: a self-paced video or online course (from the wording)	Show one routine per short video segment, then a practice task on the learner's own device with a check the learner can see (did the email arrive in the test inbox?); include a practice task after every demonstration, never demonstration only	Practice: In one experiment with 256 undergraduates, computer-based lesson versions that included practice produced significantly higher posttest scores than versions without practice [+M] (undergraduates in a computer-literacy course, computer-based lesson). Segment length: untested

Explicit Instruction: Math Strategies

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
online-self-paced, phone-only, or no teacher present	Put the reason beside every worked step; use completion problems that leave the last steps to the learner; check each answer automatically and show the worked solution; give a one-screen plan card the learner can open	Fading support promotes the transfer of responsibility from instructor to learner. [+S] (worked-example fading, carried to self-paced mathematics); Sixth graders scored significantly higher on posttests that included the seven-step problem-solving plan than on unformatted posttests [+M] (a plan printed with the problems)

Explicit Instruction: Online Reading Strategies

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
Setting is online-self-paced, no teacher present	Build the supports into the course: a goal box that must be filled before links open, a notes panel beside the reading, a prompt at each page change ("does this page answer your question?"), and a "review your notes and revise your summary" step before the answer is submitted	Metacognitive prompts improve learning [+S] (computer-based environments); review-notes compliance [+M] (one study, associational)

Explicit Instruction: Vocabulary

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
Setting is online-self-paced, phone-only, or no teacher present	Build each word as a short card (meaning, example, picture, audio) with recall prompts scheduled by the app over two to three weeks; put the words into short readings or audio inside the course; ask for one typed or spoken use per word	Supplemental computer-based spaced repetition… [+M] (EFL cadets, alongside classroom teaching, not instead of it)

Feedback Loops

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
online-self-paced, no teacher present	Build automatically checked items with a retry on a new item after each piece of information; route a learner who fails twice to a worked example; keep a delayed recheck in a later session	Intelligent tutoring systems improve achievement over non-individualised instruction [+S] (intelligent tutoring beat large-group, textbook and other computer instruction, not human tutoring or small groups; gains were smaller on standardized than on locally developed tests)

Formative Assessment

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
online-self-paced, with no teacher reading responses	Build the checks into the materials with automatic feedback, and give learners a next action for each result	Formative-assessment-based learning analytics show positive effects [+W]

Fostering Creative Thinking

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
Generative AI or an automated writing-feedback tool is available, or the setting is online-self-paced	Require a first list of the learner's own ideas (or a first draft) before the tool is opened; then use the tool to extend or challenge that list; keep the making of the prototype or product with the learner; where variety across the class is the point, look at the spread of the whole class's ideas, not only each learner's best; judge readiness on a later task done without the tool	Think first, ChatGPT later group more original on the later unassisted task [+M]; Free ChatGPT use gains vanish when assistance is removed [+M] (university students, one experiment); LLM access boosts individual story creativity while homogenising output across writers [~W] (reported second-hand from one study of writers); Prototype generation is the only GenAI activity associated with perceived loss of creativity or ownership [~W] (design students' survey, self-report; brainstorming with AI was not associated with it); Overreliance on AWE may lower learners' critical thinking and creativity [-W] (a theme in a review, no statistic)

Game-Based Mastery Learning

Pattern

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
online-self-paced, no teacher	The software runs feedback, retries, checks and review; a weekly lesson target and a soft deadline per level; a streak that survives one missed day	Self-paced mastery reduces completion [-M] (college PSI courses, carried to apps); level prompts [+M] (practice volume only)

Goal Setting & Monitoring

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
online-self-paced, no teacher present	Build goal setting and an if-then plan into the first session (a short writing activity); show progress against the goal on every return; do not expect the prompt to help every learner	Implementation intentions [~M] (course completion rose for learners in individualist cultures, not collectivist)

Graphic Organizers

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
Setting is online-self-paced, no teacher present	Place the organizer next to the text it summarises (not on a separate page); give partial organizers with a reference version revealed after the learner submits; add one explanation question per organizer	Adding relevant pictures or graphics to text improves learning from it, with a small pooled effect on reading comprehension, though whether dual coding explains the benefit is disputed [+M] (graphics added to text helped reading comprehension, elementary to adult; carried to organizers, which it did not isolate); the reveal-and-compare step is untested

Guided Practice

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
Setting is online-self-paced, no teacher present	Build practice items with automatic checking and feedback after each item into the lesson; do not cut them to save time; add an unaided check item before the next topic	In one experiment with 256 undergraduates, computer-based lesson versions that included practice produced significantly higher posttest scores than versions without practice [+M] (undergraduates, one computer-based lesson; horizon not reported)

Handouts/Online Guides/Visual Reading Aids

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
Setting is online-self-paced, or mixed (some learners remote, some in the room, some on phones)	Give one single-column online guide that reads on a phone: section headings that match the reading, short prompts, fillable blanks or a form; the same file for everyone, so remote and in-room learners work from one version; ask remote learners to submit one completed section	Students in courses with guided note-taking and other active learning activities reported less difficulty with motivation and engagement after the shift online [+W] (focus groups in 28 STEM courses; self-report). Phone format and mixed mode: untested

Holistic Learning

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
online-self-paced, no teacher present	Keep the map on every screen with today's part highlighted; make the closing placement an arrange-or-label activity the system checks; add a redraw-from-memory item from the middle of the course	Learner-built organisation [+M] (classroom study, untested online); concept mapping [~S] for the redraw; the persistent map is untested

Inquiry-based Learning

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
The inquiry runs in a simulation or online (online-self-paced)	Build the guidance into the environment (prompts, annotations, feedback); expect near transfer, and do not expect far transfer from one unit	Guidance added to simulation inquiry modestly improves outcomes and inquiry skills [+M]; PAIR-C scaffolding: near-transfer gain, no far transfer [~W]

Interleaving

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
Learners choose their own practice order (online-self-paced, homework, revision)	Build the mixing into the materials or the software; do not rely on learners to choose it, since learners in two studies judged blocking more effective	Interleaving improves discrimination [+S] (Kornell & Bjork: most learners believed blocking had served them better); Learners judge blocking more effective even when their test performance favours interleaving [~M] (about two thirds of 114 undergraduates); the same misjudgement for spacing is on Spaced Learning

Journaling

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
online-self-paced, no teacher present	Put the prompts in the platform at the end of each module, tied to that module; require a "next step" line; show the learner their last "next step" at the start of the next module; pair the diary with short self-regulation training.	training with diary [~M] and diary alone [-M] (prospective university students, online mathematics preparation; no mathematics gain either way)

Keep the learner in control of the information flow with on-demand tools and supports

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
online-self-paced, no teacher present	Build steps 5 and 6 into the software: a prompt after a wrong answer with no help opened, and a one-screen guide to when help is worth taking; log help use for the learner to see	Not requesting any hints in at least one problem is related to greater wheel-spinning, consistent with help avoidance [~M] (maths practice software, correlational; carried to language video)

Learning-for-Use (LfU) Model

Pattern

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
online-self-paced, no teacher	The system shows the task, collects a typed attempt and questions, runs a guided simulation or data set with prompts and immediate feedback, then gives a worked statement of the idea that refers back to typical attempts, then the applied task with a self-explanation prompt.	Guidance in inquiry [+M] (the studies' settings are not reported on the claim page); otherwise untested

Mastery Learning

Pattern

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
College course, self-paced (online-self-paced or Keller-style)	Add deadlines or pacing checkpoints, because self-paced mastery courses lose more students	Self-paced mastery programmes reduce course completion [-M]

Memory Consolidation

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
Online, self-paced, or phone-only (from the wording)	Put the returns in the app's queue or a dated reminder, with automatic checking; show a delayed check, not a streak, as the progress signal	Learners Misjudge Spacing Benefits [+M] (adults, lab and flashcard software: learners prefer massing, so do not leave scheduling to them)

Mindfulness Activities

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
Learning is in software or online-self-paced (a tutor, an app)	Put the pause before the session, not between practice steps; keep it skippable; check that learners still complete the practice set	Mindful-condition students completed fewer problem-solving steps and requested fewer hints per step than Cognitive-condition students [~M] (log data, exploratory; error rates did not differ: no-difference-error-rate-log [~M])

Modality Principle

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
One teacher for many, or online-self-paced with no teacher	Narrated short segments with pause and replay; a short "what happens if" question after each	Letting learners pace helped on complex material, while learner control in general showed almost no effect [~M]; the check question is an untested proposal

Motivation

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
online-self-paced and voluntary (an open online course)	Do not open with a test on material not yet taught, or make it optional and say errors are expected; track return days and completion, not clicks; build the four questions into the first activity; flag learners who abandon a problem right after a first failure, so someone or something responds	Pre-tests reduced adult learners' persistence in a MOOC, though they improved post-test scores among those who completed it [~M] (one randomized MOOC experiment, abstract); Teachers treat resilience under challenge as a teachable skill that current routines and dashboards do little to support [~W] (one teacher workshop, qualitative) for the flag; the rest untested

Multimodal Instruction

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
online-self-paced, learner-paced media	On-screen text beside a static visual is acceptable. Give pause, replay and a text version. Do not convert all text to audio.	Modality [~M]: its advantage shrinks when learners control pacing
One session only, or no teacher present (from the wording)	Use one representation pair, not a full set. Build the translation prompts and their model answers into the material, so a learner without a teacher can check a sketch or explanation.	untested proposal

Note-taking

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
Setting is online-self-paced video	Put the pause points into the video (a prompt screen at each break); give a downloadable outline for the first modules; end each module with a short recall quiz learners answer before reopening their notes	Pauses and outline: untested here. Quiz: Retrieval Practice Improves Long Term Retention [+S] (carried to reviewing notes)

Online Course Design (Community of Inquiry)

Pattern

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
online-self-paced with rolling enrolment, or one teacher for hundreds of learners	Replace teacher feedback on each piece with automatic feedback on self-checks, a weekly teacher summary of common errors, and peer review against a rubric; keep the week-1 if-then plan; give the teacher's time to learners flagged by a missed week.	Implementation intentions [+S] (the two field experiments were in large online courses); the rest is untested

PAIR-C Framework (Pattern, Agents, Interactions, Relations, Causality)

Pattern

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
online-self-paced, no teacher	Embed one prompt per dimension in the simulation page; require a written prediction before each run; show a model five-dimension explanation after the learner submits theirs; offer the misconception cards as feedback keyed to common answers.	Guidance in simulations [+M], reported second-hand; untested for this pattern

Personalization

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
Setting is online-self-paced, with a platform or courseware	Use a platform that diagnoses parts of the topic and orders each learner's path; expect time saved and a modest aligned gain; pair it with an instructor learners can reach	In a randomized experiment, personalized paths reduced learning time by 22.0% and improved post-test scores versus a fixed sequence [+M]; ITS significantly outperform large-group human instruction, individual computer-based instruction, and textbooks or workbooks, but not small-group or individual human tutoring [+M]; Students in focus groups were positive about adaptive courseware but reported alignment, access, and reliability concerns [~W]; Courseware can bridge gateway math learning gaps through tailored tutorials, study tools, diagnostics, and targeted practice [+W] (faculty and student interviews; perceptions, not outcomes)

Practice with Simulated People

Pattern

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
Online, self-paced, no live facilitator (online-self-paced)	Build specific, rubric-referenced feedback and a written debrief prompt into every attempt; allow unlimited low-stakes repeats; add a mentor review of a recorded encounter at the end of each scenario family	High-information feedback outperforms corrective feedback [~S]; feedback without reasons judged insufficient [-M]; learners value repeatable practice and recorded review [~M]; completers rated a self-service AI trainer engaging and easy to use [+W] (feasibility, not learning)

Pre-reading Questioning

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
online-self-paced course or module, no teacher present	Keep pre-questions to two, framed as a puzzle with no score; show the answer straight after the relevant section; track drop-off at the pre-question screen and remove it if completion falls	Pre-tests reduced adult learners' persistence in a MOOC, though they improved post-test scores among those who completed it [-M] (399 adults in a MOOC: pre-tests reduced persistence; post-test gains only among those who finished)

Pretesting (Prequestions Before Study)

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
online-self-paced course or MOOC	Keep the pretest to two or three unscored items, framed as a puzzle; show answers in the next screen; watch drop-off at the pretest screen and remove it if completion falls	Pre-tests reduced adult learners' persistence in a MOOC [-M]

Problem-Based Learning

Pattern

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
Learners work alone (online-self-paced)	Replace the facilitator with support that rises after a failed attempt (a hint, then a worked step) and falls after success, and show typical solutions before the consolidation; let a learner who has tried reach an explicit answer rather than only further hints	Contingent scaffolding improves learning [+M] (one-to-one tutoring); Learners using a staged-disclosure feedback agent valued their agency, but about two in five found it too indirect when they needed an explicit answer [~W] (one self-selected survey); the self-paced version is an untested proposal

Procedural Learning

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
online-self-paced, no teacher present, or phone-only	Build the worked example and five to eight practice items with automatic checking and a worked answer after each into the lesson; one step per screen on a phone; an unaided check item before the next procedure; scheduled review prompts two days and one week later	practice included in computer-based lessons [+M] (undergraduates, one lesson; horizon not reported); schedule untested

Process-based Writing

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
online-self-paced or asynchronous course, no teacher reading every draft	Build in a rubric-guided peer review with practice on rated examples, a reviewer memo with each revision, and a self-check against the criteria before submission	rubrics and peer reviewers [~M] (one MOOC writing course, one online graduate course); Peer assessment improves academic performance by a small average amount [+M] (online and offline did not differ)

Productive Failure

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
Learners work alone (online-self-paced)	Individual attempts are acceptable; in the instruction, show learners a set of typical attempts (other learners' or prepared ones) beside the canonical solution. Watch persistence: keep the attempt short, ungraded and visibly expected to fail. Where attempting is impractical, let learners watch a modelled learner work through several different failed methods before the instruction (vicarious failure); the methods shown must be diverse, since a model showing few did no better than teaching first	Collaborative and individual problem solving in traditional PF do not differ in conceptual knowledge after instruction [~M] (tenth-graders, a non-significant difference, not shown equivalent); Learning the CVS with self-generated, vicarious, combined, or no errors during PS-I does not differentially affect posttest performance [~W] (others' errors did as well as one's own, on a domain-general skill); Pre-tests reduced adult learners' persistence in a MOOC [-W] (pretests, not PS-I); Vicarious failure with high solution diversity is as effective as engaging in productive failure oneself [~W] and outperforms low-diversity vicarious failure and direct instruction [+M] (one randomised trial, 152 secondary students, d ≈ 0.65 over teaching first; equal to attempting, not shown equivalent); observing the whole problem-solving-and-failing process beat generating one's own attempts [+M], more so for learners with more prior knowledge (prior knowledge moderated the VF-process advantage [~M]; one trial, 173 secondary students); both trials were in classrooms, so the self-paced PS-I design as a whole is an untested proposal

Programmed Instruction

Pattern

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
online-self-paced, no teacher, learners must finish by a date	Dated targets per unit, an automatic reminder at each missed date and a person who contacts anyone two targets behind; keep the unit gate.	Self-paced mastery programs reduced completion [-M] (college PSI courses); reminders and contact are untested remedies

Project Space and Instructional Space

Pattern

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
online-self-paced, no teacher	The system pauses the project, runs the practice and the gate, and resumes it; keep common milestone deadlines and send reminders; flag a learner who has not resumed within a week.	Self-paced mastery programmes lowered completion [-M], college PSI courses; tutoring systems [+S]

Provide positive comments alongside constructive criticism when responding to student writing

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
Comments come from an AI tool (online, online-self-paced)	Before using it, read a sample of its comments on weak and strong drafts and on drafts by different students: check that weak drafts still get specific strengths, that strong drafts still get critique, and that comments do not change with the student's described identity or motivation; do not tell the tool a student's group or motivation	LLM feedback sentiment tracks assigned scores: low scores come with more criticism, high scores with more praise [~M]; Motivation prompts shift feedback tone: unmotivated students receive enthusiastic, collaborative encouragement while motivated students receive direct, higher-level critique [~M] (both about the comments produced, not their effect on writers)

Quiet Learning Spaces

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
Setting is online-self-paced, or learners study at home or on a phone only	Replace room arrangements with a written study-conditions plan (when, where, which notifications off, what to do about the commonest interruption); for phone-only learners, focus mode on and one app open; short blocks that fit the time they have	Staying motivated was the most pervasive challenge of learning remotely, and students missed instructor feedback, peer collaboration, and hands-on experiences [+M] (undergraduates, survey: finding a quiet place a common problem); the plan is untested

Redundancy Principle

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
Material is self-paced (pages, pausable video) (from the wording)	Treat duplication as a low-stakes choice: fluent readers can ignore one channel; give audio on demand	Spoken–written advantage only for system-paced material [~M] (g = 0.12 learner-paced, not detectable)

Reflection

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
online-self-paced, no teacher present	Use task-specific prompts tied to that week's content, require a written next step, and open the next module by showing it back; flag entries that repeat word for word.	Structured reflection [+M]; tested in a classroom engineering course, untested self-paced

Responsive Teaching

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
online-self-paced, no teacher present, or an AI tutor does the responding	Use automatic checks for answers, but add one free-text explanation per lesson reviewed by a person between sessions; do not rely on the system's inference of what the learner knows	Generative AI tutors currently struggle to infer student knowledge [-W] (a review citing two studies); intelligent tutors helped whether or not they modelled misconceptions (ITS effectiveness is not moderated by whether the ITS provides feedback or models student misconceptions [~M], one meta-analysis)

Retrieval Practice

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
Learners study on their own (online-self-paced, revision)	Build the quizzes into the materials and tell learners why; left alone, most reread rather than test themselves. Where a system can schedule review, adapting it to each learner's responses did better than learner-directed study in one study; a fixed schedule did not differ reliably	Learners underuse effective strategies [~M]; Learners misjudge the benefit of retrieval [~M]; Adaptive spaced retrieval beat learner-directed AI study at seven weeks [~M]

Scaffolding

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
online-self-paced or computer-based STEM problem solving	Build conceptual, strategic or metacognitive scaffolds into the tasks; do not rely on motivational messages alone, which showed no effect on their own	Computer-based scaffolding has a positive effect in STEM [+M]; Scaffold design features did not moderate the effect [~M]

Segmenting Principle

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
Self-paced online, learners have pause and replay controls (from the wording)	Still cut into designed segments with continue points; do not rely on learners pausing at the right places	Flow control was rarely used and did not track learning [~M]; learner pacing helped on complex material, learner control in general near zero [~M]

Self-Directed Learning

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
Setting is online-self-paced, no teacher present	Fixed checkpoint dates, an automatic content check at each, a reminder when one is missed, and a plan template with self-testing and review slots built in	Self-paced mastery programs (PSI) reduce college course completion, though not by enough to explain their examination advantage [-M] (college courses, completion); the remedies are untested

Self-Directed Learning

Pattern

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
online-self-paced, no facilitator	Keep dated weekly checkpoints with automated reminders; add an eight-minute goal, obstacle and if-then plan activity at enrolment; show each learner their plan against their progress weekly.	Self-paced courses lost more completers [-M] (college PSI); implementation intentions [~S] (helped completion in individualist cultures only)

Self-monitoring

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
Setting is online-self-paced, no teacher present	Build the checks into the software as task-specific prompts at natural pauses, each followed by an item with automatic feedback that shows the learner whether their judgement was right; do not rely on a free-text diary	Metacognitive prompts improve learning [+M] (meta-analysis in computer-based environments, g = 0.40 on learning outcomes, larger with feedback, task-specific and adaptive prompts); diary alone [-M]

Self-Regulated Learning

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
Learning happens in a computer-based or online-self-paced environment	Put short, task-specific planning, monitoring and evaluation prompts at natural pauses, paired with feedback on the task	Metacognitive prompts improve learning [+M]; SRL interventions have a moderate effect online and blended [+M]

Self-Regulated Learning

Pattern

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
online-self-paced, no instructor to model the steps	Deliver step 2 as a short web-based training on the regulation steps, and pair it with a daily diary; do not run the diary alone	Training plus a diary raised SRL knowledge and self-efficacy [~M]; A diary alone gave no significant gains [~M]

Social Interdependence

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
Setting is online-self-paced or asynchronous online groups	Do not rely on assigned roles or a group reward to raise achievement; require each member to post a stated number of contributions that respond to others', and assess individually	Interdependence type did not affect posttest achievement [~M] (280 undergraduate business majors, triads; non-significant, no effect size); more interactions went with higher posttest scores [+W] (same study, correlational)

Spaced Learning

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
Learners study on their own (online-self-paced, revision before exams)	Schedule the review sessions in the course (dated releases, reminders); left alone, learners mass their study and judge massing to work better. In one flashcard study spacing beat massing for 90% of participants, yet 72% judged massing more effective after their first session; in a free-recall experiment learners rated massed items as more memorable while recalling them worse	Learners misjudge spacing benefits [~M]; Learners judged massed items more memorable though recall was worse [~M]; Learners underuse spacing and retrieval practice [+W]

Spaced Learning

Pattern

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
online-self-paced with learners choosing when to study	Release review sessions on a schedule and send reminders; do not leave the timing to learners, who prefer massing and, by a review's account, underuse spacing generally	Learners misjudge spacing benefits [~M]; Learners underuse spacing and retrieval practice [+W]

Structured Peer Review

Pattern

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
online-instructor-led or online-self-paced, asynchronous	Use a tool that assigns drafts at random, hides authors' names, locks a review once submitted, shows the author all reviews together and lets the author rate each review's usefulness; a calibration anchor before the first review; a deadline for the revision plan.	Assessor meta-analysis [+M]: computer-mediated peer assessment did better than paper; peer assessment [+M] found no online/offline difference; rating received reviews [+W] raised peer–expert agreement in one tool's evaluation. The other tool rules are untested

Teach response precision and new associations with minimal errors, using mediators and stimulus fading

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
Setting is online-self-paced, or phone-only	Build the cue fading and correction into the items: each miss shows the right answer and returns the item later in the set; a short unaided check opens each session	Feedback Enhances Retrieval Practice [+S] (classroom quizzing and a lab word-pair study, carried to self-paced apps untested)

Technology should augment, not supplant, learning processes in student-centered environments

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
online-self-paced, no teacher present	Build in the reflection prompt before accepting AI answers and an automated report of each learner's own offloading; end each module with an unaided item	In one preregistered experiment, metacognitive feedback on learners' own LLM use lowered the odds of answer offloading and raised the odds of a correct unaided answer on one-sided tests, with 95% intervals reaching no effect [+M] (online experiment); A brief metacognitive reflection prompt reduces acceptance of incorrect AI advice compared with open ChatGPT support alone [+M]

Traditional Lecture-Based Instruction

Pattern

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
Recorded lectures in a self-paced online course (from the wording)	Cut recordings into short pieces (proposal: under 10 minutes each) with one question after each; give a written summary of each piece's key point.	Long recorded lectures impeded focus; shorter segments appreciated [~W]: student interviews in spring 2020 STEM courses; the segment length is untested

Transfer of Learning

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
Setting is online-self-paced, no teacher present	Build the comparison prompt and the principle statement into the materials; use automatically checked retrieval questions in changed formats; add an unprompted transfer item before the next unit	Retrieval Practice Improves Transfer [~S] (lab and prose-passage studies; carried to self-paced courses untested)

Universal Design For Learning

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
Setting is online-self-paced, no teacher present	Build the access layers into the media (editable text, captions and transcripts, pause and replay, glossary links); give automatic, criterion-referenced feedback on each product format	Letting learners pace instruction helped on complex material in one experiment [~M] (primary-school animation and a meta-analysis of learner control; achievement gain not general); the rest untested

Use computer tools that let students explore hypotheses and solutions faster so they can test many ideas without frustration

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
Setting is online-self-paced, no teacher present	Build the question, prediction box, prompts and closing unaided question into the tool or worksheet; show the canonical explanation only after the learner has submitted a rule	Supplementing simulation-based inquiry with learner guidance has a modest effect on learning outcomes (d = 0.49) and inquiry skills (d = 0.41), independent of guidance type (review attribution to D'Angelo et al., 2014) [+M] (effects did not depend on guidance type, which suggests built-in prompts can serve; untested as such)

Always report and interpret effect sizes alongside p values for primary outcomes

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
Mixed modes: some readers in the room, some remote or on phones; or a self-paced online module (from the wording)	Put the numbers in a shared table everyone can see, give the d calculation as a fill-in template, and collect each person's one-sentence translation in writing	untested proposal

Annotating

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
Setting is online-self-paced with a digital text	Put a question box after each section of the reader instead of relying on a highlighter, and show the learner's own questions back to them before the end-of-unit check	untested proposal

Ask Experts

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
Setting is online-self-paced, no expert live	Use an asynchronous question queue: each question carries the learner's attempt; the expert answers the commonest ones with a recorded think-aloud and the rest in writing within a set time (say two working days); add an adaptive tutor or worked-feedback items for routine steps	untested proposal; human and intelligent tutoring had similar effects over no tutoring in one review read from its abstract (tutoring claim [~M])

Building Empathy

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
Setting is online-self-paced	Use recorded first-person accounts, a written summary of the speaker's view that the learner checks against the speaker's own words, and a private before-and-after rating	untested proposal

Clear Structure

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
online-self-paced, and the learners' problem is finding what is due	Give a module map and weekly checklists, and test navigation separately from learning	untested proposal; no claim in the wiki tests course-level structure

Cognitive Styles

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
online-self-paced, no teacher present	No style quiz at entry. Offer the frame or checklist as an optional download beside every analytic task and a built-in check step on multi-step problems; let the learner hide them once they no longer need them	untested proposal; matching evidence carried (Learning Styles Matching [-S])

Concept Attainment

Pattern

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
online-self-paced, no teacher	The system gives the yes/no label after the learner commits a written hypothesis; show the hypothesis history beside the items; end with a classification set with feedback and a stated definition.	Untested proposal

Concreteness Fading

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
Self-paced online, no teacher to make the links (from the wording)	Build the links into the material: each drawing shown beside its object and its symbol, with a prompt to say which part matches which	untested proposal; the need for the link rests on Manipulatives require connection to concept [+M]

Considering The Opposite

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
online-self-paced, or phone only	A required field before submission: "the strongest reason you could be wrong"; then show the expert's alternative and the deciding evidence	untested proposal

Criterion- and Norm-Referenced Testing

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
Self-paced mobile study for school-age learners with no live teacher (from the wording)	Teach the difference with short worked examples and a tap-to-sort activity (statements sorted into "tells you what I can do" and "tells you how I rank"), and assess with auto-scored items against a stated criterion; do not ask learners to write test items on a phone	untested proposal

Cultural & Life Experiences Connections

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
Setting is online-self-paced, no teacher present	Give prompts that ask the learner to write their own example and explain the concept in it, with a bank of worked examples from several contexts; require no public sharing	untested

Culturally Responsive Classroom Norms

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
online-self-paced, no teacher present	Leave response windows open rather than timed; give discussion-board options to post after reading others or to reply privately; state the platform's conventions on help and copying in plain terms	untested proposal

Design tools so productive usage is guaranteed by affordances and constraints rather than instructions

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
online-self-paced, no teacher present	All steering must be in the tool: a self-explaining opening screen, hints-only assistant, an unaided check item the tool scores; nobody can correct a learner who takes the shortcut	untested proposal; the guardrail trial was in classrooms

Discussing Race

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
online-self-paced, no facilitator present	Do not run open discussion of race unmoderated; use asynchronous written responses to a shared object with norms stated at the start, a moderator who reads posts within a set window (e.g. 24 hours), and a private reflection to close	untested proposal

Elaborative Reasoning

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
Setting is online-self-paced, no teacher	Embed the prompts in the text with a text box; after each answer, reveal a short reference answer to compare against	untested proposal; carried from the classroom biology study (Elaborative interrogation improved true/false test performance in an introductory biology course context [+M]), which did not test the self-check

Engagement

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
Setting is online-self-paced, no teacher present	Replace the greeting with a named welcome and first-minute check-in; build a visible progress record and automatic learning checks; track return days, not only clicks	untested; Intervention engagement (narratives consumed) showed no clear association with outcome changes [~W] warns that usage counts need not track outcomes (a mental-health app, not learning)

Epistemic Cognition

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
online-self-paced, no teacher present	Provide recorded demonstrations of the expert move, live practice items with model reasoning shown after the learner commits a judgment and a confidence rating, and a delayed check on new items.	Untested proposal; the online-argumentation synthesis does not report teacher presence

Epistemic Games

Pattern

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
online-self-paced, no teacher	Mentor characters must carry all guidance: a modelled decision before each new decision type, required written justification, scripted feedback with reasons, and a written debrief prompt at the end of each session. Expect weaker debriefs than with a person.	Untested proposal; feedback [+S] carried to software feedback

Evaluating Sources

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
online-self-paced, no teacher present	Short recorded demonstrations of the off-page move; practice items where the learner commits a verdict, a reason and a confidence rating before a model answer and the fact-checker's search are shown; a delayed check on new sites	Untested; all studies were taught in classes

Explicit Instruction: Internet Search

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
online-self-paced, no teacher present	Short recorded demonstrations of each step and of a failed search being repaired; practice questions where the learner submits their queries and reasons before a worked model log for the same question is shown; a delayed check in a new tool	Untested; carried from the default design

Flexible Grouping

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
online-self-paced, no live teacher	Replace live regrouping with branching: a short check routes each learner to a support module or an extension; asynchronous discussion groups are assigned by the course for mixing, and change each unit	untested here; individualised routing is modelled in Adaptive Learning

Fostering Communities of Learning (FCL)

Pattern

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
online-self-paced or phone-only, no live sessions	Replace live jigsaw with asynchronous teaching: each expert posts a short explanation and two questions; peers answer and the expert replies; an automatic individual quiz on every part decides progress.	Untested proposal; learning by teaching [~M] found interactive teaching better than non-interactive, so expect less benefit without live questions

Gagné's 9 Events of Instruction

Pattern

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
online-self-paced, with learners directing their own work	State the objective briefly in performance terms and let learners check their own attempt against it	untested proposal

Game-based Learning

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
online-self-paced, no teacher present	Put the modelling, hints and debrief questions inside the game (a worked example screen between levels, a "why did that work?" prompt after each level); log attempts per level to find where learners stall	untested proposal; the tested child gains had an adult present

Gamification

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
online-self-paced, no teacher present	The software must give the informational message after each item (step 3) and run the level checks (step 4); if streaks are used, allow a missed day without losing the streak, so one absence does not end practice	untested proposal; the meta-analysis pooled informal and online settings with school ones

Knowledge Organization

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
online-self-paced, no teacher present	Use drag-and-drop sorting into the organization with automatic checking, then a closed-book rebuild the learner compares with a reference map; do not drop the rebuild to save time	untested; the closed-book rebuild rests on The same quizzing or concept-mapping activity produces more learning when done without viewing the material, as retrieval, than while viewing it [+M] (second-hand, settings not stated)

Mentoring and Coaching

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
online-self-paced, no live teacher	Use proactive outreach triggered by progress signals and on-demand contact	untested here; modelled in Mentor Support in Self-Paced Online Learning

Minimize student frustration by making feedback clear, legible, focused, and transparent

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
online-self-paced or phone-only	Typed comments only; next-action summary first, at most three comments visible without scrolling; offer a short audio or video comment for one complex point	untested proposal; the clearer format rated higher in AI multimodal feedback is rated higher than educator feedback on specificity, clarity, simplicity, motivation, satisfaction, and lower mental effort, with comparable correctness, trust, and acceptance [+M] was multimodal, but its source (AI against educator) is confounded with format

Mnemonic Device

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
Setting is online-self-paced, phone-only, or no teacher present	Show the cue with a picture and audio, then a recall card that hides it; schedule recall cards at about one day, one week and a month; ask for one use of the items in a short task	untested for mnemonics; the scheduling carries Spaced Practice Improves Retention [+S]

Modeling

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
Setting is online-self-paced, or video only	Record short clips, one decision each (about 2–5 minutes), each ending in a predict-or-explain question the learner must answer before the next clip; follow with automatically checked practice items	untested proposal; the explanation prompt is carried from Prompting learners to self-explain… [+S]

Multimedia Learning

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
online-self-paced, no teacher present	Give learners pause and replay control, segment the material, and place a short check after each segment	untested proposal for the check; segmenting evidence above

Multiple Methods of Assessment

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
online-self-paced, no teacher present	Pair auto-scored items with one short constructed or recorded response per goal, reviewed by a peer with the criteria or sampled by a tutor; have the learner self-assess against the criteria with an example first	untested proposal; self-assessment limit from Self Assessment Accuracy Is Low Without Training [~M]

Observation/Shadowing

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
online-self-paced, recordings only, no one to debrief	Short authentic clips (5–15 minutes) each with two focus questions the learner must answer before going on, then a written expert account of the clip's decisions to compare with; one replay of the clip after the comparison	untested proposal; the explanation prompt is carried from Prompting learners to self-explain improves understanding and problem solving on immediate tests by a moderate average amount, with little evidence yet on delayed or classroom gains. [+S]

Pairing Non-examples with Examples

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
online-self-paced, no teacher	The system shows the pair, the learner selects or types the deciding feature before feedback; a wrong quiz answer triggers a pair built on that wrong answer; end with mixed unlabelled items	Untested proposal (see the contrastive remediation videos strategy, itself untested here)

Peer Learning

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
Online self-paced or phone-only, no live session (from the wording)	Asynchronous exchange: each learner records a 1–2 minute voice note or short text explaining one idea; an assigned partner must reply within a set window with a restatement and one question; the explainer answers	untested proposal; the remote-shift claim [~W] shows peer activity disappears unless designed in

Peer Teaching

Pattern

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
online-self-paced or phone-only, no live session	Each learner records a 1–2 minute voice note or short text teaching one part; an assigned partner must reply within two days with an attempt and one question; the first learner answers. The individual check stays a short quiz the learner takes alone.	Untested proposal

Phonics

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
No teacher present: an app or self-paced programme (from the wording)	Choose or build software that models every sound in audio, has the learner blend before revealing the word, checks reading aloud (speech recognition or a recorded sample a person reviews), and gates new correspondences on the weekly check	untested proposal; no claim here tests phonics delivered without a teacher

Physical Activity

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
online-self-paced, no teacher present	Build a timed prompt into the course after each 20–30 minute block ("stand and move for 3 minutes, then come back to question 4"), with the next task named; let the learner skip it	untested; the reviews test teacher-led classroom bouts

Positive Self-talk

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
online-self-paced, no teacher present	Show the learner's own cue at the point where errors or long pauses occur (after a wrong answer, after a set idle time), with the next action as a button; let the learner edit their cues	Untested proposal

Pre-training Principle

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
Self-paced pages or an online course with no teacher (online-self-paced)	Put the primer as its own short page before the lesson, and keep the labelled picture available to reopen during the lesson	untested proposal

Self Affirmation

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
online-self-paced, no teacher present	Put the exercise in the course onboarding, before the first graded quiz; require only that a value is chosen and some text entered, never a minimum length or a score	untested proposal; the earlier page's MOOC onboarding example

Sequencing

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
online-self-paced, no teacher present	Build the prerequisite check and the move-on rule into the software or the materials: each stage ends with two unaided items that unlock the next or route back	untested proposal

Skills Sprint

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
Online and self-paced, no live coach (from the wording)	Split the sprint over days with a fixed deadline per block; checkpoints are a self-check against the criteria plus one asynchronous peer review; the debrief is a structured written reflection (what happened, one decision and why, one change)	untested proposal; the written reflection step rests on Reflective Practice Improves Outcomes When Structured [+M]

Social Emotional Learning

Pattern

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
online-self-paced, no adult present	Use short video models and private reflection prompts; ask learners to log one real use of the skill a week; add a human contact (tutor message, peer partner) where possible, since coaching and modelling in the moment cannot happen.	Untested proposal

Strengths-based Approach

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
Setting is online-self-paced, or learners work on phones only	Build the strengths record into the platform: a short self-report on what has worked, and feedback that names the specific item the learner got right and the next item it unlocks; keep each entry to a few lines	untested proposal

Structured Academic Controversy

Pattern

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
Setting online-self-paced, or no teacher present	Run it asynchronously over days-weeks: positions posted, restatements as replies that the original author must accept, reversal posts, then a joint document. Grade the restatement and the individual position, not post counts. A shared misconception and a caricatured reversal will go unseen, so add a facilitator check before the synthesis.	untested proposal

Summative Assessment

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
Setting is online-self-paced, phone-only, or some learners remote while others sit in the room	Give remote and in-room learners the same tasks, time and permitted aids; prefer open-book items that ask for application to a new case over recall that can be looked up; follow a sample of submissions with a short oral check of the learner's own work; make tasks readable on a phone screen	untested proposal

Teach the conceptual underpinnings of L2 forms rather than only their structural aspects or formulaic units

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
online-self-paced, or phone-only	Give the diagram as an image card the learner can reopen; make choice items automatically checked, with each explanation pointing to the core sense; replace partner explanation with a typed or recorded one-sentence reason	untested

Text-to-Speech

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
Setting is online-self-paced, no teacher present	Build the speech control into every page and question, put a question or summary prompt at each section break with automatic checking where possible, and add the periodic with/without check from the default arc	untested proposal

Understanding must be cultivated through exploration, not described or told

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
online-self-paced, no teacher present	Build the questions into the task as prompts after each attempt; then show contrasting example works (one that shows the principle, one that breaks it) and a short explanation that refers back to the learner's attempt	Untested here; carried from mathematics: Erroneous examples improve conceptual understanding by forcing comparison with correct models. [+M]; PS-I fosters learning only if specific design features (contrasting cases or building instruction on student solutions) are implemented [~M]

Wise Feedback Across Racial and Ethnic Difference

Principle

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
online-self-paced, automated feedback, no instructor present	A system cannot credibly state personal belief; state the standard, the specific gap and the next step, and say that learners at this point commonly reach the standard on revision (only if your data show it); route learners who stall to a person	untested; carried from the belonging message's "common and passing" framing (Belonging Interventions Improve Outcomes [~M])

Workshop Model

Pattern

If the brief says…	Then change…	Basis
online-self-paced, no teacher present	Mini-lesson as a 3–5 minute video with one model; the work block is the learner's own piece with the criteria checklist; replace conferring with written feedback on a submitted draft before the final version, and a forum share of one strategy tried.	Untested proposal; task- and process-level feedback [~S] carried to asynchronous feedback