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ABC Learning Design: A Practical Guide to the Arena Blended Connected (ABC) Toolkit

Designing an engaging course is no longer about simply selecting content and sequencing topics. Today’s learners expect active participation, meaningful tasks, and an experience that blends digital and face-to-face learning in a seamless way. The ABC Learning Design Toolkit, also known as the Arena Blended Connected (ABC) Learning Design model, has become one of the most practical and widely adopted frameworks for educators who need a fast, collaborative, and highly visual approach to course design.

Whether you’re building a new course from scratch or redesigning an existing one, the ABC LD Toolkit provides a structured way to align learning outcomes, activities, and assessments—while keeping students at the heart of the design.

What Is ABC Learning Design?

ABC Learning Design is a rapid, co-design method originally developed at University College London (UCL). The goal is simple:

Help educators design engaging, blended learning experiences in 90 minutes.

It uses a storytelling approach, visual activity cards, and collaborative design steps to map out an entire module or course. The focus is on how students learn rather than just what teachers teach.

ABC is built on Professor Diana Laurillard’s Conversational Framework, which emphasizes learning as an active, iterative dialogue between learners, teachers, peers, and the learning environment.

The “Arena Blended Connected” Approach

ABC stands for:

• Arena – a structured workshop environment (in-person or online)
• Blended – combining digital and face-to-face elements
• Connected – linking learning outcomes, activities, and assessments into a coherent journey

This approach helps curriculum teams work together—sometimes for the first time—to make design decisions visually and quickly.

How the Toolkit Works

The ABC LD Toolkit relies on six types of learning activities, each represented by a colour-coded activity card. These categories help instructors create a balanced, student-centred learning experience.

1. Acquisition (Read, Watch, Listen)

Students absorb content through readings, videos, demonstrations, or lectures.
Common examples: textbook chapters, micro-lectures, podcasts.

2. Discussion

Learners exchange ideas, debate concepts, and collaborate.
Examples: forums, breakout groups, peer feedback.

3. Practice

Students try out skills in realistic, authentic contexts.
Examples: coding exercises, simulations, case studies.

4. Investigation

Learners explore, research, or analyze information on their own.
Examples: data analysis tasks, research activities, inquiry-based learning.

5. Collaboration

Students work together to create something or solve a problem.
Examples: group projects, team case studies, collaborative documents.

6. Production

Learners generate output that demonstrates understanding.
Examples: presentations, reports, multimedia artifacts, code submissions.

These categories help instructors avoid over-reliance on lectures and ensure that students engage through multiple pathways—a key component of active learning and Universal Design for Learning (UDL).

The ABC Course Design Process

ABC Learning Design is typically done in a short but intensive workshop, usually 60–90 minutes. The process includes:

Step 1: Define the Learning Outcomes

Participants agree on the overall learning outcomes for the course or module.

Step 2: Map the Learning Journey

Using the activity cards, instructors design the sequence of learning events, week-by-week or unit-by-unit.

Step 3: Balance Online and In-Person Learning

For blended or hybrid courses, the toolkit helps ensure that each activity uses the right modality.

Step 4: Align Assessments

The team identifies formative and summative assessments and links them directly to outcomes and activities.

Step 5: Create the Learning Storyboard

The final output is a visual storyboard showing the entire course, making it easy to identify gaps, overload, or opportunities for improvement.

Step 6: Translate into the LMS

Once the design is approved, the storyboard becomes the blueprint for building the course in platforms like Blackboard, Brightspace, Moodle, or Canvas.

Why Educators Love the ABC LD Toolkit

✔ Fast and collaborative

Design that would normally take weeks can be completed in an afternoon.

✔ Clear alignment between outcomes, activities, and assessments

It prevents “content dumping” and supports purposeful, high-quality learning.

✔ Encourages active learning

The toolkit helps instructors shift from passive lecture-heavy teaching to interactive, student-centred learning.

✔ Supports blended, hybrid, and online learning

Perfect for modern post-secondary environments where digital learning is standard.

✔ Visual and engaging

The card-based design makes the process tangible and easy to follow—even for instructors with little instructional design experience.

The Role of ABC in Higher Education Today

Many colleges and polytechnics—including those in Canada—are adopting ABC LD as part of their curriculum renewal and digital learning strategies. It brings academic program managers, instructors, designers, and support teams together to build courses that are consistent, accessible, and aligned with institutional standards.

ABC is especially powerful when paired with:

• Quality assurance frameworks
• Course mapping
• Competency-based learning
• UDL and EDI principles
• Learning analytics

The result is a teaching and learning environment that supports clarity, consistency, and student success.

Final Thoughts

The ABC Learning Design Toolkit is more than just an instructional design method—it is a collaborative philosophy that puts students at the centre of the learning experience. By simplifying course design and encouraging active learning, ABC helps educators create meaningful, blended learning environments that are engaging, efficient, and academically sound.

For instructors, program leaders, and institutions looking to modernize teaching practices, ABC LD offers a proven, practical, and accessible framework that can transform how courses are built and delivered.