Learning is effective to the extent to which it engages with learner identities. These are deeply diverse, complex and multilayered. Learner differences should be measured and taken into account both in terms of the dimensions of ‘gross demographics’ and the more subtle and variable ‘lifeworld attributes’.

Here are seven of the ways in which the Learning by Design approach suggests that designers of learning environments address learner diversity:

1. Identify and define prior knowledge so learning is appropriate for individuals and groups.
2. Adopt a flexible approach to learning delivery by drawing on a bank of Learning Elements from different sources.
3. Use a variety of knowledge processes to bring diversity into the classroom and enrich student learning.
4. Apply different emphases and mixes of knowledge processes as appropriate to suit different ‘learning orientations’.
5. Identify and negotiate learning pathways as appropriate to students interests and dispositions.
6. Change direction of the knowledge flows toward a more active view of learning—learning-as-engagement.
7. Change the balance of command and responsibility—allow learners to take more control.

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