Learning Cycle
The Learning Cycle
There's a world of pedagogical frameworks and overcomplicated discussions on effective modes of delivery that get people bogged down. When we strip it back to its basic form, education is simply Story (Theory) and Play (Applied Theory). You hear a Story, you Discuss the story to understand it, you Play to evaluate those concepts, you Reflect on that experience, then you summarise with a Story, round and round it goes. Nothing more complex than that really.
You can enter this cycle at any point, starting with a story, a discussion, a practical activity, or a reflection. Once you're in the cycle, it keeps turning.
How are you going to begin engaging your class?
Select your entry point below to start.
Keep the cycle turning
A real course rarely follows the cycle just once. Keep rotating through Story, Discussion, Play, and Reflection to plan how the cycle repeats across your teaching.
This Learning Cycle tool was designed by David Calum Millar collaboratively with a custom agent called Morna, running on Claude (Anthropic), who is trained on the Creative Compass & Learning Design Compass frameworks by David Calum Millar, then developed using Claude Code. The final design, all editorial decisions, and responsibility for the tool's content rest with the author.