AbbyDowd
Assessing Health Education Materials (AHEM): Clearing the Way to Easy-To-Read Health Materials
The Design Process
Analyze
This lesson was a revision of an existing course that had some issues. The SME and I conducted a needs assessment to identify the key gaps and challenges in the existing course. The analysis of the lesson as well as the data from course evaluations, revealed three primary areas for improvement: sustainability of the lesson, alignment with adult learning principles, and content-objective coherence. The previous version of the course was built in Articulate, limiting its long-term adaptability. Moving the course to Moodle would ensure easier updates without reliance on specific software, fostering broader adoption. Additionally, the original course was heavily lecture-based, lacking opportunities for learner engagement and real-world application. To enhance knowledge retention and skill development, the revised course needed a shift toward problem-based learning and interactive elements. Finally, a content audit exposed inconsistencies between learning objectives and instructional materials, requiring realignment to ensure clarity and effectiveness. These findings informed the instructional design approach, guiding the development of a more sustainable, learner-centered, and pedagogically sound course.
Design
We determined this course would be a Moodle course, chunked into three modules as it was previously, but built using Moodle technology. The SME and I used blooms taxonomy to refine the objectives for this lesson and then drafted an outline of the content for the three modules.
Once we had an outline of topics and subtopics, we began to brainstorm opportunities for activities to engage the learner and developing a storyboard. We knew we wanted a branching scenario with options for the learner to work through the Assessment for Health Education Materials. We used a Figma board to draft out what this would look like, including the materials, the questions, the feedback and the overall flow before building it in Moodle. You can see our draft below:
Develop
In the development stage, we took the various components of the storyboard we built in the design phase and brought it to life. Below is a brief overview of the changes we made to the lesson:
Module 1: Before and After
Module 2: Before and After
Module 3: Before and After
Module 1 and 2 had very similar edits made to them. We turned these sections into videos with reflective questions to promote recall of the content. We included a transcript in the event learners would prefer reading. At the end of module 2, learners are tested for understanding of the key characteristics of each assessment tool via a matching tool. Below is an example of the page in the lesson with the video information, with notes and the transcript.
In the initial version of this course, examples were provided of each item in the NLM assessment tool. In order to make this course more engaging and practical, it was drastically revised using Scaffolding, Universal Design for Learning, and Adult Learning Theory. This module starts with a review of the NLM assessment tool via video, followed by a hotspot of a GOOD Health Education Material (HEM) example. Then, learners select one of two Health Education Materials and work through the tasks answering “yes” or “no” if the HEM they chose meets the task requirements. They are provided prompt feedback on their response. Once they work through all 8 tasks, they take a quick low stakes quiz to practice again, without automatic feedback, on the new HEM. Below is a clip of one of the questions the learner experiences in this section:
Implement
This class is live on NNLM.gov/training and can be found here: https://www.nnlm.gov/training/class/ahem-clearing-way-easy-read-health-materials
Evaluate
In the original course, there was no assessment for the learner to take. We included both a pre and post test, but also included low stakes formative assessments throughout the lesson to gauge retention and understanding and to allow the learner to recognize where they may need to spend more time. I left NNLM prior to having any real data for this course.
Tools Used
