Elemental Learning As A Framework For E-Learning

Analysis of learning outcomes can be a complex and esoteric instructional design process that is often ignored by educators and e-learning designers. This paper describes a model of analysis that fosters the real-life application of learning outcomes and explains why the model may be needed. The Elemental Learning taxonomy is a hierarchical model composed of two primary types of learning: (a) elemental learning composed of actual and simulated elements; and (b) synthetic learning, composed of procedural understanding, conceptual understanding, and related knowledge. The importance of iteration and intuition in learning analysis is also discussed.