Designing Programs

Program design includes planning for the learning environment and experience through conceptualizing change and selecting program activities to bring about desired results.

Program design fits into the “Conceptualize Change” and “Design” sections of Extension’s Framework for Ongoing Program Development.

Conceptualizing Change

Program Logic

Program logic is a way to describe the “logic”, or reasoning, behind the programs you design and deliver.  The essence of program logic is to articulate the change you are trying to achieve through your programming efforts, as well as describing how you selected the activities that might achieve that change.

The key is to explicitly articulate the connections between what you do and the change you are seeking to achieve.

This brief video provides an overview of program logic as applied to Extension programs.

Logic Model

Logic models are a popular tool for linking program activities to outcomes.  Logic models are strongest when they can ground your program’s theory of change in other related scholarship or past evidence.

Resources

Logic Model Templates

Logic Model Examples

Instructional Design

Program activities should be selected based on who our learners or participants are, our understanding of the need or context, ideas we want to share, or skills we want to foster.