Title: Proposal: Creating Learning Pathways for Learn WordPress Author: Courtney Robertson Published: April 5, 2023 Last modified: July 10, 2023 --- [ ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/courane01/) [Courtney Robertson](https://profiles.wordpress.org/courane01/) 7:58 pm _on_ April 5, 2023 Tags: [learn-wordpress ( 134 )](https://make.wordpress.org/training/tag/learn-wordpress/) # Proposal: Creating Learning Pathways for Learn WordPress ![](https://make.wordpress.org/training/files/2023/04/image.jpeg) ## Learning Pathways for Learn WordPress Learning pathways are a structured sequence of educational experiences or courses that are designed to help individuals acquire knowledge and skills in a specific field or discipline. By creating a series of learning pathways for WordPress, we can provide learners with a comprehensive understanding of the platform and its open sourceOpen Source Open Source denotes software for which the original source code is made freely available and may be redistributed and modified. Open Source** must be** delivered via a licensing model, see GPL. contribution methods. There are many benefits to using learning pathways to create curriculum, including: * **Increased Engagement:** Learning pathways provide a clear roadmap for learners, which can help to keep them engaged and motivated throughout the learning process. * **Personalization**: Learning pathways can be customized to meet the individual needs and interests of learners, which can help to make the learning experience more effective and relevant. (as suggested for future development in [Learn WordPress Needs Assessment Results](https://make.wordpress.org/training/2021/09/14/learn-wordpress-needs-assessment-results/)) * **Better Outcomes**: By providing learners with a structured and comprehensive learning experience, we can help them to achieve their learning goals more efficiently and effectively. * **Better Collaboration**: Learning pathways can encourage collaboration and knowledge sharing among learners, promoting teamwork and problem-solving skills. * **Improved Retention**: Learning pathways can help learners retain information better by breaking down complex topics into smaller, manageable sections, making it easier for them to remember what they’ve learned. * **Unifying Strategy**:  By unifying a learner-based strategy around curated content will make [Learn.WordPress.org](http://learn.wordpress.org) more sustainable and reduce maintenance overload. It will also help enhance and provide additional needed resources for WordPress users, rather than duplicating the efforts of others, including the Documentation team and the Dev CoreCore Core is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress. Blog. To implement this proposal, we suggest that the WordPress community work together to develop a series of learning pathways for WordPress. These learning pathways could cover topics such as WordPress basics, theme and pluginPlugin A plugin is a piece of software containing a group of functions that can be added to a WordPress website. They can extend functionality or add new features to your WordPress websites. WordPress plugins are written in the PHP programming language and integrate seamlessly with WordPress. These can be free in the WordPress.org Plugin Directory [https://wordpress.org/plugins/](https://wordpress.org/plugins/) or can be cost-based plugin from a third-party. development, and ways to contribute to the WordPress open source project. We will  1. Establish our baseline audiences  2. Charter and create their Beginner ➡️ Expert learning journeys.  Example: As a Beginner-level WordPress Frontend Developer, what is the content you need to master to move on to Intermediate competency? What is the content you need to master to move on to Expert competency and so on? If we can break down each audience and outline the core competencies for each level we focus our content creation around that and build out their pathways. The WordPress Training Team will seek opportunities to collaborate with hiring managers in the WordPress ecosystem, independent freelancers and contractors, as well as educational institutions and other organizations to develop and promote these learning pathways. Next steps might include partnering with educational institutions to that offer WordPress courses or collaborating with industry organizations to [create certification programs](https://make.wordpress.org/training/2022/07/11/exploring-wordpress-certifications/). By embracing learning pathways, we can help to create a more structured and effective learning experience for individuals who want to learn about WordPress. We believe that this will benefit both learners and the WordPress community as a whole. Our first learning pathway for consideration is [Introduction to WordPress Development: A proposed learning path](https://make.wordpress.org/training/2023/03/08/introduction-to-wordpress-development-a-proposed-learning-path/). This post will remain open until May 1. Initial reviews by [@bsanevans](https://profiles.wordpress.org/bsanevans/) [@west7](https://profiles.wordpress.org/west7/) [@webcommsat](https://profiles.wordpress.org/webcommsat/) [#learn-wordpress](https://make.wordpress.org/training/tag/learn-wordpress/) ### Share this: * [ Threads ](https://make.wordpress.org/training/2023/04/05/proposal-creating-learning-pathways-for-learn-wordpress/?share=threads) * [ Mastodon ](https://make.wordpress.org/training/2023/04/05/proposal-creating-learning-pathways-for-learn-wordpress/?share=mastodon) * [ Bluesky ](https://make.wordpress.org/training/2023/04/05/proposal-creating-learning-pathways-for-learn-wordpress/?share=bluesky) * [ Facebook ](https://make.wordpress.org/training/2023/04/05/proposal-creating-learning-pathways-for-learn-wordpress/?share=facebook) * [ X ](https://make.wordpress.org/training/2023/04/05/proposal-creating-learning-pathways-for-learn-wordpress/?share=x) * [ LinkedIn ](https://make.wordpress.org/training/2023/04/05/proposal-creating-learning-pathways-for-learn-wordpress/?share=linkedin) 1. ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/af98b4302728984cfc6255c7f94f7d6ba10e51787f68c0842d15d2005b57db57? s=32&d=mm&r=g) 2. [Benjamin Evans](https://profiles.wordpress.org/kaitohm/) 6:00 am _on_ April 6, 2023 3. I love this idea! Now that [Learn.WordPress.org](https://learn.wordpress.org) has launched and we’ve got a good catalog of resources published, presenting these to match a user’s learning journey seems like a logical next-step. 4. > There are many benefits to using learning pathways to create curriculum 5. Historically, there has been a focus in the Training Team to create content related to WordPress releases. I believe this is one reason that the team’s efforts have felt like they’ve doubled up with efforts by, say, the Documentation team. I agree that pivoting the Training Team’s content creation strategy so that it is based on learning pathways, rather than WordPress releases, will better suit the needs of our users, and cause less overlap with the efforts underway by other teams 🤩 6. (Just to note, that doesn’t mean we don’t create new content related to new features. But I think switching our priority from “tracking content creation by WordPress release” to “tracking by learning pathway” makes more sense for an educational platform.) 7. > **Personalization**: Learning pathways can be customized to meet the individual > needs and interests of learners 8. Could you elaborate on what this personalization process would look like? I doubt you mean the Training Team would create a personalized learning pathway for each leaner. Would this be the ability for each learner to structure their own learning pathway? 9. * ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/e7b27b178ff5a141aa26976d2f17272a6483508f92d4fc6a210bcf8df560921f? s=32&d=mm&r=g) * [Courtney Robertson](https://profiles.wordpress.org/courane01/) 1:59 pm _on_ April 8, 2023 * Recent updates vs holistic learning: * This would not be an either/or approach to content creation on the site. It definitely matters that our team supports what is new, as our content supports direct learners and trainers. Docs likewise has to create new content and revise existing incomplete documentation from other areas. * Docs and Training always prioritize user-facing new features and revisionsRevisions The WordPress revisions system stores a record of each saved draft or published update. The revision system allows you to see what changes were made in each revision by dragging a slider (or using the Next/Previous buttons). The display indicates what has changed in each revision. on user-facing existing materials. What often is last priority are developer-focused documentation areas. Our hope is to wildly grow the contributions to keep everything flowing. - ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/af98b4302728984cfc6255c7f94f7d6ba10e51787f68c0842d15d2005b57db57? s=32&d=mm&r=g) - [Benjamin Evans](https://profiles.wordpress.org/kaitohm/) 7:22 am _on_ April 15, 2023 - In an ideal world, I agree that these wouldn’t be either/or approaches. I’m also aware that the team’s content ideas backlog continues to grow, and we’re already not keeping up with creating content for the ideas submitted around each WordPress release. - I think the knack is going to be finding the right balance when prioritizing content creation. We’re not going to be able to create everything. And so“ learning paths” would be a new and important index, alongside “new features”, when considering what to create next. - > Training always prioritize user-facing new features and revisionsRevisions > The WordPress revisions system stores a record of each saved draft or > published update. The revision system allows you to see what changes were > made in each revision by dragging a slider (or using the Next/Previous > buttons). The display indicates what has changed in each revision. on > user-facing existing materials. - I think results from the needs analysis will help us constructively question this. I believe the team should prioritize content that will have the highest impact on the WordPress community. Not every new feature is going to have the same (high) impact. As you say, there is much fundamental developer- related content we could still make on Learn that would probably have higher impact than some of the new features which were released recently. - And that’s where I think your proposal of learning paths can most shine. They will provide the team with a holistic view as to what high-impact content we’re still missing on the site, and guide the team when we’re prioritizing the next content to create. 10. ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/e7b27b178ff5a141aa26976d2f17272a6483508f92d4fc6a210bcf8df560921f? s=32&d=mm&r=g) 11. [Courtney Robertson](https://profiles.wordpress.org/courane01/) 1:56 pm _on_ April 8, 2023 12. > Could you elaborate on what this personalization process would look like? 13. [In the responses we received from a UX Audit](https://make.wordpress.org/training/2021/09/14/learn-wordpress-needs-assessment-results/), suggestions were made to create personalized suggestions. That is fairly intensive development, and would not be in scope in the near future. 14. In the pathways [@psykro](https://profiles.wordpress.org/psykro/) [recently proposed](https://make.wordpress.org/training/2023/03/29/introduction-to-wordpress-development-syllabus/), the a user may have already completed the theme dev portion and learned the WP template hierarchy. The next suggestion on home page load or at the end of a course might include pluginPlugin A plugin is a piece of software containing a group of functions that can be added to a WordPress website. They can extend functionality or add new features to your WordPress websites. WordPress plugins are written in the PHP programming language and integrate seamlessly with WordPress. These can be free in the WordPress.org Plugin Directory [https://wordpress.org/plugins/](https://wordpress.org/plugins/) or can be cost-based plugin from a third-party. dev next. That would be an example of personalization. 15. * ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/af98b4302728984cfc6255c7f94f7d6ba10e51787f68c0842d15d2005b57db57? s=32&d=mm&r=g) * [Benjamin Evans](https://profiles.wordpress.org/kaitohm/) 7:26 am _on_ April 15, 2023 * Thanks. That gives me a good idea of what we’re proposing here. 16. ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/8d354a716b90f77d879d2809746c8a8801a03f2493d12065f672fe01327906af? s=32&d=mm&r=g) 17. [Jamie](https://profiles.wordpress.org/digitalchild/) 4:23 am _on_ April 12, 2023 18. I think this proposal will make it much easier and clearer pathways for both learners and content creators. 19. Another area I think would be great is for small cohorts to learn together with the help of a mentor/tutor who could help them on their pathway. 20. Creating pathways is also a great way to show people what you have achieved through tutorials and courses. 21. This proposal would also require content creators to change how and what they create based on these new pathways. I think it would also be a great way to increase collaboration between content creators and students. 22. * ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/e7b27b178ff5a141aa26976d2f17272a6483508f92d4fc6a210bcf8df560921f? s=32&d=mm&r=g) * [Courtney Robertson](https://profiles.wordpress.org/courane01/) 5:51 pm _on_ May 24, 2023 * Yes! This is what I did while instructing in a high school and a BootCamp. Participants would complete the coursework the night before class, come to class then to work out any challenges or extension projects. 23. ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/103244d69358ca20db2213bcb0b3dd7bf1c5e798aa83c7efd784b3e597a8d228? s=32&d=mm&r=g) 24. [Wes Theron](https://profiles.wordpress.org/west7/) 11:39 pm _on_ April 18, 2023 25. Thank you, Courtney! Learning pathways is a great idea and has also been on my mind. I would like to get involved with building out the pathways for users when we move forward to the next phase of the proposal. 26. * ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/e7b27b178ff5a141aa26976d2f17272a6483508f92d4fc6a210bcf8df560921f? s=32&d=mm&r=g) * [Courtney Robertson](https://profiles.wordpress.org/courane01/) 5:51 pm _on_ May 24, 2023 * Absolutely Wes! Thank you! 27. ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/a38618c7dff93c46421c0174eabca09f4b1f9a1955a18fb6f0ea3643594fbcd0? s=32&d=mm&r=g) 28. [Ssebuwufu Moses](https://profiles.wordpress.org/ssebuwufumoses/) 4:03 am _on_ May 1, 2023 29. Each pathway could include a combination of video tutorials, interactive exercises, quizzes, and other resources that are tailored to the needs and interests of the learners. 30. Ensuring that they are accessible and inclusive for all learners. This could involve providing multiple formats for the content, such as video, audio, and text, and ensuring that the content is presented in a clear and understandable manner. 31. * ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/e7b27b178ff5a141aa26976d2f17272a6483508f92d4fc6a210bcf8df560921f? s=32&d=mm&r=g) * [Courtney Robertson](https://profiles.wordpress.org/courane01/) 5:50 pm _on_ May 24, 2023 * Ideally this will be our courses. Courses can be a series of mixed media for various learning styles. Videos, text, screenshots, quizzes, and perhaps one day projects (if we can find a feaseable way to assess those). Ensuring we make these available into multiple languages would be important as well. 32. ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/cff1076532d0789440a9d1c57a1917fd83e1370f0f7c9110a20417e331eac683? s=32&d=mm&r=g) 33. [Flo (SkillDisplay)](https://profiles.wordpress.org/skilldisplayflo/) 7:07 am _on_ May 8, 2023 34. One of our educational partners (higher technical school) has created a concept for such learning paths for WordPress with the SkillDisplay platform. 1. Skills/ Competencies are defined 2. Skills are mapped to goals (Training goals, job descriptions, etc.) and to learning resources (Learn WordPress articles, videos, etc.) 3. Learners can track their completed modules and receive suggestions based on their personal progress (via automatically comparing the mapped skills of their learning goals with the learning resources.) 35. This could serve as a showcase on how to implement the concept on a bigger level via APIAPI An API or Application Programming Interface is a software intermediary that allows programs to interact with each other and share data in limited, clearly defined ways. directly on LearnWordpress and also ties in to creating a syllabus for a future certification with the help of a SkillTree. 36. * ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/e7b27b178ff5a141aa26976d2f17272a6483508f92d4fc6a210bcf8df560921f? s=32&d=mm&r=g) * [Courtney Robertson](https://profiles.wordpress.org/courane01/) 5:49 pm _on_ May 24, 2023 * I love the idea of the APIAPI An API or Application Programming Interface is a software intermediary that allows programs to interact with each other and share data in limited, clearly defined ways. from WordPress. Likely this would include their profiles right? If someone has completed a series of courses successfully, the API would then let the organizations wanting learners to go through the coursework to know if it were done. 37. ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/34076f2d7ed4c5380e261e8fcb138c5aac103682fb9822cff34c79035d99806d? s=32&d=mm&r=g) 38. [Meagan Hanes](https://profiles.wordpress.org/meaganhanes/) 8:08 pm _on_ May 15, 2023 39. This is, in my opinion, our next important priority for unifying the Learn content with what agencies are looking for in Certifications. I’d like to continue my involvement here! 40. * ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/e7b27b178ff5a141aa26976d2f17272a6483508f92d4fc6a210bcf8df560921f? s=32&d=mm&r=g) * [Courtney Robertson](https://profiles.wordpress.org/courane01/) 5:52 pm _on_ May 24, 2023 * Thanks for your many years here contributing [@meaganhanes](https://profiles.wordpress.org/meaganhanes/) 😀 41. ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/2fbfa48c6179f7752bdc4d94db341ad207d81b20dffdbd1208b6445a9ea18118? s=32&d=mm&r=g) 42. [jominney](https://profiles.wordpress.org/jominney/) 2:34 am _on_ May 16, 2023 43. I’ve been going through some of the content myself recently (eg. How to build a blockBlock Block is the abstract term used to describe units of markup that, composed together, form the content or layout of a webpage using the WordPress editor. The idea combines concepts of what in the past may have achieved with shortcodes, custom HTML, and embed discovery into a single consistent API and user experience. theme) and had to backtrack part way through a course twice to complete an earlier one that was recommended once I’d already started. A clear pathway – do this, then do this, then this – would be EXCELLENT from a learner perspective. 44. * ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/e7b27b178ff5a141aa26976d2f17272a6483508f92d4fc6a210bcf8df560921f? s=32&d=mm&r=g) * [Courtney Robertson](https://profiles.wordpress.org/courane01/) 5:52 pm _on_ May 24, 2023 * Agreed! Showing folks what is foundational and letting them self-select where to jump in matters. If I don’t know what I don’t know, that is hard to figure out where to begin really. 45. ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/af98b4302728984cfc6255c7f94f7d6ba10e51787f68c0842d15d2005b57db57? s=32&d=mm&r=g) 46. [Benjamin Evans](https://profiles.wordpress.org/kaitohm/) 4:53 am _on_ May 23, 2023 47. I came across [https://learn.microsoft.com/](https://learn.microsoft.com/) this week. (Someone has the same idea as us regarding domain names!) They have a page where you can search “Learning Paths”: [https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/training/browse/](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/training/browse/) I thought it might be an interesting resource to reference in this project. 48. * ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/e7b27b178ff5a141aa26976d2f17272a6483508f92d4fc6a210bcf8df560921f? s=32&d=mm&r=g) * [Courtney Robertson](https://profiles.wordpress.org/courane01/) 5:54 pm _on_ May 24, 2023 * Similarly is [https://training.linuxfoundation.org](https://training.linuxfoundation.org) and [@matt](https://profiles.wordpress.org/matt/) once shared [https://trailhead.salesforce.com/](https://trailhead.salesforce.com/) with me as a resource we should also look at. 49. ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/2a69844cfaf58d8e23da4a9a1a582b9767997e3a3ba77b201a2d45f304ac7ca8? s=32&d=mm&r=g) 50. [Jenni McKinnon](https://profiles.wordpress.org/ninianepress/) 8:02 pm _on_ May 23, 2023 51. Go team! Nice work! 🎉🍪 52. I love this idea. I think it makes a lot of sense and I love the name “Learning Pathways”. It’s non-judgemental and inclusive. It sounds gentle compared to other words such as “training”, “courses” and similar words that can sound more formal or traditional, which could cause undue stress for some who have not had a great experience with long-established educational systems. 53. > Another area I think would be great is for small cohorts to learn together with > the help of a mentor/tutor who could help them on their pathway. 54. I would love to see this if it’s possible/practical. 55. I can’t quote people all day from the comments, but I agree with what’s been said so far in the comments. The above is the part I’m most excited about. 56. * ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/e7b27b178ff5a141aa26976d2f17272a6483508f92d4fc6a210bcf8df560921f? s=32&d=mm&r=g) * [Courtney Robertson](https://profiles.wordpress.org/courane01/) 5:55 pm _on_ May 24, 2023 * Thanks so much [@ninianepress](https://profiles.wordpress.org/ninianepress/)! Wordsmithing matters in identifying how we communicate with the broader community around WordPress. 57. ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/e7b27b178ff5a141aa26976d2f17272a6483508f92d4fc6a210bcf8df560921f? s=32&d=mm&r=g) 58. [Courtney Robertson](https://profiles.wordpress.org/courane01/) 6:35 pm _on_ May 24, 2023 59. The WordPress Training Team, Marketing, and Polyglots have reviewed this proposal with no objections. Our next step is the creation of a series of structured ** learning pathways** to be integrated into the [https://learn.wordpress.org](https://learn.wordpress.org) platform. 60. Learning pathways are a series of courses designed to help individuals acquire knowledge and skills in a specific field. 61. The goal of these pathways is to provide a comprehensive and guided learning experience for users, covering various aspects of WordPress and its open-source contribution methods​. 62. I’ve started a GitHubGitHub GitHub is a website that offers online implementation of git repositories that can easily be shared, copied and modified by other developers. Public repositories are free to host, private repositories require a paid subscription. GitHub introduced the concept of the ‘pull request’ where code changes done in branches by contributors can be reviewed and discussed before being merged by the repository owner. [https://github.com/](https://github.com/) Issue to begin tracking this work: [https://github.com/WordPress/Learn/issues/1577](https://github.com/WordPress/Learn/issues/1577) Comments are closed. # Post navigation [← Meeting agenda for April 04, 2023](https://make.wordpress.org/training/2023/04/03/meeting-agenda-for-april-04-2023/) [Next Steps for the Faculty Program →](https://make.wordpress.org/training/2023/04/07/next-steps-for-the-faculty-program/)