Writing scenarios and incorporating them into courses can be intimidating, regardless of how far along you are in your instructional design journey. Perhaps you’re unsure how much story detail to include to make scenarios feel realistic enough to trigger the type of response you want. Maybe you struggle with how much character backstory you need to add to ensure that the character serves its purpose. Relax! There’s a strategy you can use to determine the right level of detail based on the goal of each scenario.

In the session, you’ll learn three levels of scenario detail and character development. The levels increase in depth as you add more information to the story and the character. While higher levels correspond with effectiveness, each level has its purpose and can be used to support learning depending on your intent. You’ll learn the purposes and benefits of each level, and when and how to level up when needed. You’ll learn how to use templates to plan, design, and write your scenarios as you explore what level works best.

 In this session, you will learn how to:

• Determine whether scenarios will enhance the learner experience for a course
• Describe the benefits of each level of story detail and character development
• Use the scenario leveling tool to help determine which level is best for your scenarios
• Move a scenario’s details and character’s development from level to level