An Introduction to Behavior-Centered Design

In this self-paced course, you will explore a step-by-step approach and principles for designing behavior change solutions to environmental challenges.




 Course type: Self-paced course
Languages: English, Spanish
Duration: 10 modules
Estimated effort: 4 hours total
 Donors: With support from the Moore Foundation


FAQs Syllabus Meet the experts

 

 

About this course

Human behavior is at the core of many environmental challenges. And it's also key to finding solutions. This self-paced course will introduce you to Behavior-Centered Design (BCD), an approach that blends principles of design thinking and behavioral science to develop innovative solutions to environmental challenges.

On your own time, you’ll explore the eight steps of Behavior-Centered Design through lessons and interactive activities, including framing an environmental challenge, gaining empathy with your target audience, connecting research data to behavioral insights, ideation and prototyping, testing and launching, and measuring the success of your behavioral intervention. You will also gain a basic understanding of the levers of behavior change such as such as emotional appeals, social influences, and choice architecture.

Learning objectives

By the time the course is completed, you will:

  • Learn how to identify target behaviors and core actors for environmental challenges
  • Understand key concepts of behavior-centered design and the six behavior levers
  • Apply behavioral insights and principles to inform how to design and test solutions
  • Use research data to create a prototype of a solution that can engage different stakeholders and communities
  • Become familiar with next steps for testing, launching, and assessing a behavioral solution
  • Understand how diversity, equity, and inclusion are important for each step of the behavior-centered design approach

Course topics

  • Module 1: Introduction and Welcome to the Course
  • Module 2: Frame: Framing the Behavioral Challenge
  • Module 3: Empathize: Understanding the Motivations and Barriers of Core Actors
  • Module 4: Map: Making Connections Between Data and Behavioral Insights
  • Module 5: Ideate: Generating Behavioral Solution Ideas
  • Module 6: Prototype: Creating a Small-Scale Version of Your Solution
  • Module 7: Test: Testing and Gathering Feedback on Your Solution
  • Module 8: Launch: Launching Your Solution
  • Module 9: Assess: Evaluating Behavior Change
  • Module 10: Course Summary and Next Steps

Course completion requirements

To receive the certificate of course completion, you must:

  • Complete ten modules
  • Complete eight quizzes and one final assessment
  • Complete the course satisfaction survey

Click “Enroll” to register for the course. If you have any questions, please contact the Learning for Nature team at info@learningfornature.org.



Course Content

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Course Includes

  • 13 Modules
  • 12 Activities
  • 9 quizzes
  • Course Certificate

Frequently Asked Questions

Syllabus

Module 1Module 2Module 3Module 4Module 5Module 6Module 7Module 8Module 9Module 10

Module 1: Introduction and Welcome

REQUIRED: Lessons

  • Lesson 1: Welcome
  • Lesson 2: What Do We Mean By ‘Behavior’?
  • Lesson 3: An Introduction to Behavior-Centered Design
  • Lesson 4: Course Overview



Module 2: Frame

REQUIRED: Lessons

  • Lesson 1: Frame Step Overview
  • Lesson 2: Problem-Behavior-Actor Mapping

REQUIRED: Quiz
This quiz checks your comprehension of the material covered in the Frame step of Behavior-Centered Design.


Module 3: Emphathize

REQUIRED: Lessons

  • Lesson 1: Empathize Step Overview
  • Lesson 2: Introducing the Levers of Behavior Change
  • Lesson 3: Check Your Biases: Paseo Protocol
  • Lesson 4: Conducting Research

REQUIRED: Quiz
This quiz checks your comprehension of the material covered in the Empathize step of Behavior-Centered Design.


Module 4: Map

REQUIRED: Lessons

  • Lesson 1: Map Step Overview
  • Lesson 2: Developing and Writing Hypotheses

REQUIRED: Quiz
This quiz checks your comprehension of the material covered in the Map step of Behavior-Centered Design.


Module 5: Ideate

REQUIRED: Lessons

  • Lesson 1: Ideate Step Overview
  • Lesson 2: Behavioral Strategies
  • Lesson 3: Ideate a Solution
  • Lesson 4: Prioritizing Ideas

REQUIRED: Quiz
This quiz checks your comprehension of the material covered in the Ideate step of Behavior-Centered Design.


Module 6: Prototype

REQUIRED: Lessons

  • Lesson 1: Prototype Step Overview
  • Lesson 2: Make a Prototype

REQUIRED: Quiz
This quiz checks your comprehension of the material covered in the Ideate step of Behavior-Centered Design.


Module 7: Test

REQUIRED: Lessons

  • Lesson 1: Test Step Overview
  • Lesson 2: Testing Your Solution

REQUIRED: Quiz
This quiz checks your comprehension of the material covered in the Test step of Behavior-Centered Design.


Module 8: Launch

REQUIRED: Lessons

  • Lesson 1: Launch Step Overview
  • Lesson 2: Creating a Launch Plan

REQUIRED: Quiz
This quiz checks your comprehension of the material covered in the Launch step of Behavior-Centered Design.


Module 9: Assess

REQUIRED: Lessons

  • Lesson 1: Assess Step Overview
  • Lesson 2: Defining Your Objectives
  • Lesson 3: Selecting and measuring indicators
  • Lesson 4: Evaluating Change

REQUIRED: Quiz
This quiz checks your comprehension of the material covered in the Assess step of Behavior-Centered Design.


Module 10: Course Summary and Next Steps

REQUIRED: Lesson

  • Lesson 1: Course summary


REQUIRED: Final assessment
The final assessment will assess your comprehension of the material covered throughout the course.

REQUIRED: Post-course survey
We ask that you complete a short anonymous survey about your learning experience.