ScholarXIV Journal

Rethinking Learning Experience Design/LXD/ as the Architecture of Human Becoming , with an Application to the Ethiopian Context

Dires Gashu Abayneh

Learning Experience Design (LXD) has emerged as a distinct discipline at the intersection of instructional design, user experience(UX) design , cognitive science, and educational psychology, yet much of the existing literature still treats it as instructional design with a fresh coat of paint , better interfaces layered onto the same content delivery logic. This conceptual paper argues that LXD deserves recognition as its own epistemic practice: one concerned not merely with the transmission of information, but with the deliberate shaping of the conditions under which a person changes their mind, their skills and ultimately their sense of what they are capable of .Synthesizing research in cognitive load theory , self -determination theory, and human-centered design, the paper proposes a four dimensional framework Cognition, Emotion, Context, and Identity(CECI) and examines how each dimension informs design decisions that are too often left implicit. The framework is then applied to a specific and under examined setting infrastructure position markedly different from the assumptions embedded in most LXD literature .The paper concludes with implications for practitioners, researchers , and institutions seeking to move beyond “engagement” as a design goal and toward durable , transferable and contextually resilient learning.