Published on March 27, 2025
Crafting a meaningful learning experience: An Interview with Laura Patsko, Senior Learning ExperienceDesigner
At Lingoda, learning isn’t just about textbooks or teachers—it’s a full experience shaped by thoughtful design. In this interview, we speak with Laura Patsko, our Senior Learning Experience Designer who plays a crucial role in crafting that experience. From aligning lessons with CEFR standards to working with top-tier teachers and contributing to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives, her work ensures that every student feels challenged, supported, and truly seen. Based in Greece and thriving in a remote-first culture, she also reflects on building team connections across borders and why inclusive learning design is essential in making education accessible and impactful for all. If you are interested in joining Lingoda, then check out our career page!
Learning is a whole experience – it’s not just about the materials, the teacher, the environment (physical or digital) or the students themselves, but how all of those things interact. So, a learning designer’s role is to understand those interactions and work to improve each “piece of the puzzle” so that the whole learning experience is effective and enjoyable.
A good learning experience is engaging and appropriately challenging. That means not too easy and not too hard. One way that we aim to achieve this is by creating materials that align with the CEFR (a standard framework of 6 levels of proficiency in a language) so that Lingoda students can find the right level for their current abilities and goals. We also work with experienced and qualified teachers who know how to make our materials “come alive” and to engage students in different ways according to their needs and personalities.
I joined Lingoda in 2024 but I’ve been working remotely since 2018! So it wasn’t a big change for me. The most important thing for remote work is to still feel connected on a personal, human level to the rest of my team. We achieve this by having regular team-building activities and regular 1-to-1 chats with certain team members, with a focus not only on doing our jobs but also getting to know each other. This helps feel closer to the team even when we’re physically far apart.
We’re currently working on a variety of projects, including asynchronous basic training courses for all new Lingodies, regular “round table” discussions to reflect on these courses (but also open to all who wish to participate) and an upcoming DEI Month, which will feature external guest speakers and cover various topics that people across Lingoda have requested or shown an interest in over the past year. We also share weekly “Tuesday Tips for DEI” on Slack (our internal communications platform). They contain insights and things to try if you’re interested in DEI but don’t know how to apply its key principles in practice.
Perhaps unconsciously, I’ve been interested in DEI for as long as I can remember, probably because I had previous life experiences of feeling left out or being in a minority. So I’ve seen the huge difference it can make when you meet people genuinely trying to make the world a fairer place, with more opportunities for everybody to fulfill their potential. It’s a big wide world out there… there’s room for all of us! Professionally, I started working on DEI projects around 2020 when I was part of a freelance team that developed some guiding principles and practical tools for “ILXD” (Inclusive Learning Experience Design). It’s essential in all aspects of life, including at work, for people to feel like their needs are met and their voices are heard. Great things can happen when we learn to listen to each other and to see things from someone else’s perspective.
I like to work in a place that has a general culture of ongoing learning, so I’m proud of doing my part to build and support this. When we’re busy, it’s easy to focus only on one or two teams or projects. However, I believe it’s important to connect them. So I try to share things I learned in one team or project with the people in another and to encourage them to do the same. Continuous curiosity and learning is a great way to stay engaged, motivated and interested in what we do.
