Every course in both onsite and virtual formats went through an inclusive, iterative design process. WoW "Pods" made up of designers and facilitators were created to review participant survey results, test and refine learning activities, and review individual modules to ensure programs were consistently delivered and that learning objectives were achieved.

The design process served two distinct audiences, with materials developed to give each what they needed to succeed.

Cross-referencing reinforced the layering and callbacks across modules and across programs, connecting core content across WoW and Continuing Professional Development (CPD) offerings. This approach gave WoW participants multiple and recognizable entry points into the same ideas instead of a single linear path.

The team built every course around a principle we called fantastication: the belief that beautiful design is not just decoration, but rather a critical and functional part of learning. Color, iconography, and layout worked as learning cues that kept learning messages clear, consistent, and direct. This helped WoW facilitators and participants stay oriented inside the content and focused on what mattered most at any given moment.

Accessibility was grounded in Universal Design for Learning (UDL), giving participants multiple ways to access, engage with, and demonstrate understanding of content rather than a single fixed path. All core materials were produced in both physical and digital formats. Additionally, they were developed in English and French, MSF's working languages, with subtitles and transcripts accompanying video content, so participants could engage in the language and format that worked best for them.

Slow Learning, introduced as the foundation of the WoW approach to learning, shaped not just program philosophy but day-to-day design decisions: what activities to build, how sessions were facilitated, and how much room was left for participants to think, apply, and return to an idea.

In practice, this meant designing around three implementation pillars:

Adult learning principles: Following adult learning theory (andragogy), courses were problem-centered rather than content-centered, connecting new material to challenges participants were already navigating at their projects, and respecting participants as self-directed learners who brought relevant experience into the room, not blank slates receiving information.

Peer-to-peer learning: Small-group discussions and cross-project sharing were built into the structure of every session, not left to chance. Participants brought different contexts and experience levels, and the design treated that diversity as content: participants learned as much from each other as they did from their facilitators.

Activity-based learning: Instead of lecture-style delivery, courses were built around case studies, scenario-based exercises, and simulations drawn from real MSF workplace challenges. Concepts were something participants worked through, not just heard as abstract ideas.

Together, these choices meant slowing learning down: trading content coverage for depth, and single presentations for repeated, varied engagement with the same core ideas.

The team designed materials in layers: pre-work, delivery, peer-to-peer learning, and deliberate callbacks that carried a topic forward across modules and programs. Topics introduced in one module would be brought back in later modules, ensuring participants and facilitators had multiple opportunities to consider and apply concepts and theories.

The team recognized that pre-work for virtual courses improved learning outcomes, but also recognized that participant schedules made completing it difficult. Over time, the WoW team developed Module Journals that balanced the volume of required pre-work while preserving core content as resources so participants could return to them as a reference after the training ended.

Reflective practice ran as a consistent thread throughout the curriculum, woven through activities and discussions rather than sitting as a single closing exercise.