Most of traditional e-learning has mainly been focused on cognitive aspects of learning: They do not adapt to the affective diversity of learners produced by cultural differences which are important in the globalization of communication and learning. Only some current approaches also consider non-cognitive elements, especially motivational and emotional ones. However, these attempts are more or less additive in a way that they do not integrate or pursue at the same time cognitive and affective goals of learning. Within this paper, theoretical assumptions are presented, about how cognitive and affective goals could be achieved simultaneously within e-learning. First, the concept of affective diverse e-learning is introduced: Cognitive and affective goal areas are distinguished. Cognitive goal areas concern factual, conceptual, procedural, and metacognitive knowledge acquisition. Affective goal areas are related to the emotional, moral, social, spiritual, aesthetic, and motivational human development. Second, reasons are given why this kind of e-learning is important, but also risky for learning. Positive effects are postulated on starting and maintaining of learning, on self-regulation, and on multiple goal attainment. Potential negative effects are related to switch costs, cognitive load, and goal conflicts. Third, web 1.0/2.0-tools of e-learning are evaluated in respect to their cognitive and also affective potentials. This evaluation has a general, but also a specific orientation. The general orientation focuses on a macro-perspective using major web tool characteristics. The specific orientation shows effects of mobile e-learning as an example of a micro-perspective. Then, “two-dimensional goals”, “embedded tasks”, and “learning stage sensibility” are proposed as constituent components of an instructional design approach on affective diverse e-learning. “Two-dimensional goals” represent instructional objectives that contain explicitly both, a cognitive and an affective element. “Embedded tasks” are stimuli that require responses that are based on cognitive and affective processes. “Learning stage sensibility” means that two-dimensional goals and embedded tasks are only used for certain learning stages in which negative effects are minimized. Finally, research strategies (patterns of variables and test designs) are presented about how affective diverse e-learning should be implemented in the future of e-learning research and practice.

Methods for building instructional design theories are used (see Reigeluth, 2009). These methods are based on "tactics for generating meaning" from qualitative research (Miles & Huberman, 1994).

Within this paper, two-dimensional goals, embedded tasks, and learning stage sensibility are hypothetically postulated as being the core elements of affective diverse e-learning. It was also illustrated that recent web 1.0- and web 2.0-tools have both a cognitive and an affective quality so that they could be used for the implementation of affective diverse e-learning. The paper contains variable patterns, which are deduced from the approach of affective diverse e-learning and related research. These patterns represent networks of hypotheses for future research activities and for starting a long-term research program. Within a next step, the core elements should be implemented within e-learning contexts and tested on their single and combined effects.