Jones, J. (2015). Investigating the role and impact of learning designs within University teachers’ design work(Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from http://ro.uow.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5722&context=theses

Abstract:

“Universities are increasingly concerned with providing a high-quality student experience; good teaching is a key component. The area of Learning Design aims to provide effective, high-quality models to support university teachers in achieving this goal. Research to date on Learning Designs has focused on the development of tools, technical standards, potential needs, and attitudes towards use, with few studies investigating university teachers’ actual use of Learning Designs. Little is known, therefore, about how teachers apply Learning Designs to real design problems. The purpose of this study was to explore how university teachers use Learning Designsas part of their routine design work with real students in naturalistic design contexts throughout a full cycle of planning, implementation, and review. Through rich case accounts and analysis of university teachers’ work, this study provides new insights intothe nature of design work supported by Learning Designs. This research is important because building and developing Learning Designs requires an understanding of their effective integration into the design process. A multiple case study approach was used to provide a holistic, rich description of eight university teachers’ design work and Learning Designs use for a semester-long undergraduate unit. The study was underpinned by a theoretical framework that conceptualises teachers’ design work using concepts from design thinking and the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge framework to conceptualise teacher knowledge. Data was collected before, during, and after the semester using interviews, documents, stimulated recall, and researcher observations to provide a detailed picture of university teachers’ work with Learning Designs. Each of the cases was analysed in multiple, iterative phases, resulting in eight rich case descriptions that reveal the key phases of design work and Learning Designs use. Additionally, cross-case analyses were conducted to identify key characteristics of design thinking and practice and Learning Designs use across each of the design phases; the relationships between Learning Designs use and key case attributes; and impacts on university teachers’ design work in the areas of technology, pedagogy, and content. The findings show that the design processes using Learning Designs were student focused, multi-phased, iterative, and ongoing throughout implementation. Participants used Learning Designs in four key ways: to benchmark their pedagogical practice; model and stimulate pedagogical ideas; guide design steps; and document and communicate design plans. Learning Designs acted variously as a framework for thinking and making design thinking visible, particularly for those who created design artefacts using Learning Design ideas and conceptualisations. Learning Design use was also reported to result in a greater awareness of links between the areas of pedagogy, content and technology providing a pattern of evidence supporting pedagogical content knowledge development for designers of new units and technological pedagogical content knowledge development for participants making changes to previously run units. The results of this investigation provide new knowledge about university teachers’ design work using Learning Designs, and their impacts before, during, and after teaching. The outcomes of this research provide evidence that can be used by universityadministrators, educational designers, university teachers, and Learning Designs tool developers. The complex and ongoing nature of participants’ design work suggests that university teachers need tools to support design thinking throughout all stages of designwork. This includes tools that will allow flexibility and openness for ongoing designwork. The findings also point to a deeper role for Learning Designs in the support anddevelopment of university teachers’ design thinking and knowledge integration than haspreviously been shown.”