Learning design in diverse institutional and cultural contexts: suggestions from a participatory workshop with higher education professionals in Africa

Jenna Mittelmeier,Dianne Long,Firdevs Melis Cin,Katharine Reedy,Ashley Gunter,Parvati Raghuram,Bart Rienties

doi:10.1080/02680513.2018.1486185

Abstract

ABSTRACTLearning design approaches, such as those adopted by the Open University, provide a set of tools and resources for purposefully-designing modules with a focus on student experiences. However, many of the current learning design strategies have been situated within specific institutions in Europe and North America. This means that there are several issues worth considering around if and how established learning design approaches make sense in diverse institutional and cultural contexts. To critically assess the relevance and appropriateness of learning design strategies in new contexts, this article describes an in-depth participatory workshop with 34 education professionals from five African countries. Altogether, 10 suggestions for learning design practices were derived from the consensus of workshop participants, which provide a foundation for the development of learning design practices moving forward.

Highlights

As an increasing number of university modules incorporate online and blended learning elements (Ringtved, Milligan, & Corrin, 2016), learning design techniques offer unique insights into learning processes (MacLean & Scott, 2011)
One prominent example is the learning design process developed by The Open University (OU), which provides a practical take on supporting teachers in designing and implementing modules, whereby learning design uses a set of tools and resources that put student experience at the heart of collaborative, consensus-driven module design processes between educators (Conole, 2012; Cross, Galley, Brasher, & Weller, 2012)
We evaluate OU Learning Design (OULD), which is a leading learning design approach (Nguyen et al, 2017; Rienties & Toetenel, 2016; Toetenel & Rienties, 2016a, 2016b) that was launched as a mandatory approach to module design at the OU in 2014

Summary

Introduction

As an increasing number of university modules incorporate online and blended learning elements (Ringtved, Milligan, & Corrin, 2016), learning design techniques offer unique insights into learning processes (MacLean & Scott, 2011). The OU’s approach to learning design was created in its own specific (and, arguably, unique) institutional setting, which is embedded within the cultural context of the United Kingdom. This means that several issues need to be taken into consideration when evaluating the suitability of the OU’s learning design approach in other contexts, such as culturally-rooted models of learning activities and lack of access to data about student behaviours and characteristics. Are if and how this established learning design approach makes sense in diverse institutional and cultural contexts

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Conclusion