Representing learning designs – making design explicit and shareable

Abstract

Most teachers’ design practice is implicit and practice based, focusing primarily on discipline content. In recent years, a number of visual design representations have emerged that help guide teachers’ design practice, enabling them to create explicit designs, which can then be shared and discussed with others. These design representations help guide the design process and help teachers to think beyond content to the learning activities the learners will be engaged with and the ultimate learner experience. The paper will describe the representations and draw on empirical evidence of their use in a range of contexts, including the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC)-funded OULDI project, the European Union (EU)-funded Design Practice project and the Hewlett-funded OLnet project. It will also report on their use in a number of workshops being undertaken at Leicester University, UK and Wollongong University, Australia.