Learning design is the development and creation of learning and teaching experiences based on pedagogical theory and practice. This process might include resource generation, collaboration and sharing between colleagues and the use of participatory technologies (Conole, 2015). It requires learning designers (LDs) to act as well as performing as change agents in higher educational institutions (Bond, Lockee & Blevins, 2023). These attributes are also central to Open Educational Practices (OEP) (Hegarty, 2015), suggesting that effective learning design could be invaluable in advancing Open Education movement. Discussions about learning design often overlook the identity of the LD (Heggart, 2021).
In their position at the nexus of subject areas, institutional priorities and student experience, LDs have been characterised as the connectors between different fields of knowledge and working practices (Roberts, et al., 2023) and problem solvers and change agents (Pollard & Kumar, 2022). OEP and open pedagogy hold the promise of advancing ethical and inclusive education, fostering learner equity. LDs are positioned strategically to facilitate the realisation of making OEP everyone’s business for higher educational institutions. However, this position between fields of knowledge, sometimes labelled the ‘third space’, can put LDs on the margins of education. Their role as change agents can seem peripheral or is not a priority in advancing OEP for their institution.
In a study of LDs and OEP in education institutions, Morgan (2019) found that LDs consider themselves advocates of open education and seek out opportunities to engage in OEP. However, the LDs in the study experienced restrictions on this advocacy; limitations included lack of time, space, and support from leadership. There was a disparity between the intentional and operational agency of the LDs. In the Australian context, there has been little exploration of this relationship between LDs and OEP.
In this presentation, we report on preliminary findings from an initial literature review aimed at understanding the role of LDs in advocating for OEP. Early insights, combined with reflections on our practice, indicate that while libraries and librarians often take the lead in discussions about OER, LDs are not as engaged when the conversation shifts to learning and teaching. Initial feedback from stakeholders highlights the importance of cross-pollination between LDs and other teams, including librarians, faculties and senior management. We believe that everyone has a specific role to play in advancing OEP.
Our focus will be on the core practices of learning design, emphasising that catering to the student learning journey through the constructive alignment of the curriculum is fundamental to effective learning design and central to OEP. UN Sustainable Development Goal 16 calls for effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels. By cultivating an understanding of LD agency in OEP, higher education institutions, and all institutions that employ LDs, can ensure their strategy includes the professional development and capacity building needed to move LDs from the periphery to the centre of OEP advocacy.
Included in
[Session 10B]: Digital CapabilityReferencesBond, A., Lockee, B., & Blevins, S. (2023, October 31). Instructional Designers as Institutional Change Agents. EDUCAUSE Review. https://er.educause.edu/articles/2023/10/instructional-designers-as-institutional-change-agents Conole, G. (2015). The 7Cs of learning design. In J. Dalziel (Ed.), Learning Design: Conceptualizing a framework for teaching and learning online (pp. 117-145). Routledge. Heggart, K. (2021). Formulated Professional Identity of Learning Designers and the Role of Open Education in Maintaining that Identity. In A. Marcus-Quinn & T. Hourigan (Eds.), Handbook for online learning contexts: Digital, mobile and open: policy and practice (pp. 21-34). Springer International Publishing AG. Morgan, T. (2019). Instructional Designers and Open Education Practices: Negotiating the Gap Between Intentional and Operational Agency. Open Praxis, 11(4), 369-380. https://doi.org/10.5944/openpraxis.11.4.1011 Pollard, R. & Kumar, S. (2022). Instructional Designers in Higher Education: Roles, Challenges, and Supports. The Journal of Applied Instructional Design, 11(1). https://dx.doi.org/10.59668/354.5896
Author KeywordsOpen educational practices, Learning design, Agency
