Teachers as Designers: diving into Learning Design

The development of the concept of Learning Design has been motivated by advancements in information and  communication technologies (ICT) and web-based learning environments, which have challenged the traditional understanding of the role of the teacher, the students’ learning processes, and learning environments in general. The Internet has been a catalyst for changes in education and learning in many ways. In line with the development of the Internet and web 2.0 technologies, we see a gradual shift in focus from delivering content to the design of innovative, engaging and productive online activities. Fundamentally, the changing landscape for communication and learning has given rise to reflections on how these new opportunities can be implemented in  education and it has become necessary to reflect on how learning takes place in and across different types of learning environments. Another important notion within Learning Design is the teacher as designer: Teachers who design teaching processes for students to learn meaningfully and permanently and to develop a positive attitude towards learning. Teachers need to develop new competences and ways of thinking to be able to face new educational challenges, among the approaches that have been found relevant to cope with the new teaching and learning scenarios is the incorporation of design in the educational field, seeing the teaching practice as a design profession.

Design thinking is a mindset. It is the confidence that everyone can be part of creating a more desirable future, and a process to take action when faced with a difficult challenge. That kind of optimism is well needed in education. Classrooms and schools across the world are facing design challenges every single day, from teacher feedback systems to daily schedules. Wherever they fall on the spectrum of scale – the challenges educators are confronted with are real, complex, and varied. And as such, they require new perspectives, new tools, and new approaches. Design thinking is one of them. Hence, teachers need to build inclusive classroom ecosystems. An inclusive design mindset is fundamentally participatory. Inclusivity is co-created. It can’t be something that is just pre-designed or pre-prescribed by an expert from outside the classroom who knows best. Because the people who know best (the students and classroom teacher) are the ones who are trying to figure out how to adapt to their specific classroom environment. This means that teachers need to practice an inclusive design mindset, day-in and day-out. There needs to be space to reflect on what the community can learn from the most excluded from a constantly evolving community of learners.