IBLC11-Abstract-Designing the Curriculum: From innovation to enhancement

Authors: Rebecca Galley (Open University, UK), Dr Phil Alberts and Natalie Parnis (Brunel University), Maria Papaefthimiou (University of Reading)

Abstract: The JISC-funded OULDI project sees 'learning design' as an all encompassing term to cover the process, representation, sharing and evaluation of designs from single activities, right up to whole curriculum level designs. We are interested in providing support for the entire design process; from gathering and sketching out initial ideas, through consolidating, producing and using designs, to sharing, reuse and community engagement. We see learning design as a conscious, creative and social activity, where tools, representations and resources of learning design frame, guide and mediate discourse between individuals within and across programme teams.

Central to our method has been the use of tools and activities to prompt shifts in the thinking and working practices of programme teams from an isolated belief-based implicit approach, to more collaborative, systematic, explicit and empirically informed curriculum design.

In this presentation we review a number of evaluation strategies we have used across five UK universities for capturing these shifts in thinking and practice, evaluating the impacts of this approach on individuals, academic programme teams and the institutions as a whole as well as discussing critical success factors for adoption in other settings.

Keywords: learning design, evaluation, impact,