Understanding the design context for Australian university teachers: implications for the future of learning design

Abstract

Based on the premise that providing support for university teachers in designing for their teaching will ultimately improve the quality of student learning outcomes, recent interest in the development of support tools and strategies has gained momentum. This article reports on a study that examined the context in which Australian university teachers design in order to understand what role design support tools and strategies could play. In‐depth interviews were conducted with 30 academics across 16 Australian universities. The findings suggest that most Australian university teachers have a high degree of flexibility in their design decisions suggesting that opportunities exist for learning design tools and strategies to be adopted.

Keywords:

• learning design
• higher education
• university teaching

Notes

1. For consistency the term ‘unit’ is used to describe a component of a programme of study that results in a qualification. ‘Course’ is used to describe the overall programme.