This opinion piece argues that Design Thinking (DT) can facilitate a more empathetic and student-centred approach to service development and problem-solving in Learning Development (LD). While DT is already established within higher education, we argue it is still underutilised, especially in the context of LD. We start by unpacking the…

Design thinking is becoming more commonly used as a collaborative, problem-solving approach in higher education outside design disciplines. With the pivot to remote and online learning in response to Covid-19 and lockdown measures, many educators have had to rethink their practice and collaboration in design thinking, without the usual recourse to…

This reflection provides an introduction to, and reflection on, the new text "Rethinking Problem-based Learning for the Digital Age" (Savin-Baden and Fraser, 2024). It begins by telling the story and rationale for the creation of the book and then provides an overview of the text of the whole. The next section discusses the purpose of…

The COVID-19 global pandemic necessitated a rapid transition to remote learning (synchronous or asynchronous) for higher education institutions. This paper documents lived experiences of this occurrence from the perspectives of a graduate student, an instructional designer, and a professor. There is discussion of strategies that facilitated a…

Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) are often the center of discussion among faculty in higher education during discourse about curriculum conceptualization, design, planning development, and implementation. This commentary offers a functionally-centered framework that places faculty feasibility, fluidity, freedom, and flexibility around a core…

In this article, we provide a commentary on the current state of gamification in higher education by reviewing the research literature, noting a lack of research focused on the design of gamified postsecondary courses. To address this issue, we discuss four potential pitfalls instructors may encounter when designing gamified learning activities.…

Due to COVID-19, almost all educational institutions were temporarily closed across the globe. As a result, many educators have focused on delivering courses through emergency remote teaching. Preparation for remote teaching was itself a great challenge. In this reflective paper, I have presented my own experience of preparation for emergency…

The year 2020 began with grand ideas about building future higher education. Thereafter universities have been through a constant swirl of uncertainties and confusions as they respond to a novel suite of radically reconfigured fundamentals and prospects. This essay charts this journey in order to document 2020 experiences and to clarify evolving…

Could knowledge work practices become pervasive in formal education? Could knowledge creation pedagogies help us close the gap between graduates' knowledge work competencies and fast changing needs of the knowledge society? In this commentary, I first revisit the most notable contributions of this special issue. Then, I turn to some overarching…

Human-caused climate change is a dominant global challenge. Unlike other disciplines and fields, there has as yet been only limited attention to climate change in educational research generally, and in educational foundations in particular. Education is key to assisting humanity in mitigating and adapting to climate change, and educational…

The article "Research by design: Design-based research and the higher degree research student" (Kennedy-Clark, 2013) appeared in the "Journal of Learning Design" Volume 6, Issue 2 in 2013. Two years on, Shannon Kennedy-Clark reflects upon her original article. Upon being asked to revisit this article the author reflected upon…

Nowadays, anyone who wishes to combat lies and ignorance and to write the truth must overcome at least five difficulties. In the same way that writing the truth entails five difficulties, teaching the truth or teaching social justice in graduate education entails more than five difficulties. Some of these difficulties are inimical to the act of…

Jan Herrington is a Professor of Education at Murdoch University in Perth, Western Australia, where she teaches educational technology in the School of Education, including a compulsory first year unit called "Living and Learning with Technology." She has been active in the promotion and support of the effective use of educational…

The current philosophical paradigm in higher education, where theory transcends practice, consigns physical education to the bottom of a hierarchy of educational content (Kretchmar, 2005). Leaders of physical education teacher education programs are left with three difficult choices: (a) accept physical education's lowly position in the…

The authors present this interview with Joshua Kim, Director of Digital Learning Initiatives at the Dartmouth Center for the Advancement of Learning (DCAL). Dr. Kim leads Dartmouth College's efforts around online learning and digital innovation for teaching and learning. He is a well-known conference speaker and consultant in the area of…