University teachers’ design work: implications for an urgent shift to digital

Abstract

This is a response to Bennett et al.'s (2016) "The Process of Designing for Learning: Understanding University Teachers' Design Work." We examine this study of faculty approaches to course design in order to connect the authors' findings to implications for course design practices in the current context of shifting courses online. The design processes of experienced faculty are the primary subjects of the study, which may have implications for how institutions approach supporting faculty efforts to design courses under time constraints. However, research shows that less experienced faculty may be unprepared to effectively redesigning courses under time constraints. The primary approaches to course design are the individual approach, where a faculty designer follows his or her own design process and the centralized or team approach, where a subject matter expert joins an instructional designer and/or additional educational design or technology specialists to develop courses. Institutions need to consider how much of their faculty have 10 years or more of experience in order to determine which approach would work best.

Digital competence for emergency remote teaching in higher education: understanding the present and anticipating the future

“…The distinction between these approaches suggests teacher design practices prior to the pandemic were more open. As outlined in Kanjanapongpaisal & Antee ( 2021 ), the selection and design of technology use within a face-to-face or blended course is usually driven by individual educators, while courses predominantly delivered online are likely to be co-designed or supported by academic development or learning design teams. This support was not typically available during the ERT period, and thus teachers' learning designs and choices were shaped by their own experiences, skills, and knowledge, leveraging what was provided to them to meet institutional requirements and student expectations.…”

“…The dualism evident in university frameworks reflects contrasting conceptualisations of digital literacy(ies) and competence as either technically or contextually orientated (Kanjanapongpaisal & Antee, 2021 ; Pangrazio et al, 2020 ). The bottom-up analysis of ERT teaching practice suggests that developing teachers’ digital competence is technical, contextual, and iterative (Bartolic et al, 2021 ; Dalipi et al, 2022 ; Gao & Zhang, 2020 ; Scherer et al, 2021 ).…”

Factors shaping faculty online teaching competencies during the Covid-19 pandemic

“…We also target external components that influence teaching behaviors (i.e. environmental conditions—see Fishbein & Ajzen, 2010 ; also Admiraal et al, 2013 ; Knezek & Christensen, 2016 ; Kreijns et al, 2013 ).…”