reviewing learning designs with heart - september 2010

Reviewing learning designs with HEARTA learning design support strategy

DONALD, C., BLAKE, A., GIRAULT, I., DATT, A. & RAMSAY, E. (2009). Approaches to learning design: past the head and the hands to the HEART of the matter. Distance Education, 30, (2), pp.179-199.

Why HEART?Why HEART?

The origins of HEART HEaring And Realising Teaching-voice

learning designer - teacher collaboration: the voices of each may be more or less ‘audible’ in the final design output

Project teams often have discordant voices eLearning development may be expedited if

we can harmonise (‘sing from the same page’)

Choices in pedagogical strategies and reuse of learning designs will be more effective if we can discern our own voice and project it into practice

‘Teaching voice’

“the middle ground of educational design is 'the difficult territory in which philosophy and pedagogical tactics have to be aligned' (Goodyear, 2005, p. 85). This is where belief and practice converge, or where pedagogical beliefs find voice as pedagogical practice. It is this confluence of belief and practice that we have termed teaching voice.”

Donald et al., 2009, p. 184

The power of beliefs over practice

“Knowledge systems are open to evaluation and critical examination; beliefs are not … And yet, for all their idiosyncrasies … beliefs are far more influential than knowledge in determining how individuals organize and define tasks and problems and are stronger predictors of behavior.”

Pajares, 1992, p. 311

Belief/practice dimensions

“…we believe that more research-led academic staff development is needed in the CAL area. One approach worth further investigation would involve academic teachers coding their own beliefs and practices in sessions facilitated by staff developers, and then deciding how they might incorporate technology into their framework so as to enhance student learning.”

Bain & McNaught, 2006, p. 112

Reconciling teacher beliefs, learning design and technology integration

Does your learning design reflect your pedagogical vision?

“To negotiate … technology environments and create effective learning designs, teachers require opportunities to resolve tensions across their own belief systems…. to articulate their pedagogical beliefs and beliefs about technologies ...”

Steel, 2009, p. 417

How can HEART help?How can HEART help?

HEART:HEaring And Realising Teaching-voice

What is HEART ‘measuring’?

How might we use HEART?

HEART in (prototype) practice

Social network (Elgg/Cloudworks)

IBM ‘Many Eyes’ software

Google Docs

Social network

Taking the pulse of a learning designTaking the pulse of a learning design

Entering the social network…

Completing the questionnaire…

Question format…

Accessing the results…

Pedagogical dimensions as a bubble chart…

Pedagogical dimensionsas a treemap…

Ongoing development

Recent trial with 12 learning designers at University of the South Pacific, Suva, Fiji

Pending trials with staff at University of Waikato and additional staff at University of Auckland, NZ

Information Systems PhD student developing custom database and visualisation options

Validating questionnaire, or locating one ‘off the shelf’? Options other than student/teacher-centred?

Trial online (distance) use, project team use, and social network implementation (Cloudworks)

Seek further collaboration with other researchers.