LDHACK: Building capacity through design thinking
Resources and support site
What is LDHACK?
LDHACK is a series of shortened 'Hackathon' style design workshops run by the ASCILITE Learning Design (LD) SIG. These events act as a Community of Practice for Learning Designers and others wishing to better understand and undertake learning design within their field. We do this through informal membership and sharing practice between practitioners with different levels of experience.
LDHACK focuses on tackling case studies and showcasing design solutions to educational problems through building and providing a collaborative, safe space. The ultimate aim is to build capacity and awareness within the sector, through the lens of learning design, using a range of case studies and examples (design challenges).
The design challenges will be provided under the relevant sessions below in the schedule, two weeks prior to the event running. Please also read the rules of engagement before attending.
For regular updates and to register for LDHACK events, consider joining the Australian Association of Learning Designers LinkedIn group.
Aims
The aims of LDHACK are to:
Develop a collaborative approach to the application and study of learning design, by leveraging members of the LD community to build and share frameworks and practice
Build the profile of learning design as a profession and a discipline by increasing the visibility of learning design and learning designers within the HE sector
Support LD practitioners in building their skills and capabilities while in a safe and encouraging space
Allow space for tackling ‘wicked problems’ and generating multiple perspectives on a problem, while giving others a space to share.
Rules of engagement
We encourage all learning designers and learning design practitioners who are engaging in LDHACK activities to come prepared with:
an open mind, including openness to others' ideas and feedback (this is the most important in order to ensure a safe space)
their response to the design challenge and prompts provided prior to the session
their own questions and goals for what they wish to get out of the session.
While we are a space open to all Learning Design practitioners, we particularly encourage those early in their Learning Design career and those planning to move into Learning Design from another field to join us. Those in later stages of their career may find LDHACKS useful as a broader networking and sharing practice opportunity and for providing mentorship and expertise to others.
You can choose to engage as much or as little as you like but we do ask that you always be respectful of others. This means that any feedback should aim to be constructive and questioning as a way to encourage others' to articulate their rationale.
Schedule
Pre-session (Thursday 25 May, 12-1pm AEST)
Topic: Introducing LDHACK
Agenda:
Introduce LDHACK - intention and purpose, approach, upcoming sessions, resource site
Planned structure of future events
Discuss the design LD Frameworks Padlet and design challenge/prompts
Pre-session activities:
Briefly review Padlet of LD frameworks (hosted by Danielle Hinton but crowdsourced by the LD/ID community) and consider the prompts below.
Design challenge/prompts:
What learning design or related theories, frameworks, models do you subscribe to or refer to and integrate as part of your work?
What other frameworks can we share and discuss? What models and tools do you want to know?
What kinds of challenges are you often asked to address/overcome?
What tools do you use to generate/iterate on designs and design ideas?
Further resources:
To be provided post session, please check back for updates.
Webinar 1 (Friday 30 June, 12-1.30pm AEST)
Topic: Scaffolding learning for constructive alignment
The session involves analysing the alignment of a fictitious scenario, identifying areas for improvement, and proposing strategies for coherence enhancement. The focus will be on redesigning learning outcomes, aligning activities and assessments accordingly, and creating engaging learning experiences. Participants will be divided into a cross-disciplinary team for hands-on design, brainstorming, and share their group discussion in a collegial supportive environment.
Agenda:
Introduction and welcome
Overview and recap on constructive alignment and scaffolded learning (polling activity)
Case study scenario brief and instructions
Breakout group 'hackathon' activity time!
Breakout group presentation and debrief
Summary and wrap-up
Pre-session activities:
Please review the case study scenario and couple of resources for background reading:
Case study scenario for webinar 1
Scaffolding for learning by Victoria University, Australia
Constructive alignment by University of Tasmania, Australia
Design challenge/prompt:
Critically review and provide feedback to a subject lead on an existing tertiary subject. The aim is to scaffold learning for constructive alignment, ensuring that learning outcomes, activities, assessment, and experiences are aligned.
Bring your key review points, ideas and feedback to the session around what you would do to improve the subject. Consider also the types of feedback you could provide to the subject lead. Discuss and compare with your peers around what you found and your approaches.
Bring your team insights back to the broader group, to form guidance to effectively scaffold learning and create a coherent learning journey that aligns all aspects of the subject.
Further resources:
To be provided post session, please check back for updates.
Webinar 2 (Friday 28 July, 12-1.30pm AEST)
Topic: Designing for Engagement
Analyse a typical unit/subject and consider issues and ways to redesign for engagement. The aim is to offer improvements that would support active learning, engagement and flexible modes of delivery.
Register for Webinar 2 via LinkedIn Events
Agenda:
Introduction and reminder on rules of engagement
Breakout groups to discuss and present findings within small groups (size dependent)
Larger discussion and reporting
Summary and wrap-up
Pre-session activities:
Complete the pre-session activity LDHACK Webinar 2 Activity: Design for engagement (Google Doc) to analyse and offer improvements for a fictional Marketing unit. An optional template is included for you to document your findings and ideas.
In the webinar, present 1 issue and your learning design ideas to the LDHACK group. You are not expected to present your reflections but we will discuss these collaboratively (time permitting).
Design challenge/prompt:
What does engagement mean to you and how do we build engagement in different contexts and modes of learning?
Further resources:
What does student engagement mean to you? And you? And you? (Headleand, C., 2021)
Increasing student engagement (Stanford Teaching Commons)
Mapping research in student engagement and educational technology in Higher Education (Bond et al, 2020)
Refer to further references within the pre-session activity Google doc for specific frameworks ideas.
Webinar 3 (Friday 1st September, 12-1.30pm AEST)
Topic: Designing for Inclusion
This webinar we will look at inclusive design and how to design for inclusion within a unit/course, and how you can signal and support welcoming and belonging in simple ways. The activity gets you to review the 'Worst syllabus ever!' and think about the purpose of the syllabus in both communicating important information, but also as an opportunity to build inclusion given it is often a student or learners' first experience with the learning materials and unit/course.
Register for Webinar 3 via LinkedIn Events
Agenda:
Introduce topic and learning theories around inclusion, reminder on rules of engagement
Discuss and present findings within small groups (size dependent)
Larger discussion and reporting
Summary and wrap-up
Pre-session activities:
Review the Worst Syllabus Ever and pull out at least 3 problematic areas that you think could be improved. Alternatively you might want to try 'spot the number of issues' you feel might hinder inclusion. We will use the LDHACK time to consider how inclusion can be written into the syllabus and course.
Further resources:
The following resources are optional but may provide you with ideas around the ways in which a syllabus can signal and support inclusion.
Liquid Syllabus (Pacansky-Brock, 2020)
Project Syllabus: An exploratory study of Learner-Centred Syllabi (Richmond et al, 2019)
Effect of syllabus tone: students' perceptions of instructor and course (Harnish & Bridges, 2011)
Can a Learner-Centred syllabus change students' perceptions of student-professor rapport and master teacher behaviours? (Richmond et al, 2016)
Hybrid Workshop (Melbourne)
Agenda:
Date: 27th October, 2023
Time: 10am - 3.30pm
Location: Hybrid
La Trobe University City campus, Melbourne or online (virtual attendance)
Pre-session activities:
A link to a collaborative Miro board will be provided where participants can note what design challenge/design work they will be bringing to the session. We will aim to group attendees/participants together thematically where possible.
Agenda:
09:30 Registration, networking
10:00 Welcome
10.10 Educational Escape Rooms: Dr Robert Ross & Dr Richard Hall
11.10 - 11.30 Morning tea
11.30 Indigenous Cultural Perspectives: Kerry Clarke
12.15 Balancing Scale and Quality in Learning Design: Leona Norris
1.00 - 1.30 Lunch
1.30 - 3.20 Interactive session: Workshop a design problem with fellow learning designers
3.30 Close
Design challenge/prompt:
Please bring a relevant learning design unit or problem you wish to work on.
Add a brief summary of your design problem/planned redesign work to the provided Miro board (link will be circulated via email to registered participants)
Debrief/closing webinar (TBC)
Topic: Consolidation and reflection
TBC
Agenda:
TBC
Pre-session activities:
TBC
Design challenge/prompt:
TBC
Further resources:
TBC
LDHACK Team
The LDHACK events are co-facilitated by Kate Mitchell, Leanne Ngo, Keith Heggart and Kashmira Dave.
Leanne Ngo, Keith Heggart and Kashmira Dave also lead the Learning Design SIG (LD SIG).
Find out more about the LD SIG and join the group via the Learning Design SIG page on the ASCILITE website.