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From insight to impact: The evolving role of learning design in higher education
~~ By Alice Gallagher, Interim Head of Learning Design Introduction When I stepped into the role of Interim Head of Learning Design earlier this year, I found myself looking at a familiar discipline through a new lens. Having spent much of my career in learning design before moving into curriculum and service leadership roles, returning…
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Maximising student support: Equitable Outcomes Challenge Week 2025
Jannah Aljafri, Anna Judd-Yelland, Penelope Lee, and Catriona Matthews ~ Learning Designers The days may be getting colder and darker, but the Christmas season is upon us, plus we’ve just enjoyed some great virtual ‘fireside chats’ during The Open University’s Equitable Outcomes Challenge Week. 🍵🔥 Colleagues from across the University shared their projects on…
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How do online students use digital technologies to manage their emotions?
Jake Hilliard ~ Learning Designer Have you ever put on a music playlist to help you focus on a task, or turned to YouTube for a quick break when you feel stressed or overwhelmed? For many online learners, these aren’t just habits, they’re strategies for managing emotions while studying. Last month I had the…
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Inside the ICEBERG: How we updated the ICEBERG principles
Catriona Matthews, Jake Hilliard, and James Openshaw ~ Learning Designers Earlier this year, we proudly shared a blog post introducing the updated ICEBERG principles – a set of seven evidence-based learning design principles that positively impact student retention. Originally created in 2016, the principles were updated across 2023-2024 to reflect new research, student insights,…
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Scaffolding learning: What does it mean for students?
Clare Hill and Paul Astles ~ Learning Designers When you scaffold your learning materials, you build students’ understanding and ability gradually and in a planned way by adjusting the amount of support offered. Researchers have described scaffolding as ‘support from experts enabling learners to accomplish what is beyond their current ability’ (Wood et al.…
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Going for Green: Learning Design sustainability champions
Kathleen Calder, James Openshaw, Catriona Mattews, Hayley Johns, and Paul Astles ~ Learning Designers The Learning Design Sustainability Group at The Open University has been championing sustainability at the Open University in one way or another for some time now. The end of 2023 saw a wonderful celebration of that work at the Green Gown…
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Beyond the “real world”: exploring authentic assessment design
Mary Simper ~ Learning Designer The Learning Design team at the OU has been exploring assessment practices, which has led to some rich discussions on accessibility, student choice, learning outcomes and authenticity. Discussions around authentic assessment have led us to think about how we can design assessments, well… more authentically! Let’s start with an analogy……
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The power of celebration: An exploration of how the simple act of celebration can impact student outcomes and wellbeing.
Catriona Matthews, Clare Hill, James Openshaw ~ Learning Designers Here at The Open University, we annually recruit a panel of students called the Curriculum Design Student Panel. Students who volunteer for the panel take part in activities designed to gather their views on learning experiences and this feedback can be used to inform the early…