Designing for design thinking: fostering an e-learning champion mindset through academic staff development

Abstract

Design thinking is entering higher education as traditional thinking models characterised by linear, siloed, and signature pedagogies are proving to be inadequate to respond to the increasingly complex and multifaceted problems students face. In this paper, the authors reflect on a staff development intervention on blended learning course design offered at a University of Technology in South Africa. Drawing on a previous project, which identified shared characteristics of eLearning champions, such as collaboration, empathy for the learner and problem orientation, which largely corresponded to a ‘design thinking mindset’, this course was developed to explore whether and how, through the incorporation of design thinking principles such a mindset could be stimulated among academics. Design activities were selected to strengthen participants’ creative confidence as well as disrupt some of the traditional thinking models that they encountered in practice. Evidence of this mindset was elicited through weekly reflections, a focus group and survey. Findings show that participants showed a growing understanding of students’ diversity, complexity and needs, creative problem-solving, increased resilience and appreciation of interdisciplinary collaboration. However, sustaining this mindset beyond the first intervention was found to be critical in deepening lecturers’ creative confidence. Some participants started to transfer what they learnt into their practices and departments – thus becoming change agents. Recommendations on how to improve the course and suggestions for further research conclude the paper.