Harnessing the power of collaboration: how design for online learning can empower educator practices and professional development
Author(s)
Papageorgiou, Vasiliki
Meyer, Edgar
Ntonia, Iro
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
A collaborative approach to online learning design where educators partner with interdisciplinary digital learning professionals has emerged as a key strategy for creating high-quality online learning environments. Beyond its pedagogical benefits, collaborative design is increasingly seen as an authentic form of professional development for educators. While this claim has a strong theoretical foundation, empirical evidence remains limited. This study addresses that gap by exploring how interdisciplinary collaborative design experiences contribute to educators’ learning and practice. The research is grounded in Engeström’s expansive learning theory, Kalantzis and Cope’s concept of learning by design, and McKenney et al’.s ecological framework on educators’ design knowledge. A qualitative multiple case study was employed, with data collected through two phases of one-to-one semi-structured interviews (n = 29) and observational data from six design teams across five UK universities. There are three main findings: first, educators developed a (co-)design mindset and associated capabilities; second, they experienced shifts in their pedagogical thinking and approaches; and third, they expanded their awareness and use of learning technologies. This article highlights the value of purposeful collaborative design as a vehicle for integrated professional development and provides a framework outlining key dimensions of educator development essential for high-quality online learning design.
Date Issued
2026-04-01
Date Acceptance
2025-06-01
Citation
Pedagogy, Culture & Society, 2026, 34 (2), pp.471-494
ISSN
1468-1366
Publisher
Informa UK Limited
Start Page
471
End Page
494
Journal / Book Title
Pedagogy, Culture & Society
Volume
34
Issue
2
Copyright Statement
© 2025 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any med- ium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way. The terms on which this article has been published allow the posting of the Accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent.
Identifier
10.1080/14681366.2025.2520443
Subjects
Collaborative design
online learning
design expertise
integrated professional development
digital education
higher education
Publication Status
Published
Date Publish Online
2025-06-24