Online learning design in higher education: a holistic investigation of people, processes and pedagogy

Abstract

The design and provision of online learning by universities has gained traction globally as a strategic move towards flexible education maximising students’ learning opportunities. A promising approach for designing high-quality online learning is collaborative design where educators work with interdisciplinary digital learning professionals. However, to date, studies that have taken a holistic approach to examine the nature and outcomes of the design work between these key university actors in a single project are lacking. This thesis addresses this gap by investigating the decision-making processes of educators and digital learning professionals during online learning design, the factors influencing their decisions, and the rationale behind their pedagogic choices. Cultural-historical activity theory was adopted as the theoretical framework to enable a thorough investigation of educators’ and digital learning professionals’ online learning design work within their broader sociocultural context. A multiple case study was employed as the overarching methodology with data collected from seven design teams (‘cases’) across six UK-based universities involved in ongoing online learning design cycles. One-to-one interviews in two stages (before and after the design of online modules) and non-participant observation of design meetings were conducted to capture participants’ insights. Relevant documents were also analysed as secondary evidence sources. Findings revealed participants’ decisions were made through framing, sharing insider knowledge and expertise, forward-looking, and breadth-first design processes. Their decisions were influenced by four levels of interacting and interdependent factors: individual, team, community and network, and institutional. The pedagogic rationale behind participants’ decisions indicates their practice re-culturation and has been conceptualised in this research as holistic, multivoiced, and connected. Collaborative design also proved to support educators’ professional development in (co-)design, pedagogy, and learning technology. These findings contribute to a multifaceted and contemporary understanding of online learning design and highlight practical implications for educators, digital learning professionals, university leadership, industry partners, and researchers.