Design Thinking

Putting academics at the heart of Professional Learning

Abstract

In today’s increasingly competitive Higher Education (HE) market, academic jobs are more precarious than ever. The way academics do their day-to-day job is under increasing scrutiny, with their outputs measured through the rigid lens of performativity and financial profit. Professional Learning (PL) is an institutional approach aimed towards achieving and sustaining high quality teaching and innovation among academic staff. The significance of PL to developing academics’ skills and fostering their professional identity has been confirmed by peer reviewed research. However, how to design and deliver PL that is meaningful to academic workforce, while empowering academics and supporting them in finding solutions to their teaching and learning problems, remains up for debate. This paper offers a conceptual way forward; arguing for a complete re-think of the predominant way of doing PL in universities in favour of placing Design Thinking (DT) at the heart of the matter. Grounded within a robust theoretical approach and scaffolded with a practical toolkit, DT can enable a nurturing environment to engage and empower academics, building their confidence and equipping them with a methodology for problem solving into the future.