Professionalisation in Academic Development: Exploring learning designer roles in a changing higher education sector Recognise funding

Project Team Dr Christine Slade SFHEA Dom McGrath SFHEA Lecturer in Higher Education, Institute for Teaching & Learning Innovation (ITaLI) The University of Queensland Dom McGrath SFHEA Learning Designer, Team Leader Institute for Teaching & Learning Innovation (ITaLI) The University of Queensland Dr Ruth Greenaway SFHEA Senior Academic Developer Centre for Support and Advancement of Learning and Teaching (C-SALT) University of the Sunshine Coast

Challenges For directors: Conceptualising and designing roles Attracting suitable staff Ongoing effective management Retention of excellent staff For learning designers: Career pathways Professional development Changing role Project based - job security Throughout the project documentation - we identified these challenges for directors/ learning designers

Expected Project Outcomes Snapshot of current Learning Designers’ practices across Australian universities to identify and document: relevant skills, knowledge, education and professional background, the types of roles undertaken and employment conditions; challenges and enablers in these roles and conditions; areas for future attention Supporting evidence-based decision-making in the conceptualisation of LD positions and the management of existing and new LD staff The goals of the project are to provide a snapshot of current LD practices across Australian universities; to document relevant skills, knowledge, education and professional background, the types of roles undertaken and employment conditions; to pinpoint challenges and enablers in these roles and conditions; and to identify areas for future attention and provide suggestions for response, development and formulation by CADAD and the sector. Expected practice improvements include evidence-based decision-making in the conceptualisation of LD positions and the management of existing and new LD staff that recognises and enables the inclusion of the essential criteria needed for the best outcomes possible for all stakeholders involved. New resources include the final project report, anticipated journal publications e.g. The International Journal for Academic Development and Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, and conference presentations/proceedings e.g. TEMC and HERDSA. Results will also be disseminated to LD networks and communities of practice. Benefits to CADAD include the ongoing demonstration of its concern to address challenges in the academic development sector through proactively providing baseline information about LD roles and contexts for decision making by its members and wider associated stakeholder groups. The project will provide a final report that contextualises the research findings within current trends and recent scholarly discourses. The project team will facilitate a workshop for directors linked to a CADAD meeting to enable discussion about the implications of the results.

Research Context No audit of learning designer practice in Australia, Little specific prior research: No audit of learning designer practice in Australia, but some US studies (Cox & Osguthorpe 2003; Wakefield et al. 2012; Ritzhaupt & Kamar 2015) Academic development and third space role diversification (Whitchurch & Gordon 2010; Gray 2015; Veles & Carter 2016; Ling & CADAD 2009) Changing roles for teaching and learning units (Gosling 2008; Holt et al. 2011) Overview of research from initial application Pink highlight being updated Blurring of academic roles learning designers are an integral part of teaching and learning units From the application: There are several relevant scholarly discourses. In North America researchers report how instructional designers use their time predominantly in design/development and managing projects (Cox & Osguthorpe 2003) or identify the required technology skills, educational foundations, competencies and personal attributes needed for such a position (Wakefield et al. 2012; Ritzhaupt & Kamar 2015). Another discourse involves academic development role diversification: understanding and managing both the professional and academic identities (Whitchurch & Gordon 2010; Gray 2015); the entrance of the 'third space' of collaboration on complex projects (Veles & Carter 2016); the roles and responsibilities of the institutional teaching and learning unit in professional development of faculty, innovative teaching practices and implementing strategic plans (Gosling 2008; Holt et al. 2011); and academic development staffing requirements (Ling & CADAD 2009). Our scan of position descriptions and the applicants' experience in higher education tells us there is a growing heterogeneous group of professional staff, commonl y called learning designers in Australia who are spread across universities, often employed by direc tors of teaching and learning units, to translate varied strategic institutional plans to acad emic practices out in the faculties and schools. Little is known about the scope of their roles ac ross the sector. This has implications for directors in the design of positions, recru itment, management and retention of suitable staff. Anedoctal evidence suggests that for directors suitable staff is difficult to recruit for these positions and also LDs are frustrated by the lack of career pathways and other employment conditions. References Cox, S & Osguthorpe, R (2003) ‘How do Instructional Design Professionals Spend Their Time? TechTrends, Vol. 47, No. 3, pp. 45-47. Gray, S (2015) 'Culture clash or ties that bind? What Australian academics th ink of professional staff,' Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, Vol. 37, No. 5, pp. 545-557. Gosling, D (2008) Educational Development in the United Kingdom, Re port for the Heads of

Method & Data Analysis (Ethics Approval No.2017000315) Online Surveys T&L Leaders: Responses (n=16) Learning Designers :Responses (n=103) Data Analysis Quantitative: Descriptive Stats Qualitative: Thematic using NVivo Pro 11 (research assistant) Highlighting how important the audience is for this research

Thank you for your help Ethics & Survey Development Surveying Directors On going Dissemination Background Research Position Description Analysis Analysis Reporting: March 2018 Survey Learning Designers Reference group feedback On track: Ethics received Highlight the role and value of reference group: Supporting survey design & thematic analysis approach for PDs Ruth Presented between April 2017

71% 17% 12% Qualifications postgraduate undergraduate other LD qualifications Top 8 + undergrad postgrad chart

Prior Employment Where do LD’s come from

Level of Employment Age

Mode of Employment for Learning Designers Full-time Part-time Total Ongoing 47 3 50 Contract 38 9 Casual 2 1 87 13 100

Location in Universities?

Important Attributes of Learning Designers This is where we had the closest agreement in all our data between Directors and LDs

Who were /are you trying to recruit as learning designers? What LDs do is diverse Who were /are you trying to recruit as learning designers? 1 6 2 4 7 3 5 8

How long?

Implications What future roles do you think LDs can progress towards? Handout of career progression

In 5 years time learning designers want to be:

Further Implications Do these roles currently exist? What professional development might LDs need to progress?

Project Dissemination Australian ePortfolio Forum (2017) poster LD communities South-East Queensland x-institutional Learning Design Forum (June 2017) UQ Learning Design Community (Multiple visits 2017) ASCILITE TELedvisors Special Interest Group (June 2017) HEA Annual Conference UK (July 2018) AAEEBL Conference Vancouver (July 2018) http://itali.uq.edu.au/content/ld-project

Thank you to: The Council of Australian Directors of Academic Development’s 2016 project funding. The directors and learning designers who responded to the surveys. Our Reference Group - Dr Kylie Readman and Dr Gillian Hallam Research Assistant – Dr Jeff Parker

References Cox, S & Osguthorpe, R (2003) ‘How do Instructional Design Professionals Spend Their Time? TechTrends, Vol. 47, No. 3, pp. 45-47. Gray, S (2015) 'Culture clash or ties that bind? What Australian academics think of professional staff,' Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, Vol. 37, No. 5, pp. 545-557. Gosling, D (2008) Educational Development in the United Kingdom, Report for the Heads of Educational Development Group (HEDG), February, 2008 Holt, D, Palmer, S & Challis, D (2011) 'Changing perspectives: teaching and learning centres' strategic contributions to academic development in Australian higher education,' International Journal for Academic Development, Vol. 16, N0.1, pp. 5-17 Ling, P & CADAD (2009) Development of Academics and Higher Education Futures, Vol. 1, Report, Australian Learning and Teaching Council, Sydney, March 2009. Ritzhaupt, A & Kumar, S (2015) 'Knowledge and Skills Needed by Instructional Designers in Higher Education,' Performance Improvement Quarterly, Vol 28. No. 3, pp. 51-69 Veles, N & Carter, M (2016) 'Imagining a future: changing the landscape for third space professionals in Australian higher education institutions,' Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, Vol. 38, No. 5, pp. 519-533 Wakefield, J, Warren, S & Mills, L (2012) Traits, Skills, & Competencies Aligned with Workplace Demands: What Today’s Instructional Designers Need to Master, Presentation, Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education International Conference, Austin Texas, USA. Whitchurch, C & Gordon, G (2010) 'Diversifying Academic and Professional Identities in Higher Education: Some management challenges.' TEAM, Vol. 16, No. 2, pp. 129-144