An outcome-oriented pattern-based model to support teaching as a design science

Abstract

In the learning design community, there has been an increasing recognition of the value of positioning teaching as a design science, in which teachers craft and test effective learning conditions through a goal-oriented and evidence-based procedure. However, the existing models and tools supporting teachers’ design practice focus primarily on learning task configurations; very little account has been taken of the later phases of the design lifecycle, such as evaluation and redesign. The shortage of tools for articulating and supporting reflective design practice is a major barrier preventing design science from growing into mainstream educational practice. To bridge the gap between research and practice, this paper proposes an outcome-oriented and pattern-based model, capable of enabling teachers to design a course and test its effectiveness using principled methods appropriate to a design science. This model conceptualizes course design as a goal-oriented process of crafting and strategizing the use of design patterns to address different types of learning outcomes, and conducting pattern-informed learning analytics to inform intervention and redesign. When applied to the development of a real course, the preliminary results suggest that the model has some potential in engaging the teaching team in exercising reflective design practice featured with a disciplined course design procedure, rigorous testing, as well as evidence-based intervention and redesign, which in turn led to improved learning outcomes. This paper concludes with a discussion on the limitations of the model and the directions for future research.