The learning design studio: collaborative design inquiry as teachers’ professional development

Abstract

The learning design studio is a collaborative, blended, project-based framework for training teachers in effective and evidence-based use of educational technology. Arguably, teachers are the primary change agents in any educational system. Several decades of research have produced an extensive body of scientific knowledge of effective ways to use technology to support learning. Yet, if we want to mainstream this knowledge and use it to improve educational systems, we need to make this knowledge available to educational practitioners. The dominant model of teacher education assumes that teachers should be provided with a solid theoretical curriculum, which they will then apply in their practice. This article argues for an alternative – the design-inquiry model and presents the learning design studio as a manifestation of this model.

Keywords

• learning design
• teacher training
• learning design studio
• design inquiry
• inquiry learning