Using human centred design in learning and teaching

As part of learning and teaching we need to make a lot of decisions about what we create and the experiences we provide. 

When you are working towards a goal, or you need to fix something because there is a problem, there are a few key questions you will ask yourself.

• What should I change and how should I change it?
• How can I be confident that it will be worth the effort, and actually create lasting change and make people happy?
• And how can I do that within the time and means that I have available?

Human centred design is here to help you make these decisions.

Human centred design (HCD) is a set of processes that can be used for identifying the needs of users and making decisions about how to respond to them. These processes are often used in the design industry (product, service, and beyond) and the exciting thing is that they are equally valuable in the realm of learning and teaching. 

Using human centred methods can help to create a better learning experience, lead to greater student satisfaction and can help increase efficiency by being able to focus efforts on the things that people really care about. They can be used to step around some of the core issues and obstructive expectations that have become embedded in teaching, and are helpful in responding to the paradigm shifts we are currently facing.

This collection is designed for a selection of different individuals with varied goals who work across the learning and teaching space:

• Sessional teaching staff and subject coordinators who are interested in improving their teaching practice to reach the following goals:
  • Improved learner satisfaction: students feel positive because they get what they want/need.
  • Improved personalised learning: knowing the needs of individuals allows for better and more specific ways to respond.
  • Improved learner interaction and engagement: students invest because they feel seen.
  • Improved teaching satisfaction: you feel like what you are doing is more valuable because students are engaged and you know what is having an impact.
• Learning and teaching support staff who are interested in gaining greater impact from their work and a useful angle to solve tricky issues;
  • Creating impactful materials: users utilise and appreciate materials provided because they acutely respond their needs.
  • Improved impact of initiatives/ greater confidence: knowing in advance that an initiative will work well because you have already seen how it helps to solve a core problem.
  • Better approaches for traction and change: having an understanding of how you can shape behaviour though an alignment with user goals and preferences.
  • Saving energy by not investing time in ineffective methods: having clear communication with stakeholders and a clear understanding of what can and will be achieved.