Abstract:

The present paper describes ongoing work on developing a new game-based approach to assisting and training staff in curriculum design.

As academic staff at our university’s unit for teaching and learning, we often hold workshops assisting departments across the university in developing and revising curriculum designs. In these workshops we collaborate systematically with the academic staff. We structure the work around the ASSURE process model (Smaldino et al., 2008). In addition, we often make use of practical approaches, e.g. the ABC method (Young & Perović, 2016), enabling the staff to discuss, share ideas, and develop joint outputs. While the workshops generally fulfill their purpose, our experience is that efficiency and focus is often negatively impacted by staff focusing on perceived problems and limitations, such as the overall academic content of the course or programme, and organisational or practical issues (administrative concerns, workload, etc.). While these issues are important to uncover and deal with, they often detract from the main objective of our workshops - i.e., the process of designing for learning.

The issues we have observed often stem from insecurities regarding the process itself, the use of learning management systems, and a perceived sense of risk tied to trying out unfamiliar approaches. Simulations and game-based learning are becoming increasingly common in higher education (Chernikova et al. 2020; Plass et al., 2020). Applying these approaches to our workshops can provide several benefits. By using a game-based approach, we can provide the opportunity for graceful failure (Plass et al., 2015). By working with the process of learning design in a risk-free environment, participants will also be able to explore different, potentially more creative, approaches to their learning designs, compared to when working in the context of their ordinary course or programme.

The game-based structure will present a scenario that covers the “nuts and bolts” of learning design. This offers opportunities for engaging with a simulated experience of how designing for learning works in practice, as well as tools and approaches for creating learning activities. The game-based workshop is broken into tasks and challenges, where the participants must solve defined objectives in order to advance to the next stage. This approach draws on, and blends, concepts from both the live-action role playing and escape game formats (Nicholson & Cable, 2020). The aim being to provide opportunities to internalise good practice and increase awareness of challenges and opportunities in working with structured learning design.

In designing the game, we interviewed academic and administrative staff (i.e. stakeholders involved in the planning and revision of study programmes and courses) across the university. This allowed us to uncover commonly experienced issues with learning design and course planning. The prototype game is currently being tested by our reference panel of staff at several units at our University.

Keywords:

Simulation and games, curriculum design, learning design, academic development, higher education.