University course leaders are facing increasing and unprecedented pressures to recruit and retain students, as well as to demonstrate the impact of learning through metrics such as the UK’s National Student Survey and graduate outcomes. In this climate, we must radically reimagine the way that we teach and how students learn, so curricula are truly student-centred and reflective of the worlds in which graduates will work and live. To do this, we need to intentionally design learning experiences with creativity and innovation, with students at the heart of these design processes.
To do this effectively, course leaders would do well to look towards the principles, tools and mindsets inherent within human-centred design (HCD) approaches. HCD places people at the heart of design and decision-making processes to ensure outputs speak to the needs and experiences of the people that will be using them. HCD can be implemented in a variety of ways, with one particularly impactful approach being the use of design sprints to bring people together to work through specific challenges and to co-design solutions. This is a model we have embedded within our attempts to reimagine curricula across the University of Leeds, and we feel it is an approach that other institutions would benefit from.
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Originally developed by Google Ventures, a design sprint explores and solves complex challenges, with input from a wide variety of stakeholder perspectives over several days. The version we have adopted at Leeds has been a two-day approach.
We start with a specific challenge, such as improving feedback practices or skills development within a programme of study. We invite everyone relevant to that challenge; these might include students of the programme or modules in question, alumni, placement supervisors, academics teaching those modules, employers or professional services with influence in the outcome. We then design dialogue to understand and respond to the needs of the students and staff, considering the context and constraints that people may have. We use the insights and experiences surfaced through the sprint process to understand the problems at the heart of the challenge and to generate potential solutions. These are then tested and adjusted after the sprint.
How to use design sprints within higher education
Through the work we have done at the University of Leeds, we have gained key lessons for course leaders and heads of school or faculty who want to use design sprints to reimagine teaching and learning experiences:
- Keep the scope manageable: The larger the scope, the more difficult it will be to find a meaningful outcome. If the focus of the sprint can be clearly defined, informed by relevant perspectives and focused on as local a level as possible (that is, modules or programmes), then the outcomes have more potential to be tangible and impactful.
- Be realistic about goals: An entire module cannot be rewritten in a day or two. Take the time to understand what is of biggest concern for now and look to tackle this issue.
- Invite the right people to participate in the sprint: Having the most relevant people in the room to help design but also implement and lead the change is crucial in ensuring positive and actionable outcomes. Teaching staff, students and pedagogical experts, colleagues in quality assurance, student recruitment or digital education advisers all often have a critical role to play in delivering a successful outcome.
- Clarify what you are trying to solve: Higher education tends to immediately generate solutions, without taking the time to properly understand why something is happening. The interpretation of why a problem occurs also depends on perspective (that of, for example, students, academics or employers). Use the right tools to untangle this complexity, always rooted in human experience.
- Be open-minded and curious: Just asking people to create ideas might bring familiar concepts. Instead, people need to be inspired to imagine alternatives and resist feeling wedded to pre-determined solutions or ideas. Transforming long case studies into smaller inspiring pieces is key to imagining change.
By using design sprints, universities can be more confident that the learning experiences and opportunities provided to students truly meet their needs and expectations. But staff members need support to be able to do this, and to do it right. They should be afforded time to investigate, explore and truly understand the challenges they and their students are facing. And they need to be supported systemically and structurally to co-create experiences that will help staff and students alike to meet emerging challenges. In so doing, higher education institutions can better future-proof themselves to navigate the stormy waters ahead.
James Forde is head of curriculum development and enhancement at the University of Leeds. Iria Lopez is a senior service independent design consultant who works as a coach to effect cultural change and capacity building in higher education institutions.
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