In this course, students learn what design processes and design thinking entail in various learning practices. The course focuses on providing students with practical experience with design processes and design thinking by working together with researchers, practitioners, pupils, students, or the public to identify current challenges that learning practices face, especially in the work of transitioning to a more sustainable society. Through this course, students will develop a theory-based design proposal that can improve learning practices in the relevant case.
In teaching, I have used Talkwall in various tasks to try to connect the practical experiences that students gain through their work with the curriculum literature.
Preparation Using Video and Talkwall
Before the course, video interviews with researchers and authors of some of the articles in the curriculum were made. In the videos, the researchers explain their design-based projects. Students watched the researcher interviews and read the corresponding articles before the class and then wrote short contributions in Talkwall about what is highlighted as important in design-based research projects. As a second task, they were to write which tips they would highlight as important for working on their own case. During the class session, the contributions were shown on the board as the students entered the seminar. This formed the basis for discussions both in groups and in plenary. Students gained insight into each other's interpretations of articles and video interviews and, through discussions, made connections to their own work with cases. The short written contributions in Talkwall provided a good starting point for discussions both within groups and across them. By reading each other's contributions in Talkwall, students gained greater insight into each other's thoughts and ideas. It also made it easier for me as a teacher to start plenary discussions based on the students' own ideas, and more participated in the plenary.
Digital tools like Talkwall can also be used as a basis for collaboration and experience sharing across student groups with different academic backgrounds and experiences.
Experience Sharing, Participation, and Collaboration Across Groups
In this course, participation is open to bachelor's students in education, master's students from other departments (IFI), and bachelor's students taking UiO's innovation or sustainability certificate. This results in a student group with many different academic backgrounds and experiences. In a course like this, the differences are both a challenge and a valuable resource. By using tools like Talkwall to support oral discussions, I found that there was greater room for participation because students could both prepare and see the value in their own contributions when they were highlighted and visually visible on the digital board in the classroom. It is, of course, not the technology itself that facilitates participation but the pedagogical design of the tasks that is crucial. In the course, I have utilized several resources for oral mastery in addition to Talkwall and other digital tools such as Mentimeter and Canvas.