Abstract
Over the decades many different concepts and strategies have been considered appropriate for education—experiential, motivational and problem based—and other factors have also impacted on design practice such as learning styles, culture and generation. This chapter focuses on the informing theories of Design Alchemy, which is both integrative and eclectic and provides a theoretical and evidence-based foundation for practicing as a design alchemist. While acknowledging that traditionally pedagogy refers specifically to the art of teaching, in this context the design alchemist also needs a pedagogy, a theoretically sound framework, on which to base design decisions that will enhance the experience of both learner and teacher. The elements which make up this pedagogy are based on an inclusive learner-centred philosophy which integrate learning activities, contextual learning, problem-solving, social learning, creative learning and emergence.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
American Psychological Association. (1997). Learner-centered psychological principles: A framework for school reform and redesign. Retrieved September 8, 2013, from http://www.apa.org/ed/governance/bea/learner-centered.pdf
Bransford, J. D., Brown, A. L., & Cocking, R. R. (Eds.). (2001). How people learn: Brain, mind, experience, and school. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
Bransford, J. D., & Stein, B. S. (1993). The ideal problem solver (2nd ed.). New York: W.H. Freeman and Company.
Collins English Dictionary. (2009). Collins English Dictionary: Complete & unabridged (10th ed.). Glasgow: William Collins Sons.
Dabbagh, N., & Kitsantas, A. (2012). Personal learning environments, social media, and self-regulated learning: A natural formula for connecting formal and informal learning. The Internet and Higher Education, 15(1), 3–8. Available from http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1096751611000467
Gagné, R. M. (1965). The conditions of learning. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
Hunt, E. (1994). Problem solving. In R. J. Sternberg (Ed.), Thinking and problem solving. San Diego, CA: Academic Press.
Johnson, S. (2001). Emergence: The connected lives of ants, brains, cities, and software. New York: Scribner.
Jonassen, D. (2011). Supporting problem solving in PBL. Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-based Learning, 5(2). Available at http://dx.doi.org/10.7771/1541-5015.1256
Kahney, H. (1993). Problem solving: Current issues (2nd ed.). Buckingham: Open University Press.
Kays, E., & Sims, R. (2006). Reinventing and reinvigorating instructional design: A theory for emergent learning. In L. Markauskaite, P. Goodyear, & P. Reimann (Eds.), Proceedings of the 23rd Annual Conference of the Australasian Society for Computers in Learning in Tertiary Education: Who’s Learning? Whose Technology? (pp. 409–412). Sydney: Sydney University Press.
Knowles, M. (1975). Self-directed learning: A guide for learners and teachers. New York: Cambridge Books.
Laurel, B. (1991). Computers as theatre. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
Lave, J., & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated learning: Legitimate peripheral participation. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Lubart, T. I. (1994). Creativity. In R. J. Sternberg (Ed.), Thinking and problem solving. San Diego, CA: Academic Press.
Mason, R., & Rennie, F. (2008). E-learning and social networking handbook: Resources for higher education. New York: Routledge.
McLoughlin, C., & Oliver, R. (1999). Instructional design for cultural difference: A case study of the indigenous online learning in a tertiary context. In J. Winn (Ed.), Responding to diversity. Proceedings of the 16th Annual Conference of the Australasian Society for Computers in Learning in Tertiary Education (ASCILITE). Brisbane, QLD: TALS, QUT.
Mezirow, J. (1997). Transformative learning: Theory to practice. New Directions for Adult & Continuing Education, Summer 97(74), 5–12.
Myers, C., & Jones, T. B. (1993). Promoting active learning: Strategies for the college classroom. San Francisco, CA: Jossey Bass.
Nickerson, R. S. (1994). The teaching of thinking and problem solving. In R. J. Sternberg (Ed.), Thinking and problem solving. San Diego, CA: Academic Press.
Robinson, K. (2013). How to escape education’s death valley. http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_how_to_escape_education_s_death_valley.html
Rogers, P. C., Graham, C. R., & Mayes, C. T. (2007). Cultural competence and instructional design: Exploration research into the delivery of online instruction cross-culturally. Educational Technology Research and Development, 55(2).
Salmon, G. (2013). E-tivities: The key to active online learning (2nd ed.). London and New York: Routledge.
Sheldrake, R. (2011). The presence of the past: Morphic resonance and the habits of nature. Icon Books Ltd.
Sims, R. (2000). Learners as actors: Strategies for computer-enhanced learning encounters. Unpublished PhD Thesis, Wollongong University.
Sims, R., & Jones, D. (2003). Where practice informs theory: Reshaping instructional design for academic communities of practice in online teaching and learning. Information Technology, Education and Society, 4(1), 3–20.
Webb, R., & Sims, R. (2006). Online gaming and online gaming communities: Ten reasons why they matter. In A. Treloar & A. Ellis (Eds.), Making a difference with web technologies. Proceedings of AusWeb06, the Twelfth Australian World Wide Web Conference. Noosa Heads, QLD: Southern Cross University. http://ausweb.scu.edu.au/aw06/papers/refereed/webb/index.html
Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of practice: Learning, meaning, and identity. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2014 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Sims, R. (2014). What Is the Design Alchemy Pedagogy ?. In: Design Alchemy. Educational Communications and Technology: Issues and Innovations, vol 8. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-02423-3_8
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-02423-3_8
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-02422-6
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-02423-3
eBook Packages: Humanities, Social Sciences and LawEducation (R0)