Learning Design at Nordic and Baltic Universities

Learning Design (LD) is gaining global traction in higher education driven by its systematic approach to supporting educators in designing teaching practices for students’ learning based on pedagogical theory and supported by design tools. While extensive research has been conducted, limited practice is shared across the Nordic and Baltic universities, contradicting the core ambition of LD to promote sharing of effective learning designs. Thus, to support sharing of practice and knowledge, this article investigates LD practices through a systematic literature review, systematic web searches, and study visits. The research aim is to uncover what LD practices exist at the Nordic and Baltic universities. In total, the research identified 26 LD practices at 16 Nordic and Baltic universities as of August 2024 and a total of 22 different design tools. It also revealed diverse LD practices ranging from open-ended, do-it-yourself (DIY) approaches to comprehensive and often orchestrated practices facilitated by educational developers or peers. In addition, the article discusses that important phases of the learning design process are missing out both when it comes to institutional support for educators as well as available learning design tools.