Ep37: Shaun Bell, Learning Designer

Today my guest is Shaun Bell, a Learning Designer working in higher education. In this episode we find out more about Shaun’s university studies related to both Education and Arts, and their experiences as a high school teacher. We discuss Shaun’s post-graduate pathway, the completion of an honours thesis exploring the literary sub-genre of Australian magic realism. Shaun contrasts their own experiences as a generally disengaged high school student with the parameters and contexts typical of higher education where students usually have more freedom and autonomy to shape and determine their own pathway. We further explore how this greater learner autonomy in higher education might then relate to how educational programs and courses are designed, developed and delivered.  Shaun reflects on some of the practicalities of their university experience, including the various challenges of balancing work and study, the ideas that underpin the “first-in-family” concept, and the so-called hyphenated literatures embodied by their Greek/Australian identity - being neither one or the other, but something in between. We also explore some of Shaun’s perspectives on cultural assumptions at university, especially those related to students who come from a background of privilege - as compared to those from low socio-economic status, or from diverse cultures, - and how this relates to a student’s essential rights to knowledge, education and learning. Shaun outlines their day-to-day role as a Learning Designer and the practical tasks, challenges, and considerations ranging from technical troubleshooting and problem solving through to those involving creativity, flexibility, and using new ways of doing things to design a range of sustainable educational solutions. Shaun sees value in bringing a range of new perspectives and approaches to university systems in order to improve student experiences and outcomes. Shaun outlines some of his aims, as well as a range of tools, techniques, and strategies he uses when designing courses. Shaun draws on both established research and teaching skills in their approach, such as making explicit and coherent the skills, procedural knowledge and links between content so that students, especially novice learners, are well supported. Shaun offers insights into the “in-between” experiences with academics, Subject Matter Experts (SMEs), students, and facilitators. Shaun outlines their approach when designing scenario-based solutions and interventions, such as those involving large amounts of reading and other required course content, and how they uses digital tools to address gaps and expand on opportunities for course improvement. Links: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shaun-bell1/ https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=iZuu8oEAAAAJ&hl=en Transcript: https://pastebin.com/bLBJf8EL