Commentary: Need for a Pattern-Based Design Language to Scaffold Learning Design Knowledge Co-Creation and Mobilisation

Abstract

<p><br></p><p>This chapter is a commentary on the chapters in Section II. While all five chapters in this section focus on methodological approaches and principles for knowledge creation in educational design, the functional characteristics considered important and how design knowledge is represented differ widely. Such diversity among the authors, all of whom are veteran learning design (LD) experts, reflects the challenges in communicating and sharing of design knowledge as operationalisable design artefacts. Unlike other design professions, much of the literature on LD stays at a conceptual level, as there is a lack of a common language or technology platform for educational design. This also means that pedagogical knowledge cannot be easily encapsulated in the form of portable design resources such as design patterns for design professionals (e.g., teachers and learning designers) to share, adopt, and adapt. This commentary concludes by putting forward three necessary conditions for realising the vision of teachers becoming design professionals, in much the same way as other design professionals, such as architects and software engineers.</p>