An Academic’s Perspective
Teaching requires at least as much mindfulness as learning
This is something I’ve been thinking a lot about recently, and I believe it’s rooted in how us academics think about teaching. Though some only teach because they have to, those who make the best of it and take time to refine their teaching methods are commonly lauded as the most desirable instructors.
Remember, your students don’t buy what you do; they buy why you do it. — Steven J. Bell
UX could mean so much more in higher education
As a biomedical doctoral student at Texas A&M University, I only recently discovered that we have a Center for Teaching Excellence (CTE) and a Center for Integration of Research, Teaching and Learning (CiRTL), both of which encourage faculty mindfulness of students’ learning experiences. More recently, another program was established to facilitate more opportunities for undergraduate hands-on learning in lab and research settings.
A big part of LXD is designing a user interface in a way that supports and enhances the cognitive and affective processes that learning involves. — Dorian Peters
Is it time to focus more on this new “LXD” abbreviation?
Accessibility
Though accessibility is a matter of ADA legal requirement for universities, there are non-mandated practices and principles—many of which could use the field of UX Design as a role model—that should become more standard in higher ed. In our PowerPoint presentations, do we choose friendly fonts and colors for students with dyslexia or color blindness? How can we—as academics who insist on evidence-based practices in every aspect of our research—use evidence to teach more effectively for our students? Why do we, as academics, continue to lecture so ineffectively?
Responsibility
At the bottom of this soapbox, the burden of responsibility lays heavily on instructors. Students have “become accustomed to exceptional UX experiences from big brands” and the success of learning-related ventures like Khan Academy—even in professional degree topics—signals that this trend toward LXD is not a fad. Now I’m not suggesting we ignore attitudes of entitlement in higher education; I’m simply suggesting that course instructors can build rapport with students by using design thinking to improve our lectures as an act of good faith. These UX design concepts could have profound power in the teaching toolboxes of college instructors.
It’s the professor who has more control over what happens in the classroom to affect learning than anyone else.—Steven J. Bell
