This book provides a comprehensive examination of teacher design thinking and practice, structured across ten chapters that can be read either as a complete narrative or as standalone works. The content is organized into three parts:
Part 1: Foundations and frameworks (Chapters 1-3): Establishes the theoretical groundwork for understanding teachers as designers, integrating research across teacher thinking, practice, and learning design. These chapters explore the cognitive aspects of design within social contexts and examine methodologies for investigating design practice.
Part 2: Empirical studies (Chapters 4-7): Presents evidence from extensive research into Australian primary school teachers’ design practices, comparing experienced and early career teachers. Through narrative accounts, design outcomes, and video analysis, these chapters reveal how teachers engage with design thinking during planning and implementation.
Part 3: Evidence-based practical applications (Chapters 8-10): Translates research findings into actionable knowledge and tools for teachers at all experience levels. Special attention is given to technology integration, and a model for supporting teacher design thinking is presented. The book concludes with practical recommendations and future directions for the field.
Each chapter is written to function independently, allowing readers to focus on specific aspects of interest, such as theoretical foundations, research methods, empirical findings, or practical guidance.
Professor Lori Lockyer, Queensland University of Technology, Australia, is an expert in educational technology. Her work has produced new knowledge about psychological, sociological, and technological influences on learning and professional practice, and she has designed internationally award-winning digital learning environments as well as tools and resources that support educators to design effective technology-enhanced learning experiences for their students.
Professor Shirley Agostinho, University of Wollongong, Australia, focuses on investigating and designing effective learning environments using innovative technology. Her research examines learning with technology and the professional practice of teachers. With a research program of more than 20 years, Shirley’s work is advancing theory and making a practical contribution about how learners can better understand their own practices to support their own learning. One example of her work is investigating the professional practice of teachers, in both school and higher education contexts about teacher design practices.
Professor Sue Bennett, La Trobe University, Australia, has worked as a writer, educational designer, higher education teacher and university academic for over 30 years. Her work investigates how people engage with technology in their everyday lives and in educational settings. Her aim is to develop a more holistic understanding of people’s technology practices to inform research, practice and policy. She has been researching design thinking and learning design since 1999.
Dr Lauren Knussen, University of Technology Sydney, Australia, has been an educator for more than 25 years, working for the past 15 years in technology-enabled learning as a learning designer, researcher, and teacher educator. Her work focuses on teachers’ design practices, with a strong focus on how educators design technology-enabled learning. Lauren has a strong interest in teacher design practices for new pedagogical approaches such as transdisciplinary and place-based learning.
Dr Melinda Plumb, University of Wollongong, Australia, investigates contemporary approaches to pedagogy and curriculum design in higher education. Drawing on more than 15 years of experience as an educator across secondary and higher education settings, combined with her background as an IT practitioner, Melinda’s research examines how educators design and implement pedagogically sound learning, teaching, and assessment experiences that are enhanced by the purposeful integration of technology.
