Teacher as Designer: Understanding Planning as a Designerly Act

Abstract

This study investigates how postsecondary faculty approach course planning and how their efforts might be supported by digital workflow tools that reflect design methods—recognizing teachers as designers of learning experiences. Today, planning often takes place within layered, complex contexts marked by cognitive overload, institutional constraints, and tool limitations. This research explored how educators already engage in design-like practices, what challenges shape their planning, and what features could better support reflective, iterative teaching. Grounded in Rittel & Webber’s framing of wicked problems, Schön’s theory of reflective practice, and Cross’s concept of designerly knowledge, the study connects these ideas to educational concerns such as collaboration, professional identity, and the pursuit of meaning in teaching. Insights were generated through a survey of 35 design faculty, co-design workshops with 13 educators, and a research-through-design process involving persona development, low- fidelity interface wireframes, and a business model. Findings suggest that faculty in all disciplines are already engaging in design-like activity when planning as they interpret constraints, generate ideas, and iterate solutions. These practices affirm their role as designers of learning and point to the need for tools that better support reflective, iterative work. Because teaching is shaped by varied institutional and individual factors, tools must also be flexible and context-aware. Finally, faculty were able to articulate their desire for specific, meaningful software features, highlighting the potential for co-designed tools that honor the complexity of teaching while reducing cognitive burden and enhancing professional satisfaction.