Guests:

Dr Mark Childs is a Senior Learning Designer at the Durham Centre for Academic Development and has worked at the University since 2020. His particular areas of expertise are pedagogic design for online and blended learning and learners’ collaboration in online environments. Mark is also the co-host of Pedagodzilla, a podcast about learning and teaching explained through the lens of pop culture examples. His latest book, based on the podcast, explores basic learning and teaching principles, and is available at: https://www.pedagodzilla.com/

Julie Usher is a Digital Learning Developer at the Durham Centre for Academic Development, and has worked in digital education since 2002. She has experience in developing and supporting blended and online learning, as well as in academic staff development, project management and pedagogic research. She has provided learning design consultancy for flagship online programmes, published research on approaches to learning design, and facilitated co-design projects including students, industry stakeholders and service users. Her areas of interest include critical pedagogy and inclusion, and generative AI.

Episode Summary

In this episode, hosts Julie and Jim are joined by Mark Childs and Julie Usher from Durham University (UK) to discuss the complexities of learning design within a high-ranking, research-intensive institution. The guests describe the unique “Oxbridge” vibes and college system of Durham while addressing challenges such as classism, the need for widening participation, and the struggle to balance world-class research with pedagogical innovation. A significant portion of the conversation focuses on the “top-down” implementation of the Durham Educational Framework (DEF 27), which aims to reconstruct undergraduate curricula to prioritize active pedagogy, inclusive assessment, and student autonomy.

The discussion further explores the concept of “flat learning,” an approach that seeks to lower institutional hierarchies by fostering peer-to-peer knowledge sharing and shared power between educators and students. The guests and hosts examine how Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and the integration of AI are reshaping the educational landscape, forcing a move away from traditional essays toward more reflective and authentic assessments. The episode concludes with a look at “Pedagodzilla,” a podcast co-hosted by Mark Childs that utilizes pop culture references to make complex pedagogical theories more accessible and engaging.

Tune in as Julie, Jim, Mark and Julie explore:

• The Durham Educational Framework (DEF 27) and its goal to reconstruct the undergraduate first-year experience.
• How learning design acts as a “critical friend” to busy researchers who may lack pedagogical expertise.
• The “Garage approach” and “Skunk works” models for fostering democratic, ego-free collaboration.
• The transition from PGCE qualifications to the Higher Education Academy (HEA) fellowship route for academic staff.
• The “five-minute university“ concept and why teaching students how to find information is more vital than rote memorization.

Key Themes

• Hierarchies in Higher Education: Challenging the “sage on the stage” model through flat learning and shared authority.
• Student Autonomy and Readiness: Scaffolding the first-year experience to prepare students for independent study in later years.
• The Impact of AI on Assessment: The shift from traditional essays to reflective journals and critical analysis of AI-generated content.
• Inclusive Pedagogy: Implementing UDL and addressing the digital divide exacerbated by paid AI subscriptions.
• Pedagogy via Pop Culture: Using familiar narratives (like Star Wars or The Sound of Music) to anchor learning theories.

Infographic

Interesting facts, quotes, ideas, side chats (eg jokes) etc

• Durham’s Ranking: According to The Times, Durham was recently ranked above Oxford and Cambridge, being the third oldest university in the UK.
• The Christmas Mouse: Jim notes they never found the “Christmas mouse” from the previous year, though his cats had a good time regardless.
• The Five-Minute University: A sketch mentioned by Mark where a graduate is taught only what they will actually remember five years later (e.g., Economics = “Supply and Demand”).
• Pop culture as Pedagogy: Mark discusses analyzing Yoda’s effectiveness as a supply teacher and using the Council of Elrond to explain social constructivism.
• The AI Loop Joke: Julie shares a joke about a 2030 strategic plan getting stuck in a loop because AI keeps suggesting “AI-ready graduates” while faculty ask, “What about deep learning?”.
• The “CAIeRO” Acronym: Jim references a learning design process called CAIeRO, which stands for “Creating Aligned interactive Education Resource Opportunities”
• The HEA “Lure”: Mark admits that he uses podcasting workshops as a way to “lure” academics into learning design consultations; once they are interested in the medium, he can help them with broader curriculum changes.