The Learning Lab experience is supported by both asynchronous and synchronous components. Each Learning Lab sequence includes a set of resources, an asynchronous discussion, and an interactive live session, all of which culminate in the development of a project or application to apply learning to local and specific contexts in support of the learning objectives.
Schedule
Welcome Session
October 3, 2022, 1:00–2:00 p.m. ET
This is a live session to learn the details of the Learning Lab, the Canvas site, and expectations for the microcredential. There will also be time to get to know your fellow Lab partners and facilitator.
Learning Cycle 1: Activate the Innovation Mindset: Knowing versus Learning
October 5, 2022, 1:00–2:30 p.m. ET
Higher education is in a state of disruption, leading most to believe it is imperative to innovate, now. While exciting, the blank canvas of innovation can also feel daunting. Successful practitioners know innovation is a methodology and a process that must be nurtured from idea inception to wide-scale adoption. When innovation practices are deployed well, the organization creates an appetite for future innovation. In this learning sequence, you will practice deeply understanding and re-framing the problem to identify an actionable opportunity. You will apply the human-centered design framework to develop a persona of a target user to help ground your selected solution and design.
Learning Cycle 2: Improving Your Design: Collecting Actionable Feedback
October 12, 2022, 1:00–2:30 p.m. ET
Innovation requires an inclusive culture that is creative and open to testing and making mistakes. It is imperative to use processes to release ownership of a single idea and enable sound decision-making about your solution design. In this learning sequence, you will sketch a rough prototype and share it with others for feedback to further your design. You will practice user-experience principles to evaluate your idea, identify “I wish” statements, and learn more about the desirability of your proposed solution. This useful feedback will strengthen your design concept and identify new possibilities you may not have considered.
Review and Reflect Session
October 19, 2022, 1:00–2:30 p.m. ET
The Learning Lab will conclude with an application or implementation project (described below) and a closing live session to review and process the learning from the lab.
Lab Implementation Project
Time to put together a high-level plan to implement a “smallest start” effort to guide you to the best possible solution for your users. The goal of this plan is to practice building your innovation community, no matter the size, using design methodologies to collaborate and deliver a small innovation with immediate value. Identify a collaboration technique from the course you are comfortable with and describe how you will use this to brainstorm with your learning community. Identify your goals and how you will measure success. Finally, describe how to collect critical feedback to refine your innovation team’s smallest start.