Can online learning design be truly collaborative in higher education? Insights from educators and digital learning professionals

Abstract

As universities seek to diversify and grow online learner cohorts, effective learning design has become increasingly important. Learning design requires multifunctional, interdisciplinary teams of academic and professional staff to bring together pedagogical, content and technological expertise. Few studies have explored the dynamics of such teams and the nature of their collaboration. This article draws on data from seven qualitative case studies across six universities in the United Kingdom, involving academics collaborating with digital learning professionals to design online learning environments. The study is based on 31 interviews and non-participant observations of design team meetings. Our findings highlight how working relationships and role enactments are contingent on individual dispositions, team composition and structural conditions. Meaningful collaboration emerges not from predefined models but through adaptive relational work that supports trust, openness and knowledge integration. The study offers practical and conceptual implications for educators, teaching teams, digital learning teams, researchers and university leadership.

Implications for practice or policy:

• When establishing an interdisciplinary design team, leaders should assess the core and additional expertise available among members to help configure roles, responsibilities and expectations.
• Universities should support teams in developing a shared understanding of collaboration through structured dialogue and reflective practice.
• Some flexibility in role boundaries allows team members to fill gaps, provide beneficial redundancy, extend their expertise or challenge themselves.
• Generative design teams create an environment of mutual support which enables professional learning.