Learning design for flexible education (FLeD) is an Erasmus+ project coordinated by UAB researchers involving six universities, which aims to create resources to guide university faculty in the design of more flexible, inclusive and effective learning scenarios in digitally mediated contexts.
The project was carried out by a consortium composed of six universities: Universita Degli Studi Di Trento (Italy), Universidade Aberta (Portugal), Universitetet I Stavanger (Norway), Sofia University St Kliment Ohridski (Bulgaria), Universitat Pompeu Fabra (Spain), and Universitat Autònoma De Barcelona (Spain). The UAB team consists of researchers Ingrid Noguera (principal investigator of the project), Laura Arnau, Paloma Valdivia, Ph.D. candidate Paloma Sepúlveda, Ph.D. candidate Alfred Ituen, and postdoctoral researcher Claudia Paredes.
The FLeD project aims to guide university professors in the design of flexible and effective learning scenarios. Building upon the flipped classroom methodology, design patterns and a digital tool for pedagogical decision-making are being created to provide faculty with support in the flexibilization of higher education. "The concern for this topic arose during the COVID-19 pandemic as a result of an internal research study conducted by the Department of Education Theories and Social Pedagogy. It was evident that the digital competence of faculty members has undeniably evolved during and after the pandemic, and the design of learning has become more complex. There is a gap in effective learning in digitally mediated contexts", explains Ingrid Noguera.
FLeD proposes an innovative and distributed management and work organization based on agile methods and design thinking. First, resources will be generated and iteratively validated to guide the design of flipped learning under an inclusive and digital approach. Second, a digital tool will be developed for decision-making in the design of face-to-face, virtual, and blended flipped classroom scenarios. Lastly, dissemination activities will include publications, events, and virtual training to disseminate the knowledge and products developed on effective flexible education to a wide audience. Both the work process and virtual training will take place in a playful atmosphere.
The final product of this project will be a flipped classroom-based pattern with a framework to guide towards flexible, digital, and inclusive education; a lively and collaborative learning design experience through the FLeD digital platform for decision-making; a sustainable space for virtual training; open resources to support the practice and theory of effective flipped learning; and a network of experts in flexible learning.
The FLeD project was awarded to the UAB in the 2022-2025 KA220-HED - Cooperation partnerships in higher education call of the Eramus+ Programme.
