Towards new educational futures: regenerative learning through life design

The communities in which we live no matter where on the planet we are placed, are full of nested crises which some refer to as ‘VUCA’ standing for Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous. In such a time, it is little surprise that educators are increasingly scanning the horizon for new forms of education to help us build the societies we might imagine for our future. But what should such education look like?

This presentation illuminates a possible answer to this question by drawing together the work of several leading authors including Biesta, Andreotti, Wahl, Viela, van den Berg and others, to lay out a new path which calls for us to redefine who we are so that we can redesign what we do. This new kind of education supports the growth of regenerative learning and acknowledges how the seemingly external (to us) nested VUCA crises that we experience are interrelated, often caused by us and are connected to our internal (personal) crises and mental health issues.

Using this theoretical lens, we discuss a module that harnesses the concept of Life Design, helping learners to creatively imagine/re-imagine their future potential, set amid the challenges and opportunities of contemporary society. Some of the challenges higher education faces today - post-COVID - include promoting students’ sense of belonging and participation in their higher education; their engagement with future employers and readiness for the workplace; and student success coaching through supporting the design of learners' future personal and professional pathways.

Life Design has grown internationally from work originally undertaken in Stanford University where it has become among the most popular courses currently taken by students. In our context - a university setting in Ireland - over 200 students have engaged with Life Design. Students have also participated in extensive evaluation of the module, which constitutes a novel offering in the curriculum; this is the first time Life Design has been offered for-credit (5 ECTS) in a European university. The evaluation data collected demonstrate the impact and potential of Life Design in promoting student belonging and regenerative learning.

This session will practically engage participants with Life Design methods they can employ in their own daily lives/work, or integrate into their teaching, learning and assessment to promote engagement with key concepts in regenerative learning. It will include creative and narrative assessment approaches for Life Design and regenerative learning, and interactive orals and digital storytelling.