Designing with Data: The Pivotal Role of Learning Developers in Data-Informed Learning Design
Authors: Kitchenham, A., Holley, D., Biggins, D.
Conference: ALDinHE 2026 Learning Development Conference
Dates: 12/06/2026
Publication Date: 12/06/2026
Abstract:Learning developers play a pivotal role in shaping inclusive and effective student learning experiences across higher education. As institutions adopt learning analytics (LA) and other data-driven technologies, new opportunities emerge for earlier and more targeted interventions that can support a broader and more diverse student population (Kitchenham et al, 2025). However, the creation, interpretation and dissemination of data within institutions are often contested, as Scheffel et al (2022) argue, between the institutional (macro) and instructor/learning developer (micro) levels. At a macro level, institutional data practices are frequently driven by external accountability measures, performance metrics, and regulatory requirements (Tate, 2023). At a micro level, educators and learning developers seek to use data to understand the granular realities of student learning, including engagement, transition, belonging, and skills development (Law and Laing, 2020). These competing priorities can marginalise student-centred interpretations of data and limit the extent to which analytics meaningfully inform learning design (Kitchenham et al, op.cit.).
This paper argues that learning developers occupy a critical advocacy position within this landscape. Positioned between institutional strategy and everyday learning practice, learning developers can act as advocates for students by interrogating dominant data narratives, foregrounding equity and inclusion, and defining analytics to create pedagogically meaningful insights. In doing so, they can challenge what Komljenovic et al (2025) term as deficit-oriented or purely performative uses of data and promote interpretations that reflect the complexity of student experience.
Using illustrative examples from units we lead, namely computer sciences, business and nursing, to compare and contrast the macro and micro perspectives, this session will demonstrate how learning developers can use data to identify points of friction in the student journey, co-design responsive learning resources, and advocate for student-centred, ethical, and context-sensitive data practices. Ultimately, we conclude that learning developers are not merely users of data, but advocates who ensure that data-informed design serves learning, rather than metrics.
Source: Manual