Learning Innovation is essential if higher education is to optimize all students' academic success. As an institution, higher education must evaluate whether instructional practices focus on teaching or learning. In their book ‘Learning Innovation and the Future of Higher Education’, Kim and Maloney (2020) argue that innovating higher education demands a ‘turn towards learning.’ But, for this turn to occur, higher education must embrace Learning Designers as learning experts and educational partners. Different from instructional technologists and content area experts, Learning Designers are scholar-practitioners trained in the discipline of learning science.

In respect to Graduation Initiative 2025 and the CSU's commitment to equitable access to academic achievement, Learning Design/ers ensure courses present inclusive and equitable learning experiences to meet diverse learning needs. Inclusive learning applies the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Framework, founded on learning science research. Courses designed to meet the UDL Framework increase student retention and persistence (Tobin & Behling, 2018).

Teaching and Learning Innovations at CSU Channel Islands define the role of Learning Designer (LDs) as a pedagogical expert, project manager, educator, and scholar adept in the application of learning science to inform course design and define instructional best practice across all instructional modalities (i.e. Face-to-Face, Online, and Blended/Hybrid).

This presentation illustrates how partnerships between Academic Programs, Learning Designers, and Faculty are turning one institution toward learning. We will share two Learning Design projects that illustrate how partnerships between learning experts (LD’s) and content experts (Faculty) lead to innovative instructional models:

Learning Design Project 1 features an LDs implementation of an instructional model, leveraging embedded peer tutors (EPTs) to address the challenge of a face-to-face pre-requisite economics course with a high DWF rate.

Learning Design Project 2 features an LD’s efforts to support faculty in the design and implementation of high-touch, interactive humanized instructional practices while moving a large enrollment introductory sociology course online, and address the challenge of declining student enrollment and significant DWF rates.

To provide interaction during the presentation, the audience will share challenges specific to student learning on a digital wordcloud, ask questions of the presenters live or using the Twitter hashtag #turntowardlearning along with the conference hashtag. Also, through think-pair-share, attendees will discuss challenges/strategies in guiding their institution toward learning innovation.

We will not describe an easy process, nor will we share a technological fix. Instead, we offer knowledge, skills, and techniques we believe essential in building collaborative, trusting partnerships at the institutional, program and course level. We will share successes and lessons learned, models for high impact practices in low resource environments, and propose a process for building collaborative and trusting partnerships that bridge learning, technology and content experts, to deliver equitable, inclusive and engaging learning experiences to advance student achievement. We believe this process can help participants identify actionable steps to help their institution build instructional dream teams able to lead and innovate a ‘turn toward learning.’