A Design Sprint towards a Four-Year Curriculum in Transdisciplinary Studies

Abstract

In this design case, we describe our design process that resulted in recommendations for a four-year undergraduatecurriculum in transdisciplinary studies. The case is centered on a fast-paced, two-week design “sprint” undertaken by thetwo authors, which involved consolidating and synthesizing program evaluation data and course designs from the threeprevious years of a novel undergraduate transdisciplinary degree program, creating design blueprints that outlinedprogram-level objectives, and identifying recommendations for future course-level design. In the process of completingthese hand-off materials for the incoming team of instructors, we had to work through substantial ambiguity, balancing the needs of identified learner personas, the capabilities of existing instructional team members, and the end goalof producing students that had a flexible, personal transdisciplinary identity. This case describes the design activitieswe used, the instances of failure that precipitated our design sprint, the instructional and institutional constraintswe faced, the blueprints for future instructional design we created on the course and program level, and the ultimatefailure of the degree program we sought to support.