Elements in Your Pathway Design

Here we explain your pathway design options using the ideas of structure, content and character.
 

 
Structure (aka 'Learning Design')

The structure of your pathway is largely pre-defined by the Gaia University community and is expressed as a learning design which is submitted for approval to our accreditors. You can think of the learning design as a specification of how you will show the evidence of your learning and unlearning (the number of output packets you will produce, their size, how they will be structured, their character, and so on).

The learning design is a tight element of design, meaning that you cannot change it (although you have a good deal of control over the pace at which you proceed through the learning design by renegotiating output packet due dates and taking leave). See below for a more detailed explication of the learning design.


Content

The content of your pathway is a loose(r) element of design over which you have significant control, so long as the work you do meets the ethical goals of Gaia University. You determine the content by your choice of projects and how you engage with them.

In addition to working within the ethics, you can choose to work within two primary frameworks: Integrative Ecosocial Design (IESD) and Open Topic (OT) or the particular topic of your diploma program.

At the bachelor's level, Integrative Ecosocial Design is suited to people seeking to enhance their design skills in every aspect of their lives, and is our primary program. Open Topic in not available at the bachelor's level. At the master's level, your choice of IESD assumes you already have permaculture/eco-settlement design knowledge and experience. Open Topic does not focus on the development of professional design skills. Visit our Open Topic page to see examples of some Open Topic fields that Gaia University associates have developed as the core of their program work.
 
Character

A powerful and significant understanding threaded through Gaia University pathways is the validation of experiential or action-based learning. Your first work in any program is to document your life experience and the learning/unlearning derived from these experiences to show your capacity to reflect on your experience and action so far. This reflection is called a Life and Career Review.

In addition we ask you to work with goal and intention setting by generating a Learning Intentions and Pathway Design document as a second piece of work. Here you identify learning/unlearning you are seeking to invoke during your program and identify the projects in which you will engage in order to bring them about.

This looking back and looking forward strategy - harvesting from the past and visioning for the future - is used again at the end of your program when you reflect back on the program period to identity key learning and unlearning along with a look forward to your post-program life and career. This reflection is called a Learning Review.
 
The Learning Design Explained Further
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The Gaia University community uses a standard learning design (order) combined with almost infinite flexibility of focus (chaos) to achieve its chaordic (blended chaos and order) program design.

Every associate works to produce five output packets a year. These are delivered as digital portfolios via the Gaia University eLearning (GEL) web site. Visit the site and log in as guest through the 'guest portal' to see sample portfolios. A full year's collection of output packets includes:

• a first year of program Life and Career Review
• a Learning Intentions & Pathway Design
• 3-4 project reports or designs
• an end-of-year Learning Review (which may be incorporated into your end of year presentation.

Note that an output packet can contain descriptions of progress and process on more than one project.

Each output packet passes through a comprehensive and transparent multi-tiered review process (by you, your peers and your advisors) which is open to moderation (review by a second professional reviewer if required). The full collection is then externally reviewed by one of our nominated external reviewers, who are registered with IMCA, our Gaia University accrediting body, and are each deeply accomplished world-changers in their fields.

Associates are invited to maintain a permanent ePortfolio with Gaia University (using the popular Mahara open source software) and can freely export the material to external websites.