This chapter explores the specific duties of an academic to assist with decision making to aid in making the progression to learner-centricity. Academics are not only focused on flexibility and accessibility, but also other factors like resources and reasoning behind the instructional design approach to ensure proper working practices. Guidance is always needed whenever starting with developing strategies to support course delivery. A theoretical model is used to assist within avoiding issues of ‘one-size-fits-all'. The first section looks at guidelines that should be taken into consideration of course content, and how the academics need to have clear, well-defined, fixed goals that are relevant to the learner.
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The nature of academics are often involved in planning and preparing course materials, through addressing issues of decision making and deciding how to make education more desirable and flexibility. Education must fulfill expectations not just from the learners, but also for strategic planning and management (Cervero & Wilson, 1994). Garet, Porter, Desimone, Birman, & Yoon, (2001) agrees with Cervero, & Wilson, (1994) and suggests that constant training is needed to comply with strategic planning. Through strategic planning, training explore aspects of “analysis, planning, implementation and evaluation” (Chang, 2008). Kotler & Murphy, (1981) indicate that institutions must look at patterns, within the education sector and how strategically an institution can implement organizational structures to support new trends not just within how the delivery of education should be but also trends with new technologies, and funding. Within this chapter, we are only interested in how education is delivered. It is crucial to take on bearing about mapping a relationship between planning, activities, and theory within education to ensure educational growth and transition from one level to another (Care and Scanlan, 2001). It is important not to offer a one-fit-all approach as this leads to failure and can cause tension within the classroom (Jones, Armour, & Potrac, 2002; Zayim, Yildirim, & Saka, 2006). According to Li, Öchsner, & Hall, “The traditional approach of lecture-based theory teaching results in passive learning and seems to be ineffective and less suitable for training modern students to meet the current demands of industry” (Li, Öchsner, & Hall, 2019, p4). A learner-centricity approach (Bush and Mott, 2009; Costello, 2017), is vital for a more comprehensive and bespoke educational experience when assisting with retention when applying “realistic conditions, experience and development of teamwork, self-motivation and student ownership” (Li, Öchsner, & Hall, 2019, p5) to the educational setting. Kennette, & Wilson, (2019) builds upon learner-centricity by indicating that education should be about reducing barriers to learning when taking consideration of student perceptions, faculty perceptions, usefulness, and usage when designing learning. McGarr (2009) indicates that it is not all about teaching methods but finding a suitable way of enhancing the learning experience through accessibility and flexibility.