AnneMarie Dorland

BIOGRAPHY:

Dr. AnneMarie Dorland is an Assistant Professor in the Bissett School of Business at Mount Royal University, where she teaches marketing, branding and creative strategy. In her research work she brings together her experience as a creative industries scholar, an organizational ethnographer, a graphic designer and a brand strategist to explore the drivers of organizational creativity and the development of creative capacity as a part of learning, working and leading. Her teaching and research is dedicated to understanding the problem solving practices of the creative economy and to sharing evidence based approaches for creative capacity enhancement and creative economy policy design. In her work at MRU she is also an Associate Director with the Mount Royal University Institute for Community Prosperity’s CityXLab, where she leads a team of student researchers curious about the changing nature of Canada’s creative and cultural future. Dr. Dorland is a contributor to several international publications on how we might adopt the practices of creative thinkers to help organizations - from health care to education to the energy industry - develop and enhance their creative capacity to become better problem solvers and more innovative thinkers. She is relentlessly optimistic about the ways that amplifying creativity in our organizations, our teams and our classrooms can help create meaningful and innovative change. To learn more about Dr. Dorland's work, please visit creative-capacity.com.

PROFESSIONAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Current Work:

AnneMarie Dorland is a faculty member teaching marketing, brand strategy design and design literacy. Her scholarship is focused on using creative mental models to convert curiosity to learning in the classroom through mentorship and in partnership with students. She also serves on Research and Scholarship committees through the MRU Office of Research, Scholarship, and Community Engagement and as a representative on Alberta wide PSE committee supporting the development of design thinking education.

Instructor Profile:

Design thinking, creativity, brand strategy, marketing, branding, ethnography, qualitative research.

Research:

How might we adopt the transformative practice of design thinking in our
organizations, our classrooms and our communities?

As a design thinking researcher and an Assistant Professor of Marketing at the Mount Royal University Bissett School of Business, I explore the way that design thinking can be used to overcome barriers to creativity, to develop meaningful learning experiences, to nurture innovation and leadership, and to help communities and organizations create change – by design.

In my research and scholarship, I examine the ways that design thinking can help students, community members  and policy makers move from insight to innovation. Design thinking is often understood as a formal method for creative problem solving, with the intent to foster innovation (Brown, 2008; Cross, 1984; Liedtka, 2015). Built on a foundation of creative and critical thinking, and fully articulated by designers in fields ranging from product to service design, design thinking can be understood as a mindset or lens through which we can solve wicked (Rittell, 1964) and innovation focused problems. We use design thinking to re-imagine what ought to be; to create change from an existing state to a preferred one, and to bring about possibility in the face of complexity. Increasingly, design thinking processes, mindsets and capabilities are being integrated into creative work in the field of communications, innovation management and organizational change (Brown, 2012). The use of design thinking in these contexts has led to new models of social change (Brown & Wyatt, 2010), civic engagement (Plattner, Meinel & Leifer, 2016) and design driven innovation. However, there is still much work to be done in understanding how design thinking practices can be fully integrated into new educational and workplace cultures, how design thinking can support creative and critical thought in undergraduate student learning, and how design thinking can foster a practice of change-making in a larger community.

Currently, my program of research and scholarship at Mount Royal University focuses on the following:

1. The impact of design thinking practices on undergraduate student learning and on the
   development of 21st century thinking skills among student learners.
2. The role of design thinking in the development of change making, social innovation and
   entrepreneurship practices.
3. The use of design thinking in leadership and organizational change.

I explore these central questions using qualitative and quantitative research methodologies (including surveys, design ethnography and participatory action research) to investigate how students, teachers, leaders, scientists, coaches, doctors and change-makers are doing design thinking. I share what I learn through my research online at doingdesignthinking.com, in research publications and presentations, and through open educational resources with a focus on mobilizing what I’ve learned from designers to engage community and students in the use of design thinking mindsets and processes.

I am currently researching the role of design thinking in Olympic level coaching, the impact of design thinking on student learning (research supported through an MRU 2020 Essential Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Grant) and the role of creative-problem solving methodologies as a tool for deliberate disruption in the Canadian energy sector (research supported through a 2020 Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Explore grant).

Awards:

2024 MRFA Teaching Excellence Award, Mount Royal Faculty Association
2022 SSHRC Insight Grant Award, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada
2021 SoTL Launching Program Award, Mount Royal University, Mokakiiks Centre for SotL
2021 Teaching and Learning Enhancement Grant Award, Mount Royal University, Office of the Provost
2019 SSHRC Explore Research Grant Award, Mount Royal University
2019 Essential ISoTL Research Grant Award, Mount Royal University
2018 Canadian Top 25 Finalist, SSHRC Storytellers Competition, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada
2018 University of Calgary Teaching Award, University of Calgary
2017, Canadian Top 25 Finalist, SSHRC Storytellers Competition
2017, University of Calgary Teaching Award
2014, Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarship Doctoral Award (SSHRC)
2013 – 2018 Communication and Culture Graduate Scholarship
2004, Canada Graduate Scholarship (SSHRC)

Community Service:

When not at the university you may find Dr. Dorland mentoring students through the IABC Mentorship program, conducting professional development workshops through Dress for Success Calgary, or supporting not for profit community members in their brand strategy initiatives.

Publications:

Dorland, A. (2023). Designing our thinking: Examining the effects of experiential learning and design thinking on creativity, innovation and collaboration skills development in the undergraduate classroom. Canadian Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 14(2).

Dorland, A. (2023). Cultivating creativity: Enhancing creative capacity through online microlearning. Marketing Education Review, 33(2), 156-162.

Dorland, A. (2023). Failure to learn: Design thinking and the development of a failure positive mindset in the university classroom. Collected Essays on Learning and Teaching, 14(1).

Dorland, A. (2022). That’s a good question: Using design thinking in undergraduate learning communities. Journal of Effective Teaching in Higher Education, 5(1), 30–52.

Dorland, A., Davison, B., & Borromeo, J. (2021). Creative thinking in the transition to sustainability: a study of creativity-relevant processes in Canadian energy industry organizations. Journal of Creativity and Business Innovation.

Dorland, A., Finch, D., Levallet, N., Raby, S., Ross, S. and Swiston, A. (2020), An entrepreneurial view of universal work-integrated learning. Education + Training, 4(62). 393 – 411.

Dorland, A., Johnston, D., & Henderson, M.J. (2019). Movements in Mentorship: Mapping Relationships in Academic Learning Communities. Papers in Post Secondary Learning and Teaching, 3(1), 47 - 65.

Dorland, A. (2018). Didn’t we solve this one? The function of practice routines in
design thinking. Communication Design, 5(1 & 2), 115 - 130.

Dorland, A. (2017) The view from the studio. Design ethnography and organizational cultures.
Ethnographic Praxis in Industry Conference Proceedings, Wiley Online Library. ISSN: 1559-8918

Dorland, A. (2009). Routinized labour in the graphic design studio. In G. Julier & L. Moor (Eds.),
Design and Creativity: Policy, Management and Practice. London, UK: Berg Publishing. ISBN: 9781847883063

Peer Reviewed Journal Articles

Dorland, A. (2023). Designing our thinking: Examining the effects of experiential learning and design thinking on creativity, innovation and collaboration skills development in the undergraduate classroom. Canadian Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 14(2).

Dorland, A. (2023). Cultivating creativity: Enhancing creative capacity through online microlearning. Marketing Education Review, 33(2), 156-162.

Dorland, A. (2023). Failure to learn: Design thinking and the development of a failure positive mindset in the university classroom. Collected Essays on Learning and Teaching, 14(1).

Dorland, A. (2022). That’s a good question: Using design thinking in undergraduate learning communities. Journal of Effective Teaching in Higher Education, 5(1), 30–52.

Dorland, A., Davison, B., & Borromeo, J. (2021). Creative thinking in the transition to sustainability: a study of creativity-relevant processes in Canadian energy industry organizations. Journal of Creativity and Business Innovation.

Dorland, A., Finch, D., Levallet, N., Raby, S., Ross, S. and Swiston, A. (2020), An entrepreneurial view of universal work-integrated learning. Education + Training, 4(62). 393 – 411.

Dorland, A., Johnston, D., & Henderson, M.J. (2019). Movements in Mentorship: Mapping Relationships in Academic Learning Communities. Papers in Post Secondary Learning and Teaching, 3(1), 47 - 65.

Dorland, A. (2018). Didn’t we solve this one? The function of practice routines in design thinking. Communication Design, 5(1 & 2), 115 - 130.

Peer Reviewed Conference Proceedings
Dorland, A. (2023). Creative capacity development: Examining the impact of online micro credential programs on creativity enhancement in undergraduate classrooms. Marketing Educators Association Conference Proceedings.

Dorland, A. (2017). The view from the studio. Design ethnography and organizational cultures. Ethnographic Praxis in Industry Conference Proceedings, Wiley Online Library.

Dorland, A. (2016). Tell me why you did that: Learning ethnography from the design studio.Ethnographic Praxis in Industry Conference Proceedings, Wiley Online Library.

Books, Reviews and Digital Scholarship

Dorland, A. (2021). Creative Capacity Lab. [online educational resource]. www.creative-capacity.ca

Dorland, A. (2021). Design Thinking Based Learning: A Teaching Guide. Mount Royal University, Bissett School of Business. Calgary, AB.

Dorland, A. (2020). Book Review, Iterate: 10 Lessons in Design and Failure. Journal of Design Research, 17 (2/3/4). 240 – 243.

Barrett-Ng, N., Nowell, L., Anderson, S., Arcellana-Panlilio, M., Brown, M., Chalhoub, S., … Wilcox, G. (2019). The Mentorship Guide for Teaching and Learning. Chronicles of Mentoring & Coaching, (Fall 2019).

Dorland, A. (2013 - 2017). Doing Design Thinking [online educational resource] www.doingdesignthinking.com.

Dorland, A. (2016). “It’s just watching. But it’s billable”: The challenges and possibilities of design ethnography in practice. Perspectives [online resource]. November 29, 2016.

Dorland, A. (2009). Routinized labour in the graphic design studio. In G. Julier & L. Moor (Eds.), Design and Creativity: Policy, Management and Practice. London, UK: Berg Publishing. ISBN: 9781847883063