For more than fifteen years teaching full-time at Western Sydney University, Dr Rachel Morley is more than just an award-winning academic in communications and creative industries – she’s been a catalyst for curiosity, courage, and creativity.
In her classroom, learning looks more like play: students build using LEGO, test bold ideas, and lean into uncertainty. Rachel doesn’t just teach theories – she creates space for exploration.
Her philosophy? ‘Life doesn’t give you a rubric. There’s no one right answer’.
From a ‘theatre kid’ to an academic bringing LEGO into the classroom, Rachel’s path has been shaped by saying ‘yes’ to the unexpected. Now she is empowering her students to do the same.
(Rachel facilitates LEGO SERIOUS PLAY tutorials in class- Photo by Rachel Morley, 2024)
From LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® to nurturing her journey like LEGO
Rachel is a certified LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® method facilitator and brings this revolutionary learning practice into her classrooms.
Originally developed in the late 1990s by the LEGO Group and two Swiss academics, LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® moved beyond bricks – it was about breaking mental walls. Born out of a need to reimagine corporate strategy, the method encourages participants to use LEGO® elements to model ideas, solve problems, and reflect through hands-on creativity.
At its heart lies a powerful belief: that everyone has the equal right to contribute, and that learning and innovation flourish when all voices are heard. It invites creativity at your own pace, encourages collaboration, and opens space for different perspectives to thrive.
In Rachel’s creative industries tutorials, students are given a challenge: use LEGO to design a visionary library. Soon, fingers are moving, ideas are flowing: an aquarium-themed library, a robot library – no idea is too far-fetched. What starts as play, a concept sometimes viewed as “childish”, becomes serious design thinking.
(Students engaging in a LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY tutorial – Photo by: Rachel Morley, 2024)
‘It shifts everything’, Rachel says. ‘Suddenly the room isn’t about right answers, it’s about exploring and discovering. When students build something with their hands, the power dynamic flattens. Quiet voices find their place. And the learning becomes embodied: it’s not just happening in the head, but through the whole self’.
Interestingly, LEGO® isn’t just part of Rachel’s teaching – it also echoes something in her personal journey. Before becoming a lecturer, Rachel grew up immersed in plays, stories, and the world of performance. She attended a performing arts high school and spent years trying out all sorts of creative roles – journalism, backup dancing, research, community work, creative writing, and storytelling.
Her journey wasn’t a linear climb – it was a mosaic of mismatched, meaningful moments. Like building with LEGO®, each experience added a block to who Rachel is today.
The foundation block: Curiosity and willingness to take risks
‘Those early experiences taught me to follow my curiosity, find my people, and to not be afraid to look silly while doing it’, she laughs. ‘I often looked very, very silly’.
But behind the humor was a deeply serious message.
She believes creativity isn’t optional, and not just for creative industry students. It’s essential to problem-solving, flexibility, resilience, and joy in learning.
‘I try to create environments where students feel like they can try, fail, laugh, and grow. Experimentation and play are where so much learning happens – personally and professionally’.
She desires to position classrooms like ‘events’, in which students must show up to experience the surprise of what really happens during class time.
Her appetite for trying new things helped her discover what excited her (and what didn’t). It’s the same mindset she encourages in her students.
‘I see so many students who are already locked in after graduating, afraid to make mistakes. But I always tell them: there’s no one ‘right’ path. Students can try a taste of everything to see what really excites you, what really drains you. It’s worth it. That’s how you come to discover who you really are’.
The connecting block: Listening, inclusivity, and building safe places
For Rachel, teaching isn’t just about sharing knowledge. It’s about connection – and making students genuinely feel like they belong.
‘I always try to teach from the assumption that everyone belongs’, she says. ‘Even if the world hasn’t always told them that’.
(Rachel at the Innovation Challenge with her students – Photo by: Sally Tsoutas, 2024)
Inclusivity isn’t an add-on in her classroom. It’s the design principle.
‘I’m deeply committed to creating safe learning environments where students can bring whatever parts of themselves to the space. For that to succeed, care needs to be part of the structure, not just the vibe’.
Rachel constantly seeks feedback from students so if things go wrong, she adjusts and tries again, just like playing with different LEGO® blocks.
And sometimes, she shares parts of her own story in class to make space for others.
‘I think that kind of mutual, respectful vulnerability can be a powerful foundation for learning’.
Especially today. After COVID-19, and in a world of on-demand lectures and generative AI, it’s not mandatory for students to come to class. They can gain access to lectures online, but what can’t be downloaded is genuine care and connection.
‘Sometimes the most powerful lessons happen when we slow down, tune in and create space for what really matters’.
Polishing her ‘LEGO®’, every day
As an educator, Rachel believes her role isn’t just to teach, but to learn – every single day. Like building a LEGO® set without a fixed manual, she’s constantly adding, rearranging, and refining her own blocks of knowledge, creativity, and care.
Her upcoming trip to New York with fellow academic Dr Nicole Bridges and eighteen Western undergraduate students is another piece in that evolving mosaic. Rachel and Nicole will take the students to a rich curated experience: from backstage conversations with Broadway crew to intimate meetups with Australian creatives now thriving in New York City.
(Rachel and her students at a New York City study tour – Photo by: Brayden Gennari, 2023)
‘I love being there when that spark happens’, she says. ‘When a student meets someone, they relate to and thinks, “Wait… this could possibly be me one day”’.
In 2023, Rachel co-directed Belonging, an 18-minute documentary about young people in the foster care system who grew up without access to their own identity. The film is a mutual effort of hers with Dr Millisa Deitz and Vincent Tay, two other Western academics.
The film has already screened in London, Iceland, and at a few smaller community events; but its official launch is set for May 20th 2025 at Western’s Parramatta City Campus. Open to students, staff, and the wider community, the event invites attendees to reflect on the power of storytelling, lived experience, and how the care system can do better – through film, panel discussions, and shared conversations.
A home at Western Sydney University
‘I’ve always said that Western made me an academic- not the other way around’.
Rachel feels deeply connected to the University, its mission, and its people. ‘I love that we have staff and students from all over the world. That richness is our greatest source’.
She sees the University as a ‘doors open’ kind of place – one that nurtures dreams, fighters, and those who have had to work a little harder. ‘It shouldn’t be that way, but it builds incredible resilience’.
Having grown up in Western Sydney herself, she’s proud to teach here – where first-in-family students, artists, carers, activists, and quiet dreamers all share the same space.
‘I’m constantly inspired by our students. They’re ambitious, generous, and grounded. And I’m proud to be part of a university that believes in potential, and which invests in community’.
Like a LEGO® model built piece by piece, Rachel’s classroom – and her journey – reminds us that it’s okay not to have certainty yet. That joy, growth, and identity can all come from trial, error, and creativity.
So the next time you walk into class, don’t ask, “What’s the right answer?”
Ask “What can I build today?”
