Abstract
esign education is at the crossroads of re-defining itself in the midst of the COVID pandemic. Design educators are now part of a global movement to work in isolation through web-based communication and collaboration tools, which are also at the heart of a decentralised workforce encountered in the design profession. With its social isolation requirements, many universities have closed down their physical classes and lecture halls and have required educators to abruptly transition their courses to an online delivery. Although this transition is not universally endorsed, it has forced the hand of design educators who have been reluctant to jump into the online world with both feet. As the literature reveals, many blended learning solutions have been trialled but few design educators have made online teaching and learning an ongoing building block of their design courses. This chapter examines the outcomes of this foundational shift from face-to-face design studio teaching to online by surveying design students and educators at an Australian university. The results are surprisingly optimistic but there are challenges that need to be addressed by institutions to make this transition work in the post-pandemic world. The central research question is: Will design educators who are now working in an online environment go back to the physical classroom and lecture halls once the pandemic restrictions ease? Or is online design education now a central part of the design curriculum?
Highlights
Design studio education is derived from the ‘atelier’ method from the ‘Ecole Des Beaux Arts’ model (1819-1914) which was adapted by the influential Bauhaus School (1919-1932)
That resistance has collapsed under the rapid spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has forced design educators to cope with a world without walls
The synchronous online mode is the delivery model most institutions used during the COVID-19 pandemic–it is often referred to as remote teaching
Summary
Design studio education is derived from the ‘atelier’ method from the ‘Ecole Des Beaux Arts’ model (1819-1914) which was adapted by the influential Bauhaus School (1919-1932). A culmination of this dialogue is often the ‘crit’ or critique, that occurs frequently in formal and informal ways from educators, tutors, peers or visiting professionals (Blythman et al, 2007; Fleischmann, 2012; 2016) In these critiques, students pin their work-in-progress to the wall or present their projects more formally to receive feedback from the educator and/or peers, and at times from design professionals. Students pin their work-in-progress to the wall or present their projects more formally to receive feedback from the educator and/or peers, and at times from design professionals This ongoing process of receiving feedback and guidance is intended to lead to improvement (learning) through a cycle of action and reflection (Schön, 1987). The challenge for design educators has been to translate this studio pedagogy into an online environment, on such short notice
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