Design Course Research Articles

Evaluating Technological and Instructional Factors Influencing the Acceptance of AIGC-Assisted Design Courses

Purpose- This study aims to explore the key factors influencing design students' acceptance of AIGC-assisted design courses, providing specific strategies for course design to help students better learn this new technology and enhance their competitiveness in the design industry. The research focuses on evaluating technological and course-level factors, providing actionable insights for course developers. Design/Methodology/Approach- The research establishes and validates evaluation dimensions and indicators affecting acceptance using structured questionnaires to collect data and employs factor analysis and weight analysis to determine the importance of each factor. Findings- The results of the study reveal that the main dimensions influencing student acceptance include technology application and innovation, teaching content and methods, and extracurricular learning support and resources. Regarding indicators, data privacy, timeliness of extracurricular learning support, and availability of extracurricular learning resources are identified as the most critical factors. Originality- The uniqueness of this study lies in providing specific course design strategies for AIGC-assisted design courses based on the weight analysis results for different dimensions and indicators. These strategies aim to help students better adapt to these courses and enhance their acceptance. Furthermore, the conclusions and recommendations of this study offer valuable insights for educational institutions and instructors, promoting further optimization and development of AIGC-assisted design courses.

Teaching and Learning to Support Climate-Neutral Transitions: Exploring Opportunities and Challenges for Interdisciplinary Design Courses

Students’ individual and collective learning processes in interdisciplinary teaching and learning activities that integrate prototype-oriented courses present an opportunity for further exploration. This is particularly relevant given the broader need for capacity-building to support climate-neutral transitions. This contribution draws on an exploratory workshop-in-workshop (WiW) approach to understand and evaluate students learning experiences in an experimental and interdisciplinary design course setting. This experience was embedded in the ENHANCE Alliance, a European network cooperation to innovate research and education in science and technology. The inductive analysis and results from the WiW approach draw upon surveys, group discussions, mapping exercises, and reflections with students. These indicate strong appreciation for problem-based and prototype-oriented teaching along with learning experiences as a part of their individually differentiated but collectively shared learning trajectories. The final insights acknowledge the method as an effective way to enhance instructor-student relationship dynamics and interdisciplinary opportunities. Future improvements to the interdisciplinary design format are discussed and highlight students desires for open and safe learning environments that are more transdisciplinary in nature.

The commodification of creativity: Integrating Generative Artificial Intelligence in higher education design curriculum

ABSTRACT The academic questions posed by the introduction of Generative AI (GenAI) into design higher education are many and reflect educators’uneasiness about its ethical use. Like any new radical technology breakthrough, GenAI straddles a pedagogical fence that divides opinion and focuses on a basic question: How can design educators harness Generative AI’s power without compromising the fundamentals of design education? This study contributes to foundational research on how to incorporate GenAI into design education without compromising and commodifying the creative process. This research examines design students’ experiences using GenAI in the context of studio practice of a second-year visual communication design course in a Bachelor of Design programme. Reflective comments are analysed and used to inform recommendations for a structured pedagogic approach for implementing GenAI as a building block for the design creative process into the curriculum.

Portfolio Assessment and Contact-Hour-Based Evaluation (ChbE) in Architectural Education

In Architectural Education, the assessment of design courses involves the collective participation of the studio masters, the jurors, and the department board to assess the student’s ability to interpret and proffer solutions from thought processes to design proposals. Unfortunately, the assessment process is heterogeneous in the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) accredited Schools of Architectural Technology, as institutions deploy atypical assessment scoresheets with varying variables and concomitant weightings. In most cases, such non-standard assessment variables laud students’ cognitive ability to the detriment of their affective and psychomotor persuasions in design development. This has structurally flawed the measurement of performance in the design ethos of Architectural Technology students. This issue necessitated the inception of this study towards defining the limits of assessment and evaluation protocols of design courses in Architectural Education and determining the variables that constitute criteria for assessment of portfolios. The study involved four (4) NBTE-accredited institutions that offer Architectural Technology. The methodology adopted structured questionnaires and interviews, observations, comparative analysis of scoresheets from such institutions, and archival retrieval of policy documents. Purposive sampling was adopted to administer structured questionnaires to 45 lecturers out of 63 lecturers serving in these institutions thus constituting 71.43% of the academic staff population. Results revealed poor evaluation of design miscellany in Architectural Education and the adoption of an incompatible assessment structure of design courses in the October 2020 NBTE curriculum for Architectural Technology. The study recommended the adoption of a standard Portfolio Assessment Sheet (PAS) and nouveau Contact-hour-based Evaluation module (ChbE) for measuring competence in design miscellany. A review of the assessment structure of design courses in the October 2020 NBTE curriculum and appraisal of the subsisting policy on Architectural Education were also considered imperative.

Non-Linear Software Documentation with Interactive Code Examples

Documentation enables sharing knowledge between the developers of a technology and its users. Creating quality documents, however, is challenging: Documents must satisfy the needs of a large audience without being overwhelming for individuals. We address this challenge with a new document format, named Casdoc. Casdoc documents are interactive resources centered around code examples for programmers. Explanations of the code elements are presented as annotations that the readers reveal based on their needs. We evaluated Casdoc in a field study with over 300 participants who used 126 documents as part of a software design course. During the study, the majority of participants adopted Casdoc instead of a baseline format and used interactive annotations to reveal additional information about the code example. Although participants collectively viewed the majority of the documents’ content, they individually revealed a minority of the annotations they saw. We gathered insights into five aspects of Casdoc that can be applied to other formats, and highlighted five lessons learned to improve navigability in online documents.

Preparing Educators to Teach and Create With Generative Artificial Intelligence

Teachers skilled in using generative artificial intelligence (GAI) have advantages in terms of increased productivity and augmented instructional capabilities. Alongside the rapid advancement of GAI, teachers require authentic learning opportunities to build the confidence and expertise necessary for engaging with these technologies creatively and responsibly. This article provides an illustrative case of preparing preservice and in-service teachers with the knowledge, skills, and mindsets to teach and create with GAI. Using a self-study method to investigate professional practices, we analyzed the curriculum, instruction, and assessment in an upper-level undergraduate course in multimedia design and production. Thirty-five teachers engaged in experiential activities focussed on developing artificial intelligence (AI) literacy, alongside a collaborative assignment to co-author an open-access textbook, Teaching and Creating With Generative Artificial Intelligence. To support equitable and inclusive access to the educational benefits offered by AI, the Student Artificial Intelligence Literacy (SAIL) framework was developed. SAIL facilitates student AI literacy through curriculum engagement and three distinct types of interactions: cognitive, socio-emotional, and instructor-guided. Building on lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic regarding the issues with technology training for teachers in Canada, five recommendations are offered to facilitate the meaningful integration of AI literacy in teacher education programs.

The Role of Teachers in Teaching Cross-School Courses

Taking credits across schools is a new teaching model and a bold attempt for design courses in the context of new media. The rise of online teaching has made many people exclaim that real-life teachers will also quit the podium, and courses taken across schools will be Teaching practice still needs continuous exploration, research, improvement and development, and it also requires the joint efforts of teachers from both the construction and use of courses in order to maximize teaching results.

Research on the Teaching Reform of Environmental Art Design Course under the 1+X Certificate System

The "1+X" certificate system, namely the "diploma certificate + several vocational skill level certificates" system, is an important reform task proposed in the "National Vocational Education Reform Implementation Plan". This system aims to strengthen the integration of 1+X certificate pilot and professional construction, curriculum construction, teacher team construction, etc. through the combination of academic certificates and vocational skill level certificates, in order to improve the quality of vocational education and students' employment ability. The "vocational education + additional vocational qualifications" system in foreign countries has a high degree of similarity with China's 1+X system, both of which encourage students to obtain vocational education diplomas while actively obtaining various types of vocational skill certificates, expanding students' employability, promoting the connotation development of vocational education, and connecting vocational education with the needs of economic and social development to improve the quality of talent cultivation. For environmental art majors, this system provides new opportunities and directions for professional teaching reform.

Engineering Academics and Students’ Views on the Phases of Teaching and Learning of Engineering Mathematics in an Antenna Design Course

An antenna design course, naturally, aims to teach students to produce an antenna device, which is a vital tool in technological development. Typically, this course is taught and designed in an abstract manner, which may be an inappropriate approach to teaching it. This approach could be due to engineering academics and students’ poor understanding of how to model mathematics concepts. As a result, antennae experts suggest that antenna technology is a difficult device when it comes to mathematical descriptions, which has resulted in a sudden loss of interest among students in a school of engineering. Thus, this paper reports on the four phases of teaching antenna design using mathematical modelling approaches, with the specific aim of resolving the difficulties encountered in teaching an antenna design course. In achieving this teaching, the study explains the approaches and impact of teaching Mathematical Modelling (MM) in antenna design among engineering academics. In this study, the sample population included one engineering academic and four engineering students. The data were collected using a qualitative research approach, utilising an interview guide and an open-ended questionnaire. Finally, the results of this study confirmed the four major phases of teaching antenna design using engineering mathematics.

Synergizing Systems Thinking and Technology-Enhanced Learning for Sustainable Education Using the Flow Theory Framework

In an era where digital technologies are integral to daily life and sustainable education is increasingly critical, developing higher-order thinking skills with appropriate information and communication technology (ICT) support is crucial for achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The purpose of this study was to examine synergies of systems thinking and technology-enhanced learning from the perspective of flow theory within the context of sustainable education. We surveyed more than 65 pre-service preschool teachers engaged in a design, technology, and engineering (DTE) course at the University of Ljubljana. Mapping of systems thinking revealed that pre-service preschool teachers needed support regarding feedback and understanding the interrelationship dimension of systems thinking—essential components of sustainable education. Predictive and mediation analyses yielded noteworthy results. Participants in the ICT-enhanced DTE course rated their cognitive and social engagement above the mid-point of the scale, with this higher engagement correlating with higher systems thinking crucial for sustainable education. In contrast, their aesthetic engagement was below the mid-point of the scale. Experiencing a flow state during ICT activities positively influenced systems thinking, particularly in terms of clear goals and autotelic experiences. Flow theory thus emerges as a solid and appropriate framework to use for studying synergies in technology-enhanced systems thinking for sustainable education. These findings underscore the importance of integrating systems thinking into curricula to enhance learning outcomes and prepare students for future challenges, thereby contributing to the achievement of SDGs through sustainable education.

Pengaruh Penggunaan Gadget dan Self Regulated Learning terhadap Minat Belajar pada Mata Kuliah Web Design Mahasiswa Pendidikan Administrasi Perkantoran

This study aims to investigate the influence of gadget use and self-regulated learning on the learning interest of students majoring in Office Administration Education who take Web Design courses. Through a quantitative approach, data was collected from odd semester students in the 2023/2024 academic year using a validated questionnaire. The results of multiple linear regression analysis show that gadget use and self-regulated learning significantly affect learning interest, with a coefficient of determination (R²) of 0.65, which means 65% of the variation in learning interest can be explained by these two variables. Hypothesis testing showed an F-statistic value of 24.56 (df = 2, sig < 0.01), confirming a significant influence between the independent variables and study interest. The results of this study indicate that gadget usage and self-regulated learning have a significant positive influence on the learning interest of students majoring in office administration majoring in web design.

Using reflection and dialog feedback to promote the development of situated and dynamic pedagogical content knowledge

This study explores the reflection and dialog feedback of preservice teachers (PTs) in a one-semester chemistry teaching design and practice course with the aim of improving their situated and dynamic pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). Using a collective case study method, reflections and dialogs from 18 PTs across six teaching cycles were analyzed. The research results indicate that teaching reflection focuses on five themes: the diversity of student situations, the functionality of teaching contexts, the consistency of teaching content, the construction of teacher‒student dialog, and the progression of subject practice activities. The reflection of the PTs strengthened meaningful teaching content and corresponding specific skills, and effective dialog feedback provided external evaluation standards. The reflection prompted teachers to evaluate from multiple perspectives and levels and provided important insights to promote the development of situated and dynamic PCK. This study concludes with a discussion of the practical implications and potential for future research to develop a situated and dynamic PCK for PTs.

Slow and Steady or Fast and Furious: An Analysis of Completion Duration in open.uom.lk

The open.uom.lk platform is an open learning platform developed by the University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka, offering free asynchronous online IT related courses. The platform was developed as an initiative to meet the growing human capital requirement of the IT industry in Sri Lanka, one of the only sectors showing strong growth even during the country’s recent economic crisis. In the two years since the release of its flagship course Trainee Full-Stack Developer, there have been over 270,000 enrolled learners. The course consists of six subjects covering Python programming, web design, and a professional practice module that includes a capstone project. Despite the massive number of enrollments, as in many other MOOCs, completion rates remain low. For instance, for the two beginner courses in programming and web design, into which all participants are enrolled automatically, completion rates stand at 7-10%. Completion rates for subsequent subjects are higher given that enrollment is conditional on completing prerequisites. From a planning perspective, it is not just estimates of how many participants complete the programs but also the time they take to do so that are integral for determining the future growth of the IT industry. As such, this study aims to develop a model for course completion using survival analysis which has the advantage of being able to model censored data (e.g. when duration is unknown due to non-completion) and provide forecasts of completion rates at different points in time. The analysis uses student activity completion reports and demographic information of participants including employment and educational background. The findings suggest that the course interaction variables, particularly the speed of completing early activities, are more important for predicting course completion than the demographic variables, though education and employment status are also significantly correlated with completion. The survival model could then be used for purposes of predicting both the completion probability as well as the timeframe within which the completion may be expected.

Exploration of Implementation Pathways for Ideological and Political Education in Mechanical Design Courses within the Context of Vocational Education

With the continuous development of vocational education, mechanical design courses have increasingly integrated ideological and political education (IPE) to achieve the goal of comprehensive education. However, effectively incorporating IPE into mechanical design courses still faces numerous challenges. This paper aims to explore the implementation paths of IPE in mechanical design courses within the context of vocational education by analyzing existing teaching goals and the current application of IPE in vocational education, identifying both advantages and shortcomings in the implementation of IPE in courses. Furthermore, based on the theoretical framework of IPE, the paper discusses its application in vocational education and the specific value it brings to mechanical design courses. Finally, strategies for integrating IPE content, innovative teaching methods and approaches, as well as innovative pathways for teacher roles and team building are proposed, providing theoretical support and practical guidance for the effective implementation of IPE in mechanical design courses.

The Prevalence of Specific Learning Difficulties in Higher Education: A Study of UK Universities Across 12 Academic Years.

Specific learning and attention difficulties are often first identified in childhood, but they can cause lifelong academic and occupational challenges. We explored the prevalence of these difficulties and the representation of sex and ethnicity amongst all first-year students in UK higher education across 12 years-almost 5.7 million students-and compared course preferences and University destinations of those with and without difficulties. Students declaring learning/attention difficulties were more likely to be White or of Mixed ethnicity and least likely to be Asian. They were more likely to attend specialist HE institutions or newer universities, and more likely to study courses in creative arts and design, agriculture and architecture than law, languages, computer science, and mathematical sciences. The number of students declaring difficulties has increased year on year, in actual terms and as a proportion of the student body, suggesting that efforts to increase diversity and inclusion have been successful. However, differences remain between students with and without learning/attention difficulties in terms of ethnicity, subjects studied, and HE institutions attended, so more needs to be done to identify and address reasons for this. While this paper reports data from UK students, it addresses an international question and invites similar explorations of other national datasets.

Analysing the challenges of developing English for Specific Purpose (ESP) courses for Sino-Foreign cooperative educational programs

With the increasing globalization and internationalization of higher education in China, Sino-foreign cooperative education programs are also flourishing. The English language and English language curricula and teaching are unavoidable topics in Sino-foreign cooperative education programs. The development of English for Specific Purposes (ESP) courses is directly related to the quality of talent cultivation in Sino-foreign cooperative educational programs. To promote the successful implementation of Sino-foreign cooperative education programs, this study takes the Sino-German Institute of Industrial Design (IDI) as an example to explore the challenges encountered in the development and practice of the English for Industrial Design (ESP) course under the Sino-foreign cooperative education program. This study aims to identify the current challenges of the ESP courses to enable students better to adapt to the foreign learning mode in advanced study and integrate into foreign cultures. This study utilized a qualitative research method of semi-structured interviews. In-depth interviews were conducted with one IDI director and two faculty members of IDI's ESP course. They were questioned about the problems and difficulties they encountered while conducting the ESP course. The study’s results indicate challenges in the IDI’s ESP courses concerning the background of course students, the selection of course materials, the quality of course teachers, and the teaching methods of the courses. The study analyzed the current state of ESP course development in Sino-foreign cooperative education programs, the challenges that significantly affect students’ academic performance, and the successful teaching of IDI Sino-foreign cooperative education.

The Effectiveness of a MOOC as a Form of Professional Learning: An Examination of an Adolescent Learner Social and Emotional Well-Being Course

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) provide borderless opportunities to engage with content and ideas, with prospective participants from around the globe being able to easily register. The course featured in this study focused on the social and emotional well-being of adolescents, selected because of a recognized need for professional learning related to this topic. It was purposely designed for delivery as a MOOC and was designed as a 6h program around four topics to be completed over two weeks in asynchronous mode. It was delivered seven times from 2019 to 2023, with 32,969 individuals enrolled across these deliveries. The effectiveness of engaging in the course for professional learning purposes is of particular interest to this study. To that end, a convergent mixed methods study was conducted. First, quantitative and qualitative survey data collected at various course stages were examined to reveal the demographic characteristics of participants and their experiences in the course using data from surveys and comments about their experiences. The findings revealed, among other factors, that 65% were female, with just under half (47%) aged 45 years or less, nearly half (44%) held a bachelor’s degree as their highest level of qualification, and 48% were employed within the teaching and education sector. The most active learners were from Europe (48%) and Asia (27%), with active learners from a total of 178 countries. The course has a high course retention index, with 51% of learners completing 51% of the course and 8383 learners completing 90% or more of the course. The qualitative findings reveal the strongly positive experiences reported by the active participants. Secondly, we examined the effectiveness of the MOOC for participants’ professional learning needs by assessing the course using a framework with ten domains related to its core design features, modified for use by the course designers as a self-reflective tool. We found that the domains that scored the lowest were collaboration, interactivity, and, to a lesser extent, pedagogy. The study’s limitations include the incomplete data provided as part of the MOOC protocols, and the use of a self-reflection tool, which may inadvertently incorporate bias. This study points to these gaps in the data, including the need to access longitudinal data that go beyond a focus on the design of courses to extend to the impact and outcomes of the experience.

Multidimensional Perspectives on the Teaching and Practice of Typography Design

With the continuous deepening of teaching reforms in higher education, it is imperative to reform the teaching of art and design courses. Research has found that the current teaching of typography design in art and design courses has rigid teaching methods, students' operational abilities are relatively singular, and the teaching content is predominantly "Westernized," leading to poor student adaptability. This paper, from a multidimensional perspective, guides typography design course teaching and practice with the "Three E's" (Effect, Efficiency and Efficacy). It positions the teaching content of typography design as multidimensional and emotional, employing multidimensional and emotional design thinking to strengthen the visual information of Chinese culture and tap into students' creative potential, aiming to enhance their innovation and creativity abilities.

Collaging together-apart: building trust and hope in social innovation and design pedagogies

ABSTRACT This article explores how relationships of care, trust and hope might be fostered in a social innovation design course at a South African university of technology. Rather than shy away from the challenges of our uncertain world, the paper proposes feminist pedagogical strategies that seek to nurture students’ capacity for trust and hope, rather than overwhelm and despair, through carefully curated collaborative-collage-making processes. By interweaving Bracha Ettinger’s theory of matrixial trans-subjectivity and Karen Barad’s agential realism, the generative role that arts-based practices offer social innovation design pedagogies is made explicit. The paper will show how collaborative artworking activated a co-affective encounter in which students and myself, rather than drowning in overwhelm, discovered new educational imaginaries and Hope-full renewals.

Creativity in textile printing design: An integrative framework in design education

AbstractCreators, creation, and audience are the main pillars of the creative process. This study offers an integrative vision that includes the three main components of the creative process by proposing a seven-stage creativity framework in design education. To bridge the gap between theory and practice, the proposed framework was applied in a major textile design course at Damietta University in Egypt. The paper includes two questionnaire models for the recipients to evaluate the creative outputs and for the students to evaluate the applied framework in general. The study involves an analysis of the experiences and challenges encountered throughout the field application of the proposed framework. The results revealed new dimensions for evaluating creativity and fresh perspectives on the dynamics of the communication process between creators and recipients through their creations/designs. The study's findings could contribute to promoting creativity across the three pillars and advancing design thinking and design education.