Undergraduate Design Course Research Articles

Creativity and Mirror Effect: Teaching Creative Skills Through Non-traditional Pedagogies

Design pedagogy is crucial for transferring project methodologies and fostering creative skills. However, the technological and social transformations of this century have challenged traditional educational canons and the very definition of creativity. This article proposes that this challenge can be analyzed through non-traditional educational paradigms to address this challenge from a design methodology perspective. It first reviews the existing literature on creativity training and presents a case study on training methodologies. This case was incorporated into an undergraduate design course, providing insight into design pedagogy itself. Then, the article discusses the future challenges and projections of Design education and the cultivation of creative skills for the 21st century. Finally, by examining alternative educational approaches, this research contributes to the current discourse on design pedagogy and its adaptation to the changing needs of contemporary society.

BlinkBoard: Guiding and monitoring circuit assembly for synchronous and remote physical computing education

Motivated by the necessity of guiding and monitoring students when assembling electronic circuits during in-class activities, we propose BlinkBoard, an augmented breadboard that enhances synchronous and remote physical computing classes. BlinkBoard uses LEDs placed on each row of a breadboard to guide, via four distinct blinking patterns, how to place and connect components and wires. It also uses a set of Input/Output pins to sense voltage levels or to generate voltage output at user-specified rows. Our hardware uses an open protocol of JSON commands and responses that can be used directly via a command line interface to control the hardware. Alternatively, these commands can be issued within a front-end graphical application hosted on a computer for a more user-friendly interface, and to ensure bidirectional and real-time communication between the instructor’s guiding and monitoring panel, and all the students’ remote BlinkBoards. The BlinkBoard hardware is affordable and simple, partially due to a customized circuit configured via a hardware description language that handles the LEDs’ patterns with minimal load on the Arduino microcontroller. Finally, we briefly show BlinkBoard in use during a workshop with high-school students and an undergraduate design course.

Facilitating Students’ Adaptive Help-seeking and Peer Interactions through an Analytics-enhanced Forum in Engineering Design Education

Design often takes place in collective and collaborative settings, and interactions and mutual support among peers have been a critical component of design education. However, in most of the existing design courses, students often work in small groups and peer interactions are limited to group members, which limits the range and depth of knowledge exchange. To complement the group-based activities, this study designs and assesses an analytics-enhanced discussion forum for whole-class interactions. The forum adopts ontology-based recommender systems and anomaly detection techniques to tailor the threads and contents for individual students in a personalized way. This analytics-enhanced forum was implemented in a large-size undergraduate design course (n = 313), and data about student responses to this forum was compared with data from the previous year’s course that adopted a conventional forum (n = 280). From the statistical analysis, students learning with the analytics-enhanced forum demonstrated significantly higher degrees of design practices (specifically, empathize, define, ideate, and test), collaborative learning, and course satisfaction. Qualitative analysis of students’ focus-group interviews shows their perceived benefits and concerns of the analytics-enhanced forum. The study also suggests integrating generative artificial intelligence and large language models to support students’ design thinking and collaborative design.

A model for enhancing creativity, collaboration and pre-professional identities in technology-supported cross-organizational communities of practice

This research proposes that technology-supported cross-organizational (university-industry) Communities of Practice (CoPs), which are integrated into the Design Studies curriculum in Higher Education, can foster robust university-industry collaborations. These can help bridge the reported gap between the actual versus the expected soft skills and personae of young graduates transitioning to the creative industries today. CoPs are groups of people who share a common interest in an area of ‘endeavor’ and connect to co-create competence in that area through their practice.This paper makes two overarching research contributions. First, it informs about the design, enactment, and evaluation of a student CoP in an undergraduate Design course which was expanded to include members from the industry as clients, alumni mentors, and expert evaluators. Drawing from rich empirical data, the paper explains the designed and emergent learning phenomena of CoP participation and its effects on the students’ creative and socio-epistemic outcomes, as well as their pre-professional identities. Second, it presents a governance model with three sets of actionable guidelines, namely the Set (technology), the Social (collaborative), and the Epistemic (learning) components. The entire body of work validates the critical interlocking of these components to form a robust social learning model that appropriates the complex practices of cross-organizational CoPs in Higher Education Design studies.

The distant studio: a survey of design students’ experience with distance educational formats

The paper presents the results of a survey (n = 279) conducted with the students of an undergraduate design course. The questionnaire inquired design students’ preferences regarding educational formats (distance, in-person, or combination of both); the questionnaire further explored the issue by comparing between four types of classes (project, drawing, theoretical-practical, and theoretical) and by establishing comparisons between the students’ enrolment year. The main results reveal that design students prefer in-person formats, and preference for in-person educational formats increases regarding project-based or drawing type of classes; what is more, preference for in-person educational formats is appears to be higher in second and third-year students than in first-year ones. These results have implications for design education: a direct transfer of the typical design educational format to a distance setting may be misguided and design education may require specific formats (distance or otherwise) to offer a satisfactory pedagogical experience to its students.

Curriculum Integration of the Canadian Engineering Grand Challenges in a First-year Undergraduate Design Course Using Multi-layered Peer Learning: A Methodology

This paper introduces a methodology to investigate the impact of utilizing multilayered peer learning pedagogical strategies to integrate the Canadian Engineering Grand Challenges into a large first-year engineering design course. The Canadian Engineering Grand Challenges (CEGC) evolved from the seventeen UN sustainable development goals (UNSDG). The CEGC focus on achieving access to safe water; resilient infrastructure; sustainable energy, industry, and cities; and inclusive STEM education. The incorporation of the CEGC into higher education can be viewed as a tool to empower students to understand the significance of engineering in society with respect to the achievement of the UNSDG. Consequently, their inclusion in the first-year engineering education curriculum serves to engage students with urgent and complex societal problems and the socio-contextual impact of engineering decisions and designs. Peer learning has regularly been applied as an active learning strategy, often with smaller class sizes. A multilayered peer learning strategy was implemented to engage students with the CEGC in a large class of ~1100 students. This strategy is reviewed with respect to delivery logistics and observed efficacy.

The Facilitator Model: Investigating a Novel Dual Credit Experience for Open-Ended Design Coursework.

This study explored the implementation of a novel approach to dual credit referred to as the facilitator model that can be suited for STEM-focused coursework such as courses focused on engineering, design, technology, and innovation. Unlike other models, high school teachers facilitate the implementation of a college course for both high school and college credit in collaboration with a university instructor who evaluates student learning. This novel approach was specifically implemented for an open-ended undergraduate design course within an engineering technology college, similar to many first-year engineering course experiences that emphasize project-based learning, from a large research-intensive public university. For this study, the facilitator model was piloted with five high school teachers as facilitators of an undergraduate design course for dual credit at two innovative, STEM-focused public charter schools. The qualitative research design focused on examining (1) teacher needs while implementing, and perceptions of, the dual credit facilitator model for an undergraduate design course in urban public charter schools and (2) the impact of this model on student learning. This study included the collection and analysis of over 90 h of interviews, focus groups, surveys, and observations. Results provide a promising outlook for the use of the facilitator model when delivering dual credit content that is open ended and within the context of design, technology, and engineering by (1) navigating multiple institutional policies and processes related to dual-credit implementation, (2) providing ongoing support and fostering collaboration between high schools and university, (3) enabling students to earn directly transcripted college credits that count as a required course toward degree completion, and (4) increasing affordability and access to dual credit coursework. These potential advantages over other dual credit models can help address barriers that may limit access to dual credit coursework, specifically for underserved high schools.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s41979-022-00075-5.

Teaching Market-Driven Engineering Design with an Agent-Based Simulation Tool

In product design, there is often a disconnect between the engineers creating the product and the marketing team determining the best characteristics for the product. The research areas of “design for market systems” and “decision-based design” seek to bridge that disconnect through quantitative approaches that facilitate simultaneous technical design and marketing decisions. However, these market driven design frameworks have been primarily evaluated in the context of industry case studies, with limited integration into engineering education. This article presents the development and implementation of a simulation tool for teaching market-driven design in undergraduate engineering design courses. This classroom tool demonstrates the basic relationships between product design decisions, pricing and marketing choices, and predicted market success, by simulating the interactions among producers and consumers in a market system. The product attributes influence the cost and consumer utility of the product, which, along with price, affect market dynamics. The simulator was implemented in a third-year undergraduate design course to introduce the concept of market-driven product design, allowing student design teams to assess the impacts of different design variables on the market success of their design projects. Surveys and written reflections by the students were used to evaluate the simulator’s value in contributing to self-reported learning. The results showed that a majority of students expressed that the simulator provides a meaningful and engaging way to learn about market-driven design concepts.

Using Stories to Integrate Gerontology Content Into an Introductory Design (Architecture) Course

We describe how a partnership between design and gerontology introduces students to concepts of legacy, meaning making and empathy in an undergraduate design course. Introduction to Design Thinking is offered through the Multi-disciplinary Design Program at the University of Utah and is a class that explores concepts such as the design process, human-centered design, rapid prototyping and multidisciplinary team dynamics. In collaboration with faculty from design, medicine and gerontology, the course addresses real-world problems by navigating across disciplines such as art, business, engineering, science, and gerontology. Five phases of the design process are introduced: Observation (collecting material), Analysis (finding patterns and insight), Ideation (solution exploration), Refinement, and Implementation (communication). To apply these processes, students engage in a group project where they interact with older adults residing in long term care (e.g., assisted living). Students undergo HIPAA training and didactic lectures covering narrative interviewing and aging content such as long term care and generativity prepare students for interacting with residents. Throughout the semester, students meet with the older adult to understand, gather, construct and then develop a designed artifact that reflects the stories and the memories of the participating residents. The designed artifacts (e.g., memory maps, videos, small books) are presented and given to the participating residents and their families. This project results in rich stories for both the residents and students. Students also gain interviewing and empathy skills necessary for designing compelling artifacts and potentially age-friendly long term care environments where 2 million older adults live.

An analysis of the insertion of sustainability elements in undergraduate design courses offered by Brazilian higher education institutions: An exploratory study

When it comes to the perception of all aspects of sustainability, Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) worldwide are responsible for preparing students, changing their attitudes, and encouraging them to think about future generations. In this sense, the main objective of this study is to analyze how sustainability has been inserted into undergraduate design courses offered by Brazilian HEIs. For the purposes of this study, 30 pedagogic projects of the aforementioned courses were analyzed through a content analysis technique. The results demonstrated that the analyzed design undergraduate courses are still in the early stages of considering guidelines that take sustainability into account. The most critical point is the small number of laboratories and research groups dedicated to this subject, as well as the small number of academic events and extension programs associated with this subject. The discussions presented here can greatly contribute to and enhance the debate about improvements in design courses in the context of sustainability.

Integrating sustainability into project-based undergraduate design courses

Purpose Although the methods and approaches of sustainable design have been developing for more than 20 years, their application in design education and the design process is still under-examined. This study aims to investigate how to integrate sustainability into project-based undergraduate courses in industrial design education, where sustainability has recently been introduced into the curriculum. Design/methodology/approach Two workshops were carried out as pilot studies within two different elective courses. The scope of the study included sustainable design approaches at both the product and product-service system innovation levels. Findings The findings show that choosing between the two levels and the sustainable design approach is the most important challenge that students face during the design process. Moreover, the project brief influences the choice of the approach. Originality/value Following the findings, a sustainable design process model for the project-based undergraduate design courses was proposed. Finally, a new course curriculum on sustainable design was developed based on the findings from the study.

Beyond Discipline: Evolving Design Practice and Design Education in the Twenty-First Century

Since 2000, design practice in the UK has changed dramatically. Boundaries between design disciplines have dissolved, and many contemporary design studios now defy classification. These studios are reconfiguring the design landscape, yet a uni-disciplinary structure still dominates undergraduate education. This is creating a disconnection between practice and education and posing critical questions for the current design education system. This article outlines the findings of a PhD research study exploring this disconnection, and although situated within the UK, the findings have international relevance. An initial scoping exercise draws on interviews with leading commentators from the UK design sector, examining the evolution of design practice over the past 10 years, and possible future directions for undergraduate education. Findings highlight that UK policy for creative education has placed undergraduate design courses in potential crisis. Arguably, the current university system for design education is outdated. It is now necessary to redefine the skills and processes twenty-first-century designers need. The body of the research is situated within five internationally renowned creative studios which defy classification. In-depth ethnographic studies cross-analyse the creative processes of these studios and their views on education. Findings identify key components of each studio’s processes, while also exploring studio members’ educational experiences, and reflections on future implications for pedagogy. This article argues that this growing disconnect between practice and education calls for existing pedagogic models to be challenged, proposes alternative approaches and highlights the need for policymakers, practitioners and educators to work together to best prepare young designers to meet today’s challenges.

Scaffolding learner autonomy in a wiki‐supported knowledge building community and its implications for mindset change

AbstractPrior research has revealed resistance against wiki collaboration in higher education classrooms. Compared with small‐group projects, whole‐class knowledge building (KB) on a wiki is difficult, given students’ lack of similar experiences, which requires scaffolding intersubjectivity and transfer of responsibility. This paper focuses on the second cycle of a design‐based research study to develop learner autonomy in wiki‐supported KB. A learner autonomy framework guided the re‐design of the instructional theory with content from the relevant literature. The theory was implemented in an undergraduate design course to validate and refine the theory. We analyzed the data from observations, wiki content, interviews with the expert instructor and two other instructors and a focus‐group interview with students. We found that the KB principles helped students understand KB; and the self‐regulation and meta‐cognition strategies increased motivation and confidence in KB. From the success of this case, we propose that scaffolding learner autonomy for a wiki‐supported KB calls for a change in students’ learning mindsets and requires careful instructional design to support the cognitive, behavioral and affective aspects of change to reduce resistance. Practitioner NotesWhat is already known about this topic Knowledge building (KB) should be practiced to enhance students’ competency in innovating and improving ideas collaboratively for societal progress. Wiki‐supported whole‐class KB is more difficult than wiki‐supported small‐group projects owing to students’ lack of experience in KB. What this paper adds An instructional theory designed to foster learner autonomy in KB on a class wiki. Success in fostering KB on a class wiki validates the instructional methods and suggests refinements to help students understand KB and increase their motivation and confidence in doing so. Implications for practice and/or policy Autonomy in KB requires scaffolding in the behavioral, cognitive and affective aspects. Although wiki‐supported KB challenges students who have a teacher‐centered mindset of learning or have been immersed in a culture of competition, it brings an opportunity to change students’ mindset to favor co‐constructed learning and create a culture of sharing in the process of adopting it.

Communicating information in health: engaging students in design for health awareness

Design is about people. As designers, focussing on people and their needs seems intuitive. But, this is not always the case with design students. Immersed in their personal practice, they often regard design as an abstract activity that makes something look good or work well without considering whether people who ‘aren’t like them’ can understand or use their solutions. This paper examines the impact of an undergraduate design course that tasked students who had no prior exposure to design for health and wellbeing with visually communicating health information for use by its intended audiences. This allowed students with limited or no exposure to design in a health care context to connect with a more person-centred, empathetic design approach. We wanted to know how design students might solve reasonably complex visual information design problems starting with data and information that health care stakeholders had supplied. Two main themes emerged: the value of real-world learning and the need for empathy in design. Students perceived that designing for health care was significant, and that health care was a continually changing discipline. Through this course, students saw the need for designers to be integrated into the health care system alongside health care professionals to develop solutions for communicating health-related topics.

Coding, designing and networking: fostering learning through social connections

Trends in digital technologies and new social practices are calling for innovative models of learning in education. A recent development in the learning sciences, which conceptualises learning activity as networked learning, can offer deeper insight into how digital learning spaces influence the ensuing activity of learners. The networked approach coupled with social semiotics is applied in the analysis of Peep – a computer-based platform with social networking features that supports an undergraduate design course. This article illustrates how the networked learning approach and social semiotics reveal elements of the platform that enable design learning and foster social connections amongst students and lecturers. The article also examines the distribution of students’ activity and changes in their patterns of interaction over time. Published : 3 April 2018 Citation : Research in Learning Technology 2018, 26 : 2006 - http://dx.doi.org/10.25304/rlt.v26.2006

REFLECTIONS FROM TEACHING ASSISTANTS IN COMBINED LEARNING ASSISTANT AND COURSE GRADER ROLES

Abstract – Integrating the roles of learning assistants and course graders into a single teaching assistant position can be beneficial both to students and to teaching assistants. A critical reflection of teaching assistant experience in undergraduate design courses was undertaken. Benefits to students include meaningful, individualized guidance in assessment, the communication of expectations and concepts from a unique perspective, and increased approachability.
 The teaching assistants also benefit from practical experience in teaching and mentoring, gaining skills in leadership and communications. However, integrating learning assistant and course grader roles creates a more challenging position, requiring deep understanding of course content and communication strategies to be successful. This insight may be used to improve or develop design courses using the combined model and to help prepare teaching assistants for this demanding but rewarding role.

The efficacy of problem-based learning of plus-size design in the fashion curriculum

As obesity rates have grown in the past decades, so has interest in plus-size fashion. With more than 50% of US and Canadian women reporting that they wear a size 14 or higher, it is critical to address this demographic. To respond to this trend, fashion designers and merchandisers have been encouraged to incorporate plus-sizes into their lines [Kim, H. Y., Jolly, L., & Kim, Y. K. (2007). Future forces transforming apparel retailing in the United States: An environmental scanning approach. Clothing and Textiles Research Journal, 25(4), 307–322. 10.1177/0887302X07306851)]. Plus-size options are available although there are challenges for apparel designers and merchandisers when trying to create the ideal fit and inviting retail experience. To help undergraduate apparel students gain confidence, learn about critical issues and problem-solving approaches for the plus-size market, a project was created and implemented in an undergraduate design course at a US university in the Pacific Northwest. In the course, using the problem-based learning method, students researched, designed and produced an original plus-size prototype swimsuit for a prominent competitive swimwear company. Student feedback following the project was largely positive, with most students demonstrating increase in confidence and necessary skills through a hands-on approach.

Design Engineering as an Interdisciplinary Graduate Course1

Design Engineering as an Interdisciplinary Graduate Course W. I. Jose, Ph.D. Abstract This paper presents the circumstances behind the proposal to institute a design engineering option in the graduate program at the University of the Philippines at Diliman (UPD). Originally, the UPD Department of Chemical Engineering proposed a chemical engineering design option in its graduate program. However, the implementation of the proposal did not push through. A similar proposal several years later suffered the same fate. The reason for the failure of implementation was not clear. The problem was resolved through the use of “probing paradigms”, developed by this author. The technique enlightened us in identifying the necessary information and components of the option. One was the apparent influence of the undergraduate design course that serves as a capstone course. A paradigm shift was necessary. The interdisciplinary nature of the option became a major consideration. Design engineering subjects are necessary in all fields of engineering. Thus, the subjects are suitable to all engineering disciplines. The design courses would give the necessary background to graduate students whose research requires some aspects in design. The core subjects are: Principles of Design Engineering, Innovation and Creativity in Design, and Design for Environment and Sustainability. Specialized courses from each discipline are to be offered. Full Text: PDF DOI: 10.15640/jea.v3n2a10

Analysing the structuring of knowledge in learning networks

Knowledge plays a significant role in networked learning. Epistemic activities, and the structures that support such activities, do not just spring into life when a networked learning resource is created. They exist prior to, and outside of, any specific networked resource. They go on in the world. So epistemic actvities and structures can be seen as part of a broader socio-cultural context. In this paper, we argue that people who design for networked learning benefit from having a richer repertoire of ways of undertsanding relationships between epistemic activities and the structures that support them, and of viewing these in their social contexts. Educational designers need to be aware there are different ways of expressing knowledge, associated with implicit values that underlie knowlegde practices within any social context. These varied ways of expressing knowledge have diverse effects on learners' activities. Understanding such connections is useful when designing new networked learning resources, or when devising ways to improve exisiting learning networks. Using an approach from the sociology of knowledge, this paper explores the structuring of knowledge in a case study of networked learning drawn from an undergraduate design course about graphics and programming. The course uses a computer-based platform called Peep to extend what would otherwise be a set of timetabled, lab-based learning and teaching activities. Students and teachers can interact using Peep, at any time, from any location. These networked learning activities involve a mixture of lecturer-led tasks and student driven collaborations, including requests for and offers of help, and sharing and discussing code and graphical designs. Our focus in this case study is on variations in the degree to which the knowledge being dealt with is dependent on its context for meaning and condensed. Our analysis reveals that one of the design elements of Peep - the code editor - facilitates a distinctive, important epistemic activity. The code editor enables the "object of discussion" (programming and the visual and animated effects of it) to come to the fore. Instead of students having to describe phenomena, events or processes that happen elsewhere, they each have the object of their discussion in front of them, embedded within all of Peep's spaces for learning. Our analysis explores the relations between this design feature and Peep's support for students' discussions of complex concepts, sharing and exchanging views, and building on each other's ideas and work.

Addressing Sustainable Apparel Design Challenges With Problem-Based Learning

As consumers' social and environmental concerns have grown in the last decade, so has interest in eco-fashion. Behind fast-changing fashion trends, the apparel industry generates substantial environmental and resource depletion problems throughout the textile lifecycle. To respond to these trends, fashion designers and merchandisers have been motivated to practice sustainability in design and production. Some sustainable options are available, such as organic fibers and environmentally safe dyes. Still, there are challenges for apparel designers and merchandisers when trying to realize sustainability. To help undergraduate apparel students learn problem-solving approaches to sustainable garment design, a problem-based learning project was created and implemented in an undergraduate design course. In the course, students designed and produced an original sustainable garment. Student feedback following the project was largely positive, with most students indicating they would continue using sustainable practices in future work.