The digital economy: a case study of designing for classrooms

We present the results of an empirical study of elementary school classrooms and show how these results informed the design of a mobile web application for teachers to manage "digital economies" in their classrooms. A Classroom Economy is a program that aims to teach financial literacy while encouraging focus and on task behavior. The Digital Economy captures transaction data as students participate in a Classroom Economy, replacing paper-based transactions and record keeping. The design of the Digital Economy application builds on our own prior work in which we partnered with teachers to collaboratively design ubiquitous computing technologies for classrooms. Our design is based on our analysis of classroom observations, interviews with teachers, design workshops and a usability study of a prototype application. We consider three major guidelines for designing for classrooms: classroom flow, individual assessments, and peer groups. We describe the negotiation of these guidelines when designing for the management and curriculum goals of teachers. This case study demonstrates how guidelines that emerged from the design research process were negotiated in the development of this financial literacy tool for classrooms.

IDC '13 Proceedings of the 12th International Conference on Interaction Design and Children 

Spirling the Design Process: An Alternative Process to Problem Solving

Spiraling the design process offers a four step approach, permitting the design author to spiral up as well as out. A typical problem statement would be the assigning of a word or phrase that resulted from a classroom discussion, e.g., lock (Locke). Students will do extensive research and focus in on their ‘word’ interpretation; lock of hair, river lock, mechanical lock, etc. (gathering the ‘what ifs’). 
At this juncture, the problem could be considered solved, and some students’ spiral up, but for those who need more idea gathering; spiral out, more research is necessary. The model makers and the prototypes spiral upwards, developing an increasing awareness of how things evolve to make the idea clearer, sharper, and more refined. Content is revealed and examined; more choices are presented and opened. The final step in the spiral is the ‘alternatives’ when the student realizes that being a designer is the vocation for them to pursue that other employment avenues should be investigated.

8th International Conference on Design Principles and Practices

Rethinking Design Thinking and Assessment: A 3 x 3 Model of Design Thinking and Its Assessment Tasks

Ariachne’s Threads is the pet name for a graduate design course complementary to conventional design studio teaching, entailing workshops rather than studios and no projects. It aims to have students better comprehend their own designing practices and design thinking to be able to improve them. 
This paper concerns the course assessment tasks and the rethinking required subsequent to a new understanding of varieties of reflective thinking in designing. 
The model of metacognitive thinking hitherto employed was too glib a gloss on Schön’s three level account of thinking-in-action. Deliberative thinking (informed by a remark of Tom Kvan’s), was recently stressed. Confusion was implicit and common. The new 3 x 3 model of thinking in designing to be employed (level x temporal focus) is more complex yet probably much easier to comprehend and apply. 
Fortuitously, the Analyses of Past Projects and Decision Diaries, previously found most useful, map readily onto and clearly address distinct and different regions of the new model. Reflective Journals can cover all regions, but the assessment task apposite to the remaining region of the model – what could properly itself be called design thinking, arises and is discussed. Initial comments from student Journals support the discussion.

8th International Conference on Design Principles and Practices

Social Design in Practice: Transformation and Legislative Change with the Human Rights Campaign Studio

This article presents an innovative Social Design project that transformed participants and delivered legislative change at a state government level. Through this project, students engaged with community members, advocacy groups, and peers around the issue of homelessness. They produced a social change campaign that enriched the lives of disadvantaged homeless people. Students and staff who participated in this project found that the experience had a significant impact on how they engaged with social issues in academia. The Human Rights Campaign Studio (HRCS) was a unique project that used interdisciplinary collaboration in an intensive studio environment to simulate a communications consultancy. Students from diverse backgrounds and skill sets engaged with social change theory, providing a meaningful context to community engagement and participatory design processes. This project shows that it is possible to make a positive contribution to the community when social movement theory is integrated into studio-based learning. When students are placed in an interdisciplinary context, intense interactions happen that lead to personal growth and innovative solutions to social problems such as homelessness. The results of this project have implications for educational environments that wish to engage with bigger problems faced by society. This project serves as an educational model that could be replicated in order to facilitate real world social change lead by academic institutions. The model of the HRCS placed the community at the heart of the educational experience and delivered social design in practice.

8th International Conference on Design Principles and Practices

Connecting to a Real World: Exploring Viable, Sustainable, and Constructive Connections in Design Education

Design is multifaceted, fast moving, evolving and morphing and yet, some may argue, the profession is still built on simple, specific and unique craft skills of drawing, visualizing and prototyping. With dynamic changes taking place in design practice how does or can multidisciplinary design education absorb, reflect and present this complexity and how can we successfully make connection for design students to the contextually wider picture of societal issues within the constraints of undergraduate taught programmes.

This paper discusses, the underpinning of multidisciplinary process, identifies its value, highlights issues and demonstrates outcomes of explorations of ‘connecting’ design undergraduates on multidisciplinary 3D/product design courses at two different universities, to the wider social world through project based and peer researched learning in ‘the bigger picture’ of design and society.

The understanding from these projects looks to connect ‘design thinking’ to design skills and develop new models of design education, practice and craft as we continue to explore and promote design’s place within the world beyond a perceived veneer of aesthetics and within the realms of creating and determining products, product-systems and services that enrich life.

8th International Conference on Design Principles and Practices

Design Shift: Approaching Social Problems with Design Methodologies

As graduate students of Graphic Design at Georgia Southern University we 
choose a design approach that is more towards socially oriented practical community based design challenges. Though we are trained as traditional graphic designers, we feel that our solution should not be driven just by our trained discipline. As an alternative, the approach is to identify the problem and address the problem with an appropriate solution, whether it is graphical, strategic, experiential, industrial or others. 

We’ve been applying this approach for our class project, “Designing Solutions 
for Childhood Obesity in Georgia.” According to the 2012 Georgia Data Summary, 
66% of children ranging from ages 2-­‐18 are obese. With these statistics in mind, we made a connection with a local school with an exceptional school nutrition program. Since awareness campaigns are passive approaches to problem solving, we examined the problem through design research methodologies. Our focus for this project remained in identifying a user for our solution, or target population, and the stakeholders, or anyone who will be affected by or involved with our final solution. We identified our target population as low socio-­‐economic 3rd and 4th grade African – Americans. To understand our target population we met with the guidance counselors, school nutritionists, teachers, and other community resources to gather information this community and their physical, dietary, and educational habits. We used research methods for problem identification and currently developing prototypes for solutions that will allow the curriculum to adjust to their nutrition and physical education needs based on the problem. Our prototyping will engage different perspectives from disciplines like education, nutrition, and exercise science. The solution will benefit the user and will be implemented by the stakeholders.

8th International Conference on Design Principles and Practices

Better by Design: The Potential of Design Thinking Approaches in Tackling the Widening Participation "Problem" in Higher Education

International concern relating to access and opportunity in Higher Education (Council of Europe, 1996; OECD, 2008; Rougaas, 2001) has generated increased research interest in how and why tertiary institutions tend to reproduce privilege (Bourdieu & Passeron, 1977; Teese, 2011). The ‘problem’ of widening participation, particularly in relation to traditionally marginalized groups, has proven intractable despite concerted policy efforts (Tinto, 2006-7; Kift, Nelson & Clarke, 2012). Theoretical work, such as that of Sellar and Gale (2011) and Dei (2008) highlights the need to move from a politics of representation to one of recognition. This paper draws on an analysis of data collected in the development and implementation of a policy and practice framework to support the transition to tertiary education at an Australian university. A design thinking approach was used to try and disrupt the dominant epistemologies and institutional practices that work as powerful technologies (Ball, 2003) in maintaining a dominant culture. Insights are provided into how and why institutional practices and epistemologies militate against inclusivity and ways in which institutions might design more positive and productive higher education experiences for increasingly diverse students are proposed.

8th International Conference on Design Principles and Practices

Better by Design: The Potential of Design Thinking Approaches in Tackling the Widening Participation "Problem" in Higher Education

International concern relating to access and opportunity in Higher Education (Council of Europe, 1996; OECD, 2008; Rougaas, 2001) has generated increased research interest in how and why tertiary institutions tend to reproduce privilege (Bourdieu & Passeron, 1977; Teese, 2011). The ‘problem’ of widening participation, particularly in relation to traditionally marginalized groups, has proven intractable despite concerted policy efforts (Tinto, 2006-7; Kift, Nelson & Clarke, 2012). Theoretical work, such as that of Sellar and Gale (2011) and Dei (2008) highlights the need to move from a politics of representation to one of recognition. This paper draws on an analysis of data collected in the development and implementation of a policy and practice framework to support the transition to tertiary education at an Australian university. A design thinking approach was used to try and disrupt the dominant epistemologies and institutional practices that work as powerful technologies (Ball, 2003) in maintaining a dominant culture. Insights are provided into how and why institutional practices and epistemologies militate against inclusivity and ways in which institutions might design more positive and productive higher education experiences for increasingly diverse students are proposed.

8th International Conference on Design Principles and Practices

Intercultural Study of Architecture: An Exchange Program Held in Turkey and Japan

As international exchange programs lead to exchange of information, ideas, experiences and provide opportunity for students to develop an understanding of local-traditional values and cultural issues in different countries; a great number of exchange programs are highly promoted as a part of education in architecture. The purpose of this paper is to discuss contributions of international exchange programs to architectural students based on experiences and outcomes of the program ICSA (InterCultural Study of Architecture) that is under the collaboration of Mukogawa University, Japan and Bahçeşehir University, Turkey. The main case of the study is the exchange program ICSA, which has been held twice a year since 2009 in Japan for 7 weeks and in Turkey for 15 days with the participation of Japanese and Turkish students and academicians. This paper is organized in four chapters. After the Introduction, Chapter Two will describe and compare ICSA programs held in Turkey and Japan in terms of their content, context, schedule and activities. In the light of the outcomes of the previous chapter, Chapter Three will focus on contributions of international exchange programs to architectural education in general. Finally in Chapter Four, the main arguments discussed in this paper will be outlined.

8th International Conference on Design Principles and Practices

Design Education, Design Management, and Professional Practice: Designing Strategic and Sustainable Advantage

This paper will address the value-added of design to the professional practice of strategy formulation and implementation. While design leaders create design strategies, they are not as likely to create enterprise strategies unless they are founders or CEO's.

This has a consequence for business as it attempts to innovate in an environment characterized by disruption. It also has a consequence for design as a discipline that is often excluded from the strategy conversation. There is a profound consequence for global enterprises moving into the 21st century with a strategic framework developed in the last century. This framework assumes a resource base that is now scarce and imperiled and a society content to consume. 

The world of seven billion now requires more of enterprise and its leaders. Advocacy has become as global as corporate activity. Demand grows for a triple bottom line focused on economic value creation that also creates value for society and a shared biosphere.

Design can help companies deliver a triple bottom line and gain sustainable strategic advantage. But, there is a practice gap in most design education. This is paper will provide a road map for closing that gap and educating design professionals to innovate business practice.

8th International Conference on Design Principles and Practices

"Do You Know What I Mean?": Art and Design Students’ Perspectives on Studio-based Pedagogy

This research project sets out to investigate the interpretation of the terminology used in the UK National Student Survey questionnaire by art and design students with consideration of the tradition of oral conversation and discussion that are core elements in a pedagogic ‘studio’ environment.
This qualitative interview-based study was carried out through a series of semi-structured interviews with a small group art and design students who had just completed the NSS questionnaire in 2011.

This paper shares these findings and highlights themes that may further contribute to an understanding of how communication and interpretation can inform and impact on future studio-based design pedagogy and practice not just in the UK but Internationally.

8th International Conference on Design Principles and Practices

RE-MAKE, RE-MODEL: THIS IS DESIGN EDUCATION TOMORROW CALLING

This conceptual paper presents a pragmatic, radical repositioning of design
education practice at the Manchester School of Art in the context of U.K.
design education. It discusses the strategic management and decision
making that facilitated the re-engineering of new creative environments, the
innovations in curricula and the re-branding of the School in drawing on the
founding ethos of the Manchester School of Design of 1838 in ‘ supporting the
creative economy
of the region'.

Polemically the process has been to fundamentally question, challenge and
respond to existing paradigms of design academic practice within the nexus
of teaching, learning and research; specifically, to re-define what a
contemporary design education should be.

To contextualize this, the paper references current design thinking and
education theory. Two case studies will illustrate work undertaken in the
school.

The paper will be of interest to anyone wishing to re-frame design education
practice.

DesignED Asia 2012 Conference

ARE BOOKS ON MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGIES AND DESIGN REALLY READ? A SURVEY ABOUT HOW YOUNG FURNITURE DESIGNERS STUDY MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGIES

Knowledge on manufacturing technologies (MT) is recognized by academics
as being an important element of product design curricula and practice.
Consequently many authors have proposed various approaches to teach
potentialities and constrains of MT. These approaches could be classified in
four typologies: the normative approach, the selective approach, the case
study approach and the multi-sensorial approach. However do young product
designers practice these approaches to learn MT? If not what kind of
methods and tools do they follow? A survey was carried out among 97 young
furniture designers in order to examine the relationship between young
designers and MT. The survey was conducted during the “Salone del Mobile
2012”, an international furniture trade fair held in Milano, Italy. Analysis of
the data explored methods and tools practiced by young product designers to
learn MT potentialities. Results reported that knowledge on MT is very
important for young furniture designers and nearly all indicated MT as a
potential source of inspiration for their professional practice. Additionally our
findings would seem to suggest that the most utilized and important tools for
studying MT are two: look at the made products and speaking with experts.
Internet and publications on MT are also quite practiced,  but they are not
perceived as important as the others. In our opinion these findings would
seem to highlight the importance of direct experience for young product
designers in learning of MT. Despite our research is preliminary, we believe
that our conclusions could have an impact on future researches on tools and
techniques for teaching MT.

DesignED Asia 2012 Conference

DESIGN EDUCATION FOR CHILDREN IN A COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE - A CASE STUDY OF THE PARTICIPATORY DESIGN WORKSHOPS FOR SCHOOL RENOVATION

This is a case study of design education for secondary school students through design workshops in the basic curriculum at a school in Japan. There was a renovation plan for a 30-years-old school building, and the education board of the town wished to make the new school much nicer and childfriendly for learning environments. The board asked design professionals to  become involved and organized some workshops for students. Eight  workshops were held during one and a half years. Workshops were designed  for Eighth graders who had no design training, based on the basic skills of  design; sketching, collage, measurement own body scale and use them.  Gradually it was extended to further skills and knowledge including  brainstorming, discussion, and presentation skills. At the end, students  designed three kinds of multi-purposed units and the process of workshops  was awarded the “Kids Design award 2012”, and the “Good Design  Award 2012”.   

DesignED Asia 2012 Conference   

FOSTERING CREATIVITY AND EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION WITH INTERACTION DESIGN STUDENTS

This paper presents our experiences introducing, developing, and teaching
master and bachelor level design courses at a Danish computer science
faculty with the central aims of fostering creativity and maturing the
students’ abilities to engage in professional discussions about design and
design choices. Reflections on our efforts in previous courses provide
examples of didactic choices we have made to facilitate the meeting of these
goals including iterative experimentation, experience prototyping, and a host
of sketching techniques. In the second part of the paper, we reflect on a new
seven-week master’s course focused on the design of shape changing
interfaces in the form of a chronological journey description focused on the
progress and challenges for teachers and students. Conclusions in the form
of lessons learned and future refinements are provided, which may be of
interest to others who develop and teach courses in creative topics. 

DesignED Asia 2012 Conference

DESIGN EDUCATION FOR THE NEW ECONOMY: TEACHING MID-CAREER MASTERS STUDENTS HYBRID DESIGN METHODS TO SOLVE WICKED PROBLEMS

This paper argues that in an increasingly complex technological and
sociocultural environment, designers have to have both explicit and tacit
knowledge to enable them to prioritise critical problems and opportunities in
order to judiciously propose solutions. Ideal design education must instill in
its graduates the ability to carry out data capture, analysis, synthesis,
ideation, design and evaluation of system complexity, not only to answer
materialistic and technical questions, but also to master human behavioural
sciences. This would enable them to transform technology into empirical and
experiential meanings that would make products safer, functional, usable
and even pleasurable. Designers who are knowledgeable and armed with a
hybrid ‘ logic-emotion’ methodology can contribute as scientist, designer, as
well as change-agent, while playing a vital role in solving ‘wicked’ problems,
creating value, designing and ensuring successful functionality, usability and
viability of systems, products, services and brand innovations. The main
focus of this paper is a five-year case study of a Master of Design
programme to nurture a range of mid-career designers from across the
creative industries with these attributes.

DesignED Asia 2012 Conference

DEVELOPING A SUCCESSFUL PEDAGOGY OF FRONT END STRATEGIC INNOVATION FOR INDUSTRIAL DESIGN STUDENTS

It is accepted that industrial design practice has changed, and that design
education is also changing to reflect realities of innovative new product
development (NPD). The paper presents a model innovation process, called
Front End Industrial Design (FE-ID), which is employed in undergraduate
teaching and learning. It has been developed to tackle the pedagogy of the
broad arena of pre-brief, front end innovation activities in commercial NPD.
Both macro and micro views are presented of the FE-ID process, providing
an overall perspective but also reflecting on some of the particular (micro)
activities which are considered critical for success, but which are notoriously
difficult to develop. The FE-ID process has been found to be effective in
developing knowledge and abilities in students to enable them to operate
further up the NPD food chain, more in a business and brand context of ideas
and propositions - not simply realised products and services.

DesignED Asia 2012 Conference

DISCURSIVE STRUCTURES OF INFORMAL CRITIQUE IN AN HCI DESIGN STUDIO

Critique has long been considered a benchmark of design education and practice, both as a way to  elicit feedback about design artifacts in the process of production and as a high-stakes assessment tool in academia. In this study, I investigate a specific form of critique between peers that emerges organically in the design studio apart from coursework or guidance of a professor. Based on intensive interviews and observations, this informal peer critique appears to elicit the design judgment of the individual designer in explicit ways, encouraging peers to follow new paths in their design process, while also verbalizing oftenimplicit design decisions that have already been  made. Implications for future research in academic  and professional practice are considered.   

Nordic Design Research Conference 2013

WHERE DO WE LEARN TO DESIGN? A CASE STUDY ABOUT CREATIVE SPACES

Based on a research approach with cultural probes, we analysed the work environments of a German design school. We identified five different types of spaces on the university‘s campus and within the classrooms—the ―solitary space‖, the ―team space‖, the ―tinker space‖, the ―presentation space‖, as well as ―transition spaces‖. Each of these space types is able to provide certain functions that may support the creative working and learning process, such as stimulation, knowledge repository, culture, social interaction, and process manifestation. We analyse positive and negative aspects of the respective educational institution, and derive suggestions on how to improve the spatial learning environment. The work presented in this article may be used as a foundation for design educators and practitioners to analyse and improve their creative workspaces.

ICDC2012 Glasgow

AN IMPROVEMENT IN METHOD: FROM USER STUDY FIRST TO FAST CONCEPT DESIGN FIRST

The most common design process in the interaction design industry is user research-concept design-prototype testing. This process can help designers to identify target users, design products, and services. However many students have trouble applying the results of user research to improve their design using this process. The Hunan Univ.-Nokia joint curriculum aims to improve this by combining fast concept design and user research into a single process. This new process features immersive teaching and individual-team alternating iterative method, which solves the problem without sacrificing the creativity of the student.

ICDC2012 Glasgow