Workshop 2011

CoCA WORKSHOP ONWARDS FROM THE LAND OF BABEL

Tell me, and I will forget. Show me, and I may remember.

Involve me, and I will understand. (Confusius)


•  There is no professional training requirement for university academics in terms of their teaching competence, as there is for school teaching. Possibly for this reason, there is comparatively little research on student learning at university level (Laurillard, 2008).


•  Q. What is the aim of teaching?


•  The aim of teaching is simple: it is to make student learning possible (Ramsden, 1992).

•  Making student learning possible places much more responsibility with the teacher. It implies that the teacher must know something about student learning, and what makes it possible (Laurillard, 2008).


•  There is a tradition of pedagogy that stretches back to John Dewey’s rejection of the classical model of passing on knowledge. However, the classical notion of expert passing on knowledge to novice is still widely held by some academics.

•  New models of understanding call for the learner to be actively engaged in the formation of their ideas. This is the essence of deep (engaged) as opposed to surface (passive) learning.

•  Exponents of this model such as Vygotsky, Piaget, Bruer, Papert, all argue for the active engagement of the learner rather than the passive reception of given knowledge. Confucius got it right! Tell me and I will forget.


•  It is the teacher's responsibility to structure and organise a series of experiences which positively influence each individual's potential future experiences (Dewey, 1938).

•  In other words, "good experiences" motivate, encourage, and enable students to go on to have more valuable learning experiences, whereas, "poor experiences" tend to lead towards a student closing off from potential positive experiences in the future.


•  So, an assignment can be seen, in this context as an “experience”.

•  The written component is therefore a prelude to an experience.

•  Research shows that student learning is enhanced when students know what it is they are expected to learn (Davies, 2004).


•  So, how do we design this experience?


•  Student learning is enhanced when they are able to make connections

between different learning situations (Davies, 2004).

ICD WORKSHOP ONWARDS FROM THE LAND OF BABEL

•  What can we do to help students make the connections between our specialisms and see the bigger picture?

•  Perhaps a consistent format might assist.

ICD WORKSHOP ONWARDS FROM THE LAND OF BABEL

•  A suggested template

•  Title •  Introduction •  Aim •  Learning outcomes •  Assessment criteria •  Assignment •  Specifics


•  The title •  Research shows that a title can facilitate contextual

understanding (Harvey & Goudvis, 2000).

•  In a text based proposition, a title facilitates the creation of a macro-proposition, a personal understanding of a text’s gist or essence, its macro-structure (Louewerse &Graesser, 2006).


•  The introduction •  This sets the scene. It should provide purpose for the activity

that is to follow. It is a call to action.

•  The introduction is similar to a central proposition. It is the ‘WHY’ of a project, not the ‘HOW’. Therefore, it should not normally be about the product.

•  A process oriented approach —via the introduction—based on problem definition, encourages ‘deep’ as opposed to ‘surface’ learning (Drew, Bailey & Shreeve, 2002).


•  The Aim •  An aim should be a cohesive, student-centred, holistic

statement based on the learning activity.

•  As Barthes (1977) points out “a long text may only comprise a single signified thanks to connotation”.


•  It is not the ‘Why’, nor the ‘How’. It can be best regarded as the ‘What’. Verbs such as ‘explore’, define’, ‘resolve’, should be considered as opposed to ‘design’, ‘create’, ‘make’; verbs more associated with ‘How’ an aim can be achieved.

•  The aim should be process, rather than product based.

•  While the title is context driven, the aim is purpose driven.

•  The designed artefact is the main applied activity which seeks to achieve the aim. It is an important component of the ‘How’.


•  Learning outcomes •  A learning outcome is usually preceded by a sentence that

begins “At the end you will be able to…”.

•  It is useful to consider three separate elements in a learning outcome.

1. An active verb (often with an associated adverb) 2. An object of the verb (indicating on what the learner is acting). 3. A word or phrase that indicates the context.


Example At the end of this project you will be able to: Critically evaluate the theoretical position on design process

Consolidate design concept into a rendered piece of

communication design

Render human form accurately and expressively using various media

(adverb) (verb) (object) (context)

(verb) (object) (context)

(verb) (—adverbs—) (object) (context)


Exercise 1.  Invent two learning outcomes. You can base them on previous learning

outcomes you have developed.

2.  Pass them to a colleague, preferably from another specialism and swap.

3.  Look at the learning outcomes you have received and see if you can identify the structure previously described which includes verbs, adverbs, object and context.

If we have been able to identify verbs, adverbs, object and context in this exercise then we now have an explicit understanding of what we have, till now, done on a tacit level. We also have a method which can help us determine if our learning outcomes have a sound methodical structure.


•  Assessment criteria •  While learning outcomes explicitly state what we expect students to

learn (expectations), assessment criteria is about measuring learning.

•  Assessment criteria should also be explicit. They should indicate what will be looked for to determine what learning took place and to what extent it was achieved. They can also explicitly state where the evidence of learning will be located. It is about (measuring).

(measuring) (expectations)


•  Assessment criteria •  Assessment criteria are statements specifying the standards that must be met

and the evidence that will be gathered to demonstrate the achievement of learning outcomes.

•  The purpose of assessment criteria is to establish clear and unambiguous standards of achievement for each learning outcome. They should describe what the learner is expected to do to show that the learning outcome has been achieved. The assessment criteria specify how the task will be evaluated.

•  Assessment criteria and learning outcomes are NOT the same!


•  Example •  At the end of this project you will be able to:

•  Critically evaluate the theoretical position on design process •  Consolidate design concept into a rendered piece of communication design •  Render human form accurately and expressively using various media

•  Assessment criteria that might apply to the above could be as follows:

•  Note: Nouns are more useful when measuring learning. Wherever possible locate where evidence of learning is expected to be found.

(Noun) (location) •  Depth of enquiry as evidenced in your written evaluation of the theoretical debate on design

process as well as the range of research sources you have found. (location) (noun)

•  Final rendered concept and the extent to which it communicates an understanding of the design process

(noun) •  Extent of media exploration plus accurate and expressive application of media towards the (location) rendering of human form


Exercise 4. Look at the two learning outcomes you have in front of you.

5. If you were to assess them in a learning situation, describe what you would look for to determine if learning had taken place. What would you measure? Make it as explicit as possible.

6. Without explicit assessment criteria, you may find you are relying on the learning outcomes to provide a tacit indication of what will be assessed.


•  The WHY, the WHAT, the HOW


TITLE: Helps define the gist of something

INTRODUCTION: The why. A call to action

AIM: The what. Summative statement LEARNING OUTCOMES: What we expect students to be able to do

ASSESSMENT CRITERIA: What will be looked for to determine to what extent learning took place

The ASSIGNMENT: The how. Through enquiry into and through design, the why and what will be addressed



SPECIFICS: Practical, procedural information.


•  SPECIFICS •  This section can contain much of the practical and procedural

information, relevant to the specifics of a particular assignment.

•  By creating a miscellaneous section it means that all assignments will be driven by the same why, what and how structure. This elevates purpose and process above product and demonstrates that design activity is the means by which we achieve our objectives.


The third paradigm •  Of the need for a new approach to design teaching, The

University of California, Irvine (2002) vision statement says:

•  Training will focus less on the dramatically diverse products of design and more on the processes of design leading to their production. These processes have many common elements that can be the focus of research and a coherent educational programme (Proposal for a school of design, 2002, p. 9).


The third paradigm •  On the changing role of design education, Buchanan (1998) says:

•  In the third era of design—the era that is emerging around us today—education and practice are partners. They are partners for a very important reason, reflecting the proper role of education in both discovering and disseminating new knowledge as part of the field of design (ibid, p. 65).


The third paradigm •  On the need for a move towards making design explicit Friedman

says:

•  The challenge of any evolving field is to bring tacit knowledge into articulate focus. This creates the ground of shared understanding that builds the field. The continual and conscious struggle for articulation is what distinguishes the work of a research field from the practical work of a profession (Friedman, 2000, p. 13).


WHAT IS DESIGN THINKING?







•  What advantages do you see in projects which are driven by a research question?

•  This is what I thought uni was all about. I felt challenged.

•  It required much more thought and contemplation.

•  I believe it enables the designer to to create a more thought out final design, because it is driven by research.

•  That outcome becomes less important but the process is strengthened. I liked it because the research was broader and more interesting.


•  Describe how your understanding of the design process has changed since you started this project.

I found this really useful. Being aware of the process made it

easier I felt. I would not have kept going back and re-thinking things if I wasn’t aware of the steps.

I value the analysis stage a lot now. Early attempts at synthesis

suffered without sufficient analysis.


• THANK YOU


Education

Workshop 2011