Mitzi Vernon

Managing the Complexity of Design Problems through Studio-based Learning

Abstract The ill-structured nature of design problems makes them particularly challenging for problem-based learning. Studio-based learning (SBL), however, has much in common with problem-based learning and indeed has a long history of use in teaching students to solve design problems. The purpose of this ethnographic study of an industrial design class, an architecture class, and three human-computer-interaction classes was to develop a cross-disciplinary understanding of the goals and expectations for students in a SBL environment and the ways in which experienced facilitators assist students in solving complex design problems. The expectations that students are to iteratively generate and refine design solutions, communicate effectively, and collaborate with others establishes the studio as a dynamic place where students learn to experiment on their own, to teach and to use all studio members as resources in that search. Instructors support students as they grapple with complexity of design problem-solving through pedagogical practices that include assignments, associated meta-discussions, explicit prompts, reminders, modeling, and coaching. Using sample illustrations from our cross-case analysis, we present the studio method as a legitimate constituent of problem-based learning methods.

Promoting creativity in the computer science design studio

Revolutionary advances in technologies will require computer science professionals who are able to develop innovative software solutions. In order to identify techniques that can lead students to creative insights in their work, we have conducted an ethnographic study of the studio method as enacted in architecture, industrial design (ID), and human-computer interaction (HCI) classes. Our analysis of the activities conducted during studio critiques revealed that while the ID and architecture studios had a primary focus on experimentation, the primary emphasis of the HCI studios was on idea refinement. In this paper, we describe four barriers to creative thought observed in the HCI classrooms and identify ways that the architecture and ID instructors helped students to overcome similar challenges.

Work in Progress – Interdisciplinary Design of Assistive Technology for the Third World

Successful design is usually a collaboration of individuals from more than one discipline. To address this important future work environment, student interdisciplinary design projects were created. For the past several years, teams of students from the first year Engineering Design Graphics course in the College of Engineering and students from the second year Industrial Design Studio in the College of Architecture and Urban Studies have teamed together to pursue design-build projects. However, there has heretofore been no effort to assess the effectiveness of this collaboration nor have there been any projects addressing significant human needs particularly in a global context. This semester the focus of the interdisciplinary project was on assistive technology applicable in third world countries. This work was an opportunity to assess quantitative and qualitative differences in process and products of homogeneous and interdisciplinary teams as well as the impact of human centered design projects