Students as Researchers, Collaborators, & End-users: Informing Campus Design

Abstract

Students in undergraduate design programs often lack opportunity to conduct original research and apply their findings to project solutions. Consequently, they struggle with identifying and framing a design problem, understanding the importance of research-based design, and how to appropriately apply research findings to the needs and desires of project stakeholders. In interior design, this unawareness can lead to design solutions that appeal to the eye, but lack defensible rationale and often do not solve the design problem, or meet user needs. Exposure to research methods and collaborations with practitioners may change how students approach design problems by fostering an empathetic understanding of the human experience.This design case describes a project design at two universities where 72 sophomore and junior students collaborated with furniture manufacturer Herman Miller, Inc. to generate original research before applying their findings to the redesign of informal learning spaces in their campus libraries. Constructivist Learning and Backward Instructional Design, guided the design of the project. The result of this engagement, exposed students to research methods and research integration strategies, who outwardly demonstrated more confidence in making decisions during the design process. While the long-term implications from this type of engagement are not yet evident, encouraging students to ground their design ideas on evidence they have gathered, and their analysis of it, may not only shape their future decision making, but potentially lead to more appropriate client solutions and provide students with coveted job opportunities in positions where evidence-based design is highly valued. Stephanie Clemons is a Professor in the Dept. of Design & Merchandising at Colorado State University. INTRODUCTIONOur students are preparing for future careers that will present many challenges and opportunities. The way they approach tomorrow's problems often hinge on the education they receive today. In this brave new world, these young professionals will certainly need to call upon their creative and critical thinking skills in equal measures. Consequently, as educators, we strive to assist our students in becoming keen observers of the human condition, responsive to the needs of others, and ultimately able to recognize the power of their decisions in influencing others' lives. Yet, design students' projects come to fruition on paper or the digital realm, in a somewhat altered reality, and they very rarely have the chance to design spaces that are actually constructed. Subsequently, they lack opportunity to see the long-term impact of their design decisions. Therefore, students often struggle with how to best frame a problem, understand its nuances, and may even misinterpret the needs and desires of their end users. This leads to design solutions that may appeal to the eye, but lack appropriateness for the occupants of the space. We felt that exposure to first-hand evidence-based design (EBD) practices and collabora...

Teaching strategies for linking knowledge acquisition and application in the architectural design studio

“…According to the students' reflection, this strategy improved their critical thinking skill and prepared them for their future design projects. Similar results were reported in a later study by Huber et al (2017).…”

“…In parallel with this study, students' confidence also increased as evidenced in their verbal and visual presentations. The results also accord with the later observation (Huber et al , 2017), which showed that research integration strategies assist students for making decisions which leads to design solutions that meet the needs of the users.…”

Pedagogy + Reflection: A Problem-Based Learning Case in Interior Design

“…Design thinking, whereas, is the pedagogical tool that guides students to successful problem-solving solutions (Chamberlain & Mendoza, 2017). Domains with ill-defined and complex problems (e.g., interior design) benefit the most from the educational applications of PBL and design thinking (Galford, Hawkins & Hertweck, 2015;Huber, Waxman & Clemons, 2017;Jonassen & Hung, 2008). The authors, therefore, exposed students to an open-ended problem-solving project that required flexible decision-making in considerations of multiple factors.…”