The Burnout Phenomenon: A Comparative Study of Student Attitudes toward Collaborative Learning and Sustainability

Abstract

The importance of sustainable design and building practices has been well documented in recent literature by Stieg (2006), and as the emphasis on this type of design and construction continues to grow, institutions of higher education are increasingly integrating sustainable design into their curriculum. Congruent with this movement has been the growing realization that interior designers must be able to work and collaborate with a diverse and multifaceted workforce, particularly when sustainable design is a goal. Therefore, using a social constructivist approach this study sought to (1) measure the differences in attitudes toward sustainable design and collaborative learning between lowerand upper-division undergraduate students majoring in interior design at a Southeastern university, (2) investigate the potential impact of interior design education on attitudes toward sustainable design and collaborative learning among the sample, and (3) assess a potential relationship among the variables. Since the interior design program examined for this study incorporates increasing levels of sustainable design education and collaborative learning as students progress through the curriculum, the authors sought to determine whether upper-division students would display more favorable attitudes toward these competencies, which are so highly desired for the workforce. Results revealed that upper-division students held more positive attitudes toward sustainable design than lowerdivision students and provided support for a relationship between the two variables. However, contrary to expectations, results also revealed that upper-division students held less favorable attitudes toward collaborative learning than their lower-division peers. Educational implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Does the medium matter in collaboration? Using visually supported collaboration technology in an interior design studio

“…Thus, recent efforts of integrated design practice to establish sustainable design environments, a significant design agenda, have promoted collaboration as the sine qua non of the design process (Gale et al 2014). During collaboration, students actively learn from one another in a spontaneous and exploratory mode that fosters deep understanding of content, stimulates and motivates learning, and eliminates boredom (Bowen 2012).…”

“…Previous studies of the interior design field have dealt with the relationship between perception of team training and training effectiveness (Webb and Miller 2006), attitudes about collaborative learning among upper-level and lower-level interior design students (Gale et al 2014), and cross-cultural collaboration using videoconferencing technology (Asojo 2007). …”

“…According to the Council of Interior Design, the organization overseeing the quality of interior design education in North America, students in an interior design program should expect to engage not only in collaboration, leadership, and team work but also interact with colleagues in multiple disciplines (CIDA 2014). In addition, many experts in interior design have emphasized the importance of integrating collaboration into the interior design curriculum (e.g., Gale et al 2014;Sagun and Demirkan 2009;Webb and Miller 2006).…”

Interior Design Students’ Attitudes towards Environmental Sustainability

“…Several studies have been conducted on the attitudes of students towards sustainability (Ruff & Olson, 2009;Şahin & Erkal, 2017), on the attitudes of interior designers regarding sustainable interior design practices (Bacon, 2011), on the variables affecting student attitudes (Beery, 2013), and on the impact of interior design education on attitudes towards sustainable design and collaborative learning (Gale et al, 2014). Some researchers have revealed a lack of studies on student attitudes towards sustainability (Ruff & Olson, 2009;Şahin & Erkal, 2017).…”

“…Nonetheless, the results showed that top-level students had less favourable positions regarding collaborative learning than lower-level students. From this standpoint, researchers have emphasized the need to focus on collaborative learning alongside sustainable design training in the field of interior design education to enhance the professional success of future students (Gale et al, 2014).…”