Teaching Beyond the Curriculum
Abstract
Inviting failure is not a consideration often given in today’s world that desires idealized perfection. Experiential Learning Theory seeks to create learning reflection and thinking. Employing knowledge theories applied to real-world problems in the studio environment. Design competitions introduce students to these challenges using analytical and experimental approaches. Competitions allow students to stack and transfer gained knowledge for their next level of design development. Research has found that learning through the reflection of doing creates individual growth and emotional maturity, which promotes motivation and involvement for students in their educational journey (Gadola & Chindamo, 2019). Acknowledging that all students learn differently, including faculty as students, we offer various paths to advance learning opportunities for everyone (Ankerson and Pable, 2008). A workshop was created, tested, and analyzed before the next design competition to maximize student learning. The workshop began with a lecture explaining what embodies experiential learning, how to demystify a design competition, and how to incorporate personal experiences plus classroom knowledge to enhance the outcomes of the design challenge. We gained real-time individual and group reflections with online polling. Ultimately, in a brief but fun learning experiment, teachers as students and teachers as researchers had an opportunity to reflect on their own experiences and grow from lessons learned during the timed workshop. Our outcomes unite university research with public education pedagogy and our own higher-education design studios in effectively applying to future design competitions and the personal and professional experiences we will encounter.
Jeannine Vail, RA, NCARB, LEED AP is an Assistant Professor of Interior Design at the University of North Texas. As an architect, she has served as a designer in the public and private industry sectors and as an educator, she is committed to design education excellence by bridging the academic realm and the professional sphere. Her research examines the intersection of multisensory design, interior design education and practice as it contributes to an equitable learning environment for children with neurodiverse conditions.
Natalie Ellis, PhD, IIDA, LEED AP BD+C has commercial and residential interior design practice experience, is a trained instructive scholar, and has an integrative and extensive research background. Her environment and human behavior design research apply to the higher education classroom and her consulting design practice.
2:30 pm - 4:00 pm
Thursday 16th November, 2023