Abstract

This study represents an interactive experience towards conducting an undergraduate theory-based design course, ‘Design Theories and Methods’ in a product design department. These types of theoretical courses are usually conducted with a classical form of teaching where the lecturer is in a dominant position and bestows knowledge upon the learner (Wood and Rust, 2003). However, according to constructivist learning theory, knowledge cannot exist independently of the knower, but must be constructed through his own understanding of the situation (Hein, 1991). Therefore while a ‘revisit’ to Bauhaus education model is suggested, the main hypothesis is that “learning by doing” would provide a better learning process for the students and considering that the success of the students depend on their engagement in what they are learning, (Bayer, 1976). With this approach, students are made responsible for the ‘teaching’ within teamwork where the students are positioned to be active and creative where the lecturer is providing guidance (Yazici et al, 2001). The outcomes of the study show that students endeavor significantly more to learn and reformulate the topics in order to teach, and the interaction between students allows a more effective process for learning.

Keywords

Learning by doing, constructivist learning theory, teaching design methods

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License

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Aug 16th, 9:00 AM

“Learning by doing” revisited: an interactive experience in teaching design methods

This study represents an interactive experience towards conducting an undergraduate theory-based design course, ‘Design Theories and Methods’ in a product design department. These types of theoretical courses are usually conducted with a classical form of teaching where the lecturer is in a dominant position and bestows knowledge upon the learner (Wood and Rust, 2003). However, according to constructivist learning theory, knowledge cannot exist independently of the knower, but must be constructed through his own understanding of the situation (Hein, 1991). Therefore while a ‘revisit’ to Bauhaus education model is suggested, the main hypothesis is that “learning by doing” would provide a better learning process for the students and considering that the success of the students depend on their engagement in what they are learning, (Bayer, 1976). With this approach, students are made responsible for the ‘teaching’ within teamwork where the students are positioned to be active and creative where the lecturer is providing guidance (Yazici et al, 2001). The outcomes of the study show that students endeavor significantly more to learn and reformulate the topics in order to teach, and the interaction between students allows a more effective process for learning.

 

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