Abstract
Scientists have discovered the efficiency and elegance of systems found in the behavior of natural groups, one of which is self-organization and flocking. Many researchers have studied and applied self-organization in business management but it is yet to be addressed in the design education field in Egypt. Design students are reliant on the teacher’s input which limits their independent decision-making and development. This study aims at introducing self-organization to groups of students in Egypt to enhance learning outcomes. A system was developed based on flocking to enable better team work experiences between design students. The system is based on using two positive and one negative feedback loops. An experimental method tested the proposed system on two groups of design students, backed up by semi-structured interviews and a survey to compare previous experiences with the new model. It was found that self-organization enabled students to interact with each other to create innovative designs with an improved general experience, group dynamic, and project structure. A method of rotatory leadership was also identified. By implementing self-organization and the system of flocking teams can become more agile and, therefore, succeed and sustain. Keywords: self-organization, design education, flocking, systems thinking.
Keywords
self-organization, design education, Egypt, flocking, systems thinking.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/learnxdesign.2019.16091
Citation
Lotfi, N.G.(2019) Self-Organization for Design Education: A sustainable flocking system, in Börekçi, N., Koçyıldırım, D., Korkut, F. and Jones, D. (eds.), Insider Knowledge, DRS Learn X Design Conference 2019, 9-12 July, Ankara, Turkey. https://doi.org/10.21606/learnxdesign.2019.16091
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.
Self-Organization for Design Education: A sustainable flocking system
Scientists have discovered the efficiency and elegance of systems found in the behavior of natural groups, one of which is self-organization and flocking. Many researchers have studied and applied self-organization in business management but it is yet to be addressed in the design education field in Egypt. Design students are reliant on the teacher’s input which limits their independent decision-making and development. This study aims at introducing self-organization to groups of students in Egypt to enhance learning outcomes. A system was developed based on flocking to enable better team work experiences between design students. The system is based on using two positive and one negative feedback loops. An experimental method tested the proposed system on two groups of design students, backed up by semi-structured interviews and a survey to compare previous experiences with the new model. It was found that self-organization enabled students to interact with each other to create innovative designs with an improved general experience, group dynamic, and project structure. A method of rotatory leadership was also identified. By implementing self-organization and the system of flocking teams can become more agile and, therefore, succeed and sustain. Keywords: self-organization, design education, flocking, systems thinking.