Education guide 'Eindhoven designs' - Technische Universiteit ...

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Dependent on the person, context, or phase
within the design process, students determine
where they start, how often they swap from
one activity to another, and the order of the
activities. This way the process supports
flexibility and individuality. Moreover, the
model actively supports reflection in, on
and for action. The mental activity of giving
meaning to a learning activity and, by doing so,
building new knowledge that relates to existing
knowledge is called reflection (Moon, 2004).
An in-depth explanation of reflection can be
found in chapter three.
When performing an activity within a circle, a
student reflects on action. An opportunity for
reflection on and for action occurs every time
the student switches activities. Therefore, we
stimulate frequent changes from one activity
to another. This could help novices in design
to train their reflective practice. The activity of
reflection is indicated in the model by the lines
between the mutual activities, and between
the activities and the deliverables. Reflection
on and for action can also be related to the
entire learning activity on a higher level. This is
represented in the model by the reflection line
of the outer circle.
Visualising one’s own
process
If students articulate their reflections, for
example by visualising all the steps and
discussing their ideas or view with others,
these reflections become a representation
of their learning, which can be shared with
others and may result in a new or transformed
learning experience. As such, these reflections
are an integral part of learning itself (Moon,
2004). We explicitly encourage students to
document their process in a schematic way.
For example, groups of Master’s students
within the User Class experimented with this
visualisation and developed their own way of
representing their design and learning process
(based on a previous version of the RT design
process). They translated the five circles to
columns and placed every activity in a column
and indicated the relationship between the
activities.
There is not one way for doing this. It is also
related to the skills of the students and their
preference for a certain way of learning (see
Kolb in chapter three). For example, one could
also work with photos in combination with
notes and a visualisation of the RT design
process.
Preference and stage
Similar to the representation of competency
areas, the activities in the design process
also show a ‘profile’, based on the size of the
circles which indicate the student’s preference
and skills for this activity. This is often related
to the amount of time spent on this activity too.
When looking at the process of John Helmes,
one clearly sees his preference and skills
on the making side. He produced dozens of
physical sketches to enhance his imagination
and creativity, as well as boost his vision on
designing in the context of his project. The
quality of deliverables was also very strong in
relation to the time spent on this project.