Towards an Understanding of the Social Aspects of Sustainability in Product Design: Teaching HE students in the UK and Ireland through reflection and peer learning
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Published
Jan 1, 2014
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Abstract
This paper presents findings from a doctoral study, which
investigated effective methods for teaching social
sustainability within product design courses in British and
Irish universities. This paper explores approaches for
encouraging students to explore the social aspects of
sustainable product design through workshops specifically
designed to foster deep learning through collaboration,
discovery and critical reflection.
The importance of deep learning is reflected in both the
sustainable design education (O’Rafferty et al., 2008,
Griffith and Bamford, 2007) and education for
sustainability literature (Warburton, 2003) as important to
an understanding of the holistic and complex nature of
sustainability.
Three 'Rethinking Design' workshops were designed and
developed as part of the doctoral main study to introduce
students to the wider social aspects of sustainability and
these were conducted in five universities in Britain and
Ireland. The workshops were developed to foster principles
that encourage students to adopt deep learning methods,
taking into account the specific learning preferences of the
current generation of students to enhance motivational
factors such as relevance, appropriate teaching materials
and opportunities for collaborative learning. The workshops
were tested amongst 150 undergraduate and postgraduate
students and found to be successful in fostering deep
learning by facilitating learning through discovery, critical
reflection, peer learning and creativity leading to an
exploration of design thinking solutions.
investigated effective methods for teaching social
sustainability within product design courses in British and
Irish universities. This paper explores approaches for
encouraging students to explore the social aspects of
sustainable product design through workshops specifically
designed to foster deep learning through collaboration,
discovery and critical reflection.
The importance of deep learning is reflected in both the
sustainable design education (O’Rafferty et al., 2008,
Griffith and Bamford, 2007) and education for
sustainability literature (Warburton, 2003) as important to
an understanding of the holistic and complex nature of
sustainability.
Three 'Rethinking Design' workshops were designed and
developed as part of the doctoral main study to introduce
students to the wider social aspects of sustainability and
these were conducted in five universities in Britain and
Ireland. The workshops were developed to foster principles
that encourage students to adopt deep learning methods,
taking into account the specific learning preferences of the
current generation of students to enhance motivational
factors such as relevance, appropriate teaching materials
and opportunities for collaborative learning. The workshops
were tested amongst 150 undergraduate and postgraduate
students and found to be successful in fostering deep
learning by facilitating learning through discovery, critical
reflection, peer learning and creativity leading to an
exploration of design thinking solutions.
Article Details
How to Cite
WATKINS, Matthew.
Towards an Understanding of the Social Aspects of Sustainability in Product Design: Teaching HE students in the UK and Ireland through reflection and peer learning.
Design and Technology Education: an International Journal, [S.l.], v. 19, n. 1, jan. 2014.
ISSN 1360-1431.
Available at: <https://www.ariadne.ac.uk/DATE/article/view/1924>. Date accessed: 24 sep. 2022.
Keywords
social sustainability, product design, design education, deep learning, net-generation learners, reflective learning
Issue
Section
Research
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