Traditional ways of teaching students in universities are of a model based on individual assessments that discourage group submission. But recent development in research shows significant benefits of a collaborative approach to learning. Also, advent of online learning solutions in education will change all the traditional approach of imparting design knowledge for students.
Research literature reports that collaborative design education is very beneficial for the students’ overall personal and professional development. Many studies also highlight the learning benefits of peer interaction particularly within the context of group discourse and reflection common to collaborative design education (Pawson*, 2016).
Benefits of collaborative Design education:
a. Group task like brainstorming session, focus group discussions etc. can be easily done with in collaborative learning settings.
b. Tackle problem solving tasks.
c. Less time will be consumed.
d. Multiple reviews of the project will happen within the group.
e. Quality of work will be improved.
Students learn from the design approaches, experience, and actions displayed in a team dynamic as design decisions are debated and trade-offs weighed up. Simultaneously, the capacity benefits of multiple team members allow students to consider more aspects of a design problem and achieve advanced design outputs.
*Pawson, Alexander. 2016. “Collaborative Learning in Design Education: The Value of Collaboration and Collective Experience in Team Projects.” The International Journal of Design Education 10 (3): 65-72. doi:10.18848/2325-128X/CGP/v10i03/65-72
Author:
Dr. Naveen Kumar, Assistant Professor, School of Industrial Design, Unitedworld Institute of Design (UID)
Disclaimer: The opinions / views expressed in this article are solely of the author in his / her individual capacity. They do not purport to reflect the opinions and/or views of the College and/or University or its members.
