Toward Justice
CoDesRes - CoDesigning for Resilience in Rural Development through Networks and Place-based Learning Interventions View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Anita McKeown
CoDesRes was a two-year project funded by the Irish Environmental Protection Agency (Jan 2018 - Jan 2020) to encourage localised engagement with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by utilising a bespoke arts-led methodology, the permaCultural resilience (pCr) praxis, as the foundation for community engagement and STEAM place-based education. Developed over five years in three distinct geo-political contexts and neighbourhoods; Deptford, S.London, University College Dublin and Taos and Questa, New Mexico, the pCr praxis is a critical praxis for artists working within the context of planetary urbanisation and the age of the Anthropocene. Further, the pCr praxis embeds creative systemic approaches and environmental and social justice in its processes, enabling a situated interventional approach to Creative Placemaking, that is ethical and agile and builds on existing community activities. The CoDesRes project sought to adapt the pCr toolkit and framework so that its methods for arts-led community revitalisation and STEAM education are accessible and usable by those other than the artist to create localised responses to the SDGs.This paper briefly introduces the methodology and shares insights and findings from the research by focussing on the community contexts of CoDesRes as the means to adapt the pCr praxis for a community toolkit. The paper summarises the iteration of the pCr methodology over the two years by presenting three community projects, the research findings, and the community toolkit and in conclusion presents signposts for future research, that focus on the application of theory, practice, and learning for other projects.
Blending Graphic Design: Pedagogical Approaches
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Katarzyna Chmela-Jones, Reshma Maharajh
Graphic design program facilitators are encouraged to include blended learning components as an integral part of the curriculum to align with developing University approaches and create meaningful learning experiences for students. Traditionally the major subjects in a graphic design program rely heavily on practical instruction which is underpinned by a theoretical foundation. Blended learning modalities offer opportunities for collaboration and which are highly valued in a graphic design course as they are perceived as a reflection of design professional practice. Additionally consistent online availability of lecture notes, presentations, podcasts, instructional videos, and self-learning activities have been shown to improve students’ performance in a number of fields. However, due to the emergent, creative, and praxis driven nature of the design process, the incorporation of blended learning into a practice-led program such as graphic design is challenging. Blending a program limits the presence of the subject expert to guide the critical reflection-on-action process that manifests in earlier knowledge and design skill acquisition. This paper explores identified limitations and proposes solutions to integrating blended learning in a graphic design program at a historically disadvantaged University of Technology in South Africa.
Call to Action!: Engaging Students in Social Advocacy with Design
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Doris Palmeros
As visual communicators we can very effectively reach the masses with the immediacy of graphics and imagery. With this power comes the responsibility to inform and persuade audiences in favor of just and ethical social causes. As design educators, we have the opportunity to influence and engage students in this type of social advocacy using graphic design. There are many ways to beat this drum as a call to action. It can start with a single project in a classroom or can be a full-course in social design. Outside the classroom, engagement in extra-curricular activities such as “Get Out the Vote” and “Replace-the-Hate” workshops can be immersive, active, and collaborative. At the core of these teaching practices are learning components such as service-learning, active-learning, and collaborative-learning that help engage students with more purposeful experiences. In the process of self-discovery and group action, they develop a voice to empower their abilities to design with social impact and thus become more conscientious designers. This paper considers the teaching elements and results from this type of student engagement.
