Fifteenth International Conference on Design Principles & Practices

Abstract

In the innumerable hours that students spend working on design projects and faculty invest developing courses, how much time is given to reflect on questions of culture, practices, or values in the design studio? Whether it is intentional or not, when teaching, culture is being transmitted. Culture affects educational environments and tends to influence the way learners participate in education. Faculty, for the most part, teach in the model from which they were trained often without awareness of its associated cultural values. This paper shares current research on cultural dimensions in studio-based education. It develops a new data informed approach to addressing cultural dimensions to advance levels of cultural consciousness in the design curriculum. The framework integrates the Cultural Dimensions of Learning Framework (CDLF) developed by Parrish and Linder-Van Berschot for the studio. It builds upon the research of Hofstede, Nisbett, and Lewis and implements a survey for comprehending the cultural dynamics of design studio. It explores the presence and impact of cultural values in spectrums of variability. By developing integrative cultural learning strategies in the studio, faculty and students can become more aware of the cultural forces at play in learning environments.