Pedagogical Pathways
Polytechnic Institute of Lisbon
Climate Change Engage : Co-designing Educational Resources to Raise Awareness of Climate Change and Adaptation for Learners 15 - 17 Years Using Game Design View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Anita McKeown, Rebecca White, Michael Lennon
This paper presents Climate Change Engage a project devised to collaboratively develop a ‘serious gaming’ instructional pack for secondary school students and their teachers. The project integrates knowledge from the arts / design, post-primary education, sciences, engineering and social sciences and builds on prior research (McKeown et al, 2022) that evidenced the need and importance of youth-led agency and the impact of youth-focused co-design. Using an existing 5-day design sprint (McKeown et al 2022) adapted for game design, the team worked with 16 sixteen-year-olds over 5 days to support the students to develop games that addressed emerging themes from the team's expertise and the students' own knowledge. The paper presents an overview of the sprint process and key findings around the project's key objectives: to maximise the potential for deep learning about climate change-related scientific and social concepts by resonating with divergent learning styles. By mobilising interdisciplinary expertise and lay knowledge in co-developing an interactive heuristic with the students and their teachers, the project sought to co-develop a climate change problem-solving and educational resource as a suite of resources for schools across the nation. The paper concludes with reflections from the team and the students' learning process as they sought to co-develop a suite of downloadable materials to facilitate experiential learning that synergistically address Sustainable Development Goal Targets 11.2 -11.7 and 13.1-13.3 and empower students to co-produce solutions to raise awareness of climate change and adaptation for learners 15 - 17 years using game design.
Muinin Catalyst Sustainable STEAM View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Rebecca White, Anita McKeown
This paper shares the initial findings from embedding design into cross-curricular learning in post-primary education, through the Muinín Catalyst’s Sustainable STEAM (MCSS) programme across 16 schools in SW Ireland. Funded by the Science Foundation Ireland MCSS is a transdisciplinary pedagogical approach that integrates design thinking and experiential learning with the Sustainable Development Goals and the Earth Charter as a thematic principle for the creation of place-based STEAM education to develop effective real-world solutions to key global challenges. Delivered through Transition Year and proposed as supporting the transitioning Senior Cycle, MCSS offers an agile response to augmenting the Irish Curriculum with design-led 21st Century future-ready skills. The project builds on three years of research and testing, MCSS was developed using inclusive / universal design principles and an eco-codesign methodology (McKeown, 2015) with social (equality, diversity and inclusion) and environmental justice issues embedded in its processes. Through the production of lesson plans and blended learning resources with 21st Century future-ready skills; creativity, collaboration, critical thinking, creative problem-solving, design thinking and the ability to communicate. Working with researchers, students, teachers and curriculum developers MCSS extends and beta test the existing agile, place-based STEAM, SDG curriculum resources. MCSS’s ‘curriculum for all’ approach was developed to support teachers and learners to become future-ready and maximise their potential, no matter subject-specific choices or subject-specific expertise. Through in-class teacher training and continuing professional development and accompanying teaching and learning network, the project seeks to facilitate embedded design-led innovative, and engaged learning within the national education system.
Crafting Design Education: Connecting Regional Crafts with Design Education at Schools View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Priyanka Sewhag Joshi, Vijai Singh Katiyar
This research study explores the scope for feasibility, implementation and evaluation of the effectiveness of an activity-based study of the regional crafts as a part of middle school craft and design education. The objective of the practice is to give a conceptual understanding of design to the students and show how indigenous crafts can be used for creative inspiration to teach design to the students. The theoretical significance of the project is to set an example of how design sensibility and awareness can be cultivated in children through indigenous resources and strengths, and art and craft heritage. The practical relevance of this intervention in basic school education is to provide learning experiences through processes in design education to develop abilities and attitudes which connect the child to real-life and strengthen decision-making. From the basic school education, a child derives practical values that direct the contextual philosophy governing his day-to-day life and social constructs. The action-based research is positioned in a residential school in the state of Assam in North-east India. The method of research is participatory visual research in which the students present their work as learning evidence. The effectiveness of the project is further evaluated by giving the students a pre-questionnaire and a post-questionnaire to determine the enhancement in learning. The results that are drawn from this intervention aim to contribute to future practice and research in design education, and the development of a regional framework section for design education curriculum at the school level.
