Example of a staff workshop I presented.

1. CoCA WORKSHOP
ONWARDS FROM THE LAND OF BABEL

2. CoCA WORKSHOP
ONWARDS FROM THE LAND OF BABEL
Tell me, and I will forget.
Show me, and I may remember.
Involve me, and I will understand.
(Confusius)

3. CoCA WORKSHOP
ONWARDS FROM THE LAND OF BABEL
• There is no professional training requirement for
university academics in terms of their teaching
competence, as there is for school teaching. Possibly
for this reason, there is comparatively little research
on student learning at university level (Laurillard,
2008).

4. CoCA WORKSHOP
ONWARDS FROM THE LAND OF BABEL
• Q. What is the aim of teaching?

5. CoCA WORKSHOP
ONWARDS FROM THE LAND OF BABEL
• The aim of teaching is simple: it is to make student learning
possible (Ramsden, 1992).
• Making student learning possible places much more
responsibility with the teacher. It implies that the teacher must
know something about student learning, and what makes it
possible (Laurillard, 2008).

6. CoCA WORKSHOP
ONWARDS FROM THE LAND OF BABEL
• There is a tradition of pedagogy that stretches back to John
Dewey’s rejection of the classical model of passing on
knowledge. However, the classical notion of expert passing on
knowledge to novice is still widely held by some academics.
• New models of understanding call for the learner to be actively
engaged in the formation of their ideas. This is the essence of
deep (engaged) as opposed to surface (passive) learning.
• Exponents of this model such as Vygotsky, Piaget, Bruer,
Papert, all argue for the active engagement of the learner rather
than the passive reception of given knowledge. Confucius got it
right! Tell me and I will forget.

7. CoCA WORKSHOP
ONWARDS FROM THE LAND OF BABEL
• It is the teacher's responsibility to structure and organise a
series of experiences which positively influence each individual's
potential future experiences (Dewey, 1938).
• In other words, "good experiences" motivate, encourage, and
enable students to go on to have more valuable learning
experiences, whereas, "poor experiences" tend to lead towards
a student closing off from potential positive experiences in the
future.

8. CoCA WORKSHOP
ONWARDS FROM THE LAND OF BABEL
• So, an assignment can be seen, in this context as an
“experience”.
• The written component is therefore a prelude to an experience.
• Research shows that student learning is enhanced when
students know what it is they are expected to learn (Davies,
2004).

9. CoCA WORKSHOP
ONWARDS FROM THE LAND OF BABEL
• So, how do we design this experience?

10. ICD WORKSHOP
ONWARDS FROM THE LAND OF BABEL
• Student learning is enhanced when they are able to make connections
between different learning situations (Davies, 2004).

11. ICD WORKSHOP
ONWARDS FROM THE LAND OF BABEL
• What can we do to help students make the connections
between our specialisms and see the bigger picture?
• Perhaps a consistent format might assist.

12. CoCA WORKSHOP
ONWARDS FROM THE LAND OF BABEL
• A suggested template
• Title
• Introduction
• Aim
• Learning outcomes
• Assessment criteria
• Assignment
• Specifics

13. CoCA WORKSHOP
ONWARDS FROM THE LAND OF BABEL
• The title
• Research shows that a title can facilitate contextual
understanding (Harvey & Goudvis, 2000).
• In a text based proposition, a title facilitates the creation of a
macro-proposition, a personal understanding of a text’s gist or
essence, its macro-structure (Louewerse &Graesser, 2006).

14. CoCA WORKSHOP
ONWARDS FROM THE LAND OF BABEL
• The introduction
• This sets the scene. It should provide purpose for the activity
that is to follow. It is a call to action.
• The introduction is similar to a central proposition. It is the
‘WHY’ of a project, not the ‘HOW’. Therefore, it should not
normally be about the product.
• A process oriented approach —via the introduction—based on
problem definition, encourages ‘deep’ as opposed to ‘surface’
learning (Drew, Bailey & Shreeve, 2002).

15. CoCA WORKSHOP
ONWARDS FROM THE LAND OF BABEL
• The Aim
• An aim should be a cohesive, student-centred, holistic
statement based on the learning activity.
• As Barthes (1977) points out “a long text may only comprise a
single signified thanks to connotation”.

16. CoCA WORKSHOP
ONWARDS FROM THE LAND OF BABEL
• It is not the ‘Why’, nor the ‘How’. It can be best regarded as the
‘What’. Verbs such as ‘explore’, define’, ‘resolve’, should be
considered as opposed to ‘design’, ‘create’, ‘make’; verbs more
associated with ‘How’ an aim can be achieved.
• The aim should be process, rather than product based.
• While the title is context driven, the aim is purpose driven.
• The designed artefact is the main applied activity which seeks to
achieve the aim. It is an important component of the ‘How’.

17. CoCA WORKSHOP
ONWARDS FROM THE LAND OF BABEL
• Learning outcomes
• A learning outcome is usually preceded by a sentence that
begins “At the end you will be able to…”.
• It is useful to consider three separate elements in a learning
outcome.
1. An active verb (often with an associated adverb)
2. An object of the verb (indicating on what the learner is
acting).
3. A word or phrase that indicates the context.

18. CoCA WORKSHOP
ONWARDS FROM THE LAND OF BABEL
Example
At the end of this project you will be able to:
(adverb) (verb) (object) (context)
Critically evaluate the theoretical position on design process
(verb) (object)
Consolidate design concept into a rendered piece of
(context)
communication design
(verb) (context) (—adverbs—) (object)
Render human form accurately and expressively using various media

19. CoCA WORKSHOP
ONWARDS FROM THE LAND OF BABEL
Exercise
1. Invent two learning outcomes. You can base them on previous learning
outcomes you have developed.
2. Pass them to a colleague, preferably from another specialism and swap.
3. Look at the learning outcomes you have received and see if you can identify
the structure previously described which includes verbs, adverbs, object and
context.
If we have been able to identify verbs, adverbs, object and context in this
exercise then we now have an explicit understanding of what we have, till
now, done on a tacit level. We also have a method which can help us
determine if our learning outcomes have a sound methodical structure.

20. CoCA WORKSHOP
ONWARDS FROM THE LAND OF BABEL
• Assessment criteria
• While learning outcomes explicitly state what we expect students to
learn (expectations), assessment criteria is about measuring learning.
• Assessment criteria should also be explicit. They should indicate what
will be looked for to determine what learning took place and to what
extent it was achieved. They can also explicitly state where the
evidence of learning will be located. It is about (measuring).
(expectations) (measuring)

21. CoCA WORKSHOP
ONWARDS FROM THE LAND OF BABEL
• Assessment criteria
• Assessment criteria are statements specifying the standards that must be met
and the evidence that will be gathered to demonstrate the achievement of
learning outcomes.
• The purpose of assessment criteria is to establish clear and unambiguous
standards of achievement for each learning outcome. They should describe
what the learner is expected to do to show that the learning outcome has been
achieved. The assessment criteria specify how the task will be evaluated.
• Assessment criteria and learning outcomes are NOT the same!

22. CoCA WORKSHOP
ONWARDS FROM THE LAND OF BABEL
• Example
• At the end of this project you will be able to:
• Critically evaluate the theoretical position on design process
• Consolidate design concept into a rendered piece of communication design
• Render human form accurately and expressively using various media
• Assessment criteria that might apply to the above could be as follows:
• Note: Nouns are more useful when measuring learning. Wherever possible locate where
evidence of learning is expected to be found.
(Noun) (location)
• Depth of enquiry as evidenced in your written evaluation of the theoretical debate on design
process as well as the range of research sources you have found.
(location) (noun)
• Final rendered concept and the extent to which it communicates an understanding of the design
process
(noun)
• Extent of media exploration plus accurate and expressive application of media towards the
(location)
rendering of human form

23. CoCA WORKSHOP
ONWARDS FROM THE LAND OF BABEL
Exercise
4. Look at the two learning outcomes you have in front of you.
5. If you were to assess them in a learning situation, describe what you would
look for to determine if learning had taken place. What would you measure?
Make it as explicit as possible.
6. Without explicit assessment criteria, you may find you are relying on the
learning outcomes to provide a tacit indication of what will be assessed.

24. CoCA WORKSHOP
ONWARDS FROM THE LAND OF BABEL
• The WHY, the WHAT, the HOW

25. CoCA WORKSHOP
ONWARDS FROM THE LAND OF BABEL
ASSESSMENT
CRITERIA:
What will be looked
TITLE: for to determine
Helps define the gist of something to what extent
learning took
place
INTRODUCTION:
The why. A call
to action
AIM:
The what.
Summative statement
LEARNING
OUTCOMES:
What we
expect The ASSIGNMENT:
students to The how. Through
be able to enquiry into and
do through design, the
why and what will be
addressed

26. CoCA WORKSHOP
ONWARDS FROM THE LAND OF BABEL

27. CoCA WORKSHOP
ONWARDS FROM THE LAND OF BABEL
SPECIFICS:
Practical, procedural information.

28. CoCA WORKSHOP
ONWARDS FROM THE LAND OF BABEL
• SPECIFICS
• This section can contain much of the practical and procedural
information, relevant to the specifics of a particular assignment.
• By creating a miscellaneous section it means that all
assignments will be driven by the same why, what and how
structure. This elevates purpose and process above product and
demonstrates that design activity is the means by which we
achieve our objectives.

29. CoCA WORKSHOP
ONWARDS FROM THE LAND OF BABEL
The third paradigm
• Of the need for a new approach to design teaching, The
University of California, Irvine (2002) vision statement says:
• Training will focus less on the dramatically diverse products of
design and more on the processes of design leading to their
production. These processes have many common elements that
can be the focus of research and a coherent educational
programme (Proposal for a school of design, 2002, p. 9).

30. CoCA WORKSHOP
ONWARDS FROM THE LAND OF BABEL
The third paradigm
• On the changing role of design education, Buchanan (1998) says:
• In the third era of design—the era that is emerging around us
today—education and practice are partners. They are partners
for a very important reason, reflecting the proper role of
education in both discovering and disseminating new knowledge
as part of the field of design (ibid, p. 65).

31. CoCA WORKSHOP
ONWARDS FROM THE LAND OF BABEL
The third paradigm
• On the need for a move towards making design explicit Friedman
says:
• The challenge of any evolving field is to bring tacit knowledge
into articulate focus. This creates the ground of shared
understanding that builds the field. The continual and conscious
struggle for articulation is what distinguishes the work of a
research field from the practical work of a profession
(Friedman, 2000, p. 13).

32. CoCA WORKSHOP
ONWARDS FROM THE LAND OF BABEL
WHAT IS DESIGN
THINKING?

33. CoCA WORKSHOP
ONWARDS FROM THE LAND OF BABEL

34. CoCA WORKSHOP
ONWARDS FROM THE LAND OF BABEL

35. CoCA WORKSHOP
ONWARDS FROM THE LAND OF BABEL

36. CoCA WORKSHOP
ONWARDS FROM THE LAND OF BABEL

37. CoCA WORKSHOP
ONWARDS FROM THE LAND OF BABEL

38. CoCA WORKSHOP
ONWARDS FROM THE LAND OF BABEL
• What advantages do you see in projects which are driven
by a research question?
• This is what I thought uni was all about. I felt challenged.
• It required much more thought and contemplation.
• I believe it enables the designer to to create a more thought out
final design, because it is driven by research.
• That outcome becomes less important but the process is
strengthened. I liked it because the research was broader and
more interesting.

39. CoCA WORKSHOP
ONWARDS FROM THE LAND OF BABEL
• Describe how your understanding of the design
process has changed since you started this
project.
I found this really useful. Being aware of the process made it
easier I felt. I would not have kept going back and re-thinking
things if I wasn’t aware of the steps.
I value the analysis stage a lot now. Early attempts at synthesis
suffered without sufficient analysis.

40. CoCA WORKSHOP
ONWARDS FROM THE LAND OF BABEL
• THANK YOU