Abstract:

Delve into Design! Is an interactive, collaborative and hands-on workshop for students who love making things. The workshop participants were middle school age students (grades 7-9) who came to a university setting for a week-long summer workshop at the Vignelli Center for Design Studies at the Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, New York in 2018 as part of a STEM Program. The students were introduced to design thinking techniques and strategies by university design professors and graduate students to address and create solutions for a specific problem. The workshop was an interactive, experiential, immersive learning experience with a focus on both 2D Design and 3D design and new ways of using technology including software and model making capability. The workshop format was developed as a learner-centered environment for all types of learners by offering information verbally and visually.

The students worked collaboratively in a studio setting with computers and analog tools to design the next “big thing” in order to experience how design impacts our daily lives. Examples of trending products with which students were familiar were presented to get the teams started. Critiques and discussions were used throughout the workshop as a time of learning and in order to ensure that all teams were making progress. All teams received support from graduate students and faculty with software and on-hands prototyping to prepare then for final presentations, which were held on the final day of the workshop.

The process began with research, followed by exploration of a series of concepts. Teams created visuals of their products, created branding and marketing campaigns, and presented their ideas for the “next big thing” to a panel of judges who selected the best overall concept using a consistent and clear evaluation rubric that teams had seen throughout the workshop.Through this experience, participants gained an understanding of and appreciation for the importance of good design in the creation, branding and marketing of products in their daily lives. Teams experienced the steps in the creative process through experiential learning, which reinforced the information provided in lectures and discussion. The information and experience gained during this workshop applies to many disciplines and so is helpful for students pursuing any professional path.

Keywords:

STEM, STEAM, design thinking, middle school curriculum, experiential learning, graphic and industrial design.