Abstract:

In service of cultivating designers who are able to process and translate emotionally intelligent and human-considerate inputs, we must first plant the seeds of individualized care in Design Education. Traditional models of Design Education impart rigid and narrow standards of educational objectives, while students, in contrast, benefit from more open educational objectives. Nontraditional, neurodivergent, interdisciplinary, and students with alternative processes and objectives are often especially deterred by traditional models.

Our disruptive design education format was conceived as an innovative methodology that is highly individualized to the student, with a focus on student agency. Training students to rely on traditional methods and externalized pressure hampers innovation, creativity, and critical thinking. This transdisciplinary studio/seminar course guides disruptive student users to better understand their own design research process by breaking down operational tendencies and reexamining personal biases, then reconstructing better systems of thinking and making. Within this disruptive design format, students are tasked with iterative exercises developed to unlock unexpected outcomes, reframe design problems, and push the current limits of student understanding.

From an interdisciplinary student sample of disruptive students across 5 consecutive cohorts, emerging Disruptive Student Archetypes (DSAs) have been carefully delineated and studied for patterns in thought, behavior, learning approach, making tendencies, interpersonal and emotional intelligence, paths of research, and sympathetic outcomes. By honing and applying DSAs, disruptive educators are able to to reflect on the differences between students, balancing each student’s individual needs and tailoring appropriate, personalized coursework to best achieve student goals. This plasticity, which molds the course rather than the student, allows a wider range of students to find both educational and personal success that would otherwise be discouraged under traditional models.

Understanding and application of DSAs supports disruption educators by providing a guided, systematic approach to various learning styles in design research and innovation, fostering a more supportive educational environment and promoting unconventional outcomes. Through this format, educators can increase understanding of emergent patterns within innovation studies, supporting the creation of an empathetic and encouraging student design educational experience.

Keywords:

Disruption, design education, design research, innovation, student archetypes, personas.