Abstract:

One of the biggest challenges for teaching in the field of Arts, Architecture and Design, given the current circumstances of social isolation from the COVID 19 pandemic, was converting regular classroom classes to remote education with innovative practices, maintaining the pedagogical quality and encouraging creative postures. Many university courses, in which design is an essential part of the training, accepted this challenge and formed partnerships for this purpose. The present abstract proposal is about the academic partnership between the University of Campinas (Campinas, Brazil) and the Lusófona University (Lisbon, Portugal) for the adoption of a distance-learning methodology to students in the first year of Architecture and Urbanism at UNICAMP. The contents from the online course “Drawing for Graphic Diary” were made available to UNICAMP students with minor adaptions. 45 students were enrolled on the course with a completion rate of 100%.

Modalities of graphic expression using manual techniques are the main goals of this introductory course in artistic design which, more than a skill, aims to develop “visual thinking”. Techniques and resources that range from traditional watercolour to modern scribbles were applied. Also, techniques for three-dimensional spatial graphic representation with varying points of view, translation of visual fields perceived empirically in intelligible perspectives in addition to essential design fundamentals, such as perspectives, proportions, patterns of representation were introduced during the course.

Using two platforms, Google Meet for live classes and Lusofona X (Open edX) for the provision of modular units, a continuous and regular interaction between students and teachers was established.

Four didactic practices were implemented in an innovative way that guarantees dynamism among all those involved:
1) biweekly tasks to be done in the Lusofona X environment;
2) online advice to students to resolve doubts;
3) online synchronous classes with course teachers detailing the exercises and graphic expressive modalities, and
4) special classes on other pertinent themes of artistic expression and drawing.

The pedagogical model for the course on the Lusofona X Platform was organized into four modules:
(1) The Visual Field - Objects;
(2) The Visual Field - Space;
(3) Expression Techniques - Part 1;
(4) Expression Techniques - Part 2.

The course was implemented with the participation of Portuguese and Brazilian teachers, in a simultaneous effort that overcame territorial barriers and physical distances. With this structure, built for remote education in artistic design, were obtained very interestingly, and even unexpected results. For course assessment, questionnaires were carried out to students at two different times:
1) before the course, to identify existing skills and available knowledge in the area of artistic design;
2) after the course, to assess the perceived evolution of these same skills and auto-reported measures of knowledge acquired by students.

The formation of international partnerships could be a consistent path for maintaining education, not only in times of adversity. The join of efforts in favour of an increase in teaching quality has broadened horizons and formed resilience in all the participants in the teaching-learning process, resulting in potential new didactic practices for higher education that, together with more traditional practices, could bring innovations into the field.

Keywords:

Artistic design, Remote education, Innovative practices, Visual thinking, International partnerships.