Reaching Higher
We’ve Got Your Back!: Exploring Social Support’s Influence on Academic Performance
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Zhengping Liow
The design studio is an active social-learning environment. However, the ubiquitous One-on-One Master-Apprentice pedagogy has arguably fostered an individualistic and competitive climate. Despite the perceived richness of collaboration and social support in design studios, few studies have explored its impact on academic performance. This pilot study addresses the gap with a randomised controlled trial, examining differences in beginning design students’ perceptions of social support (teacher-student (STR) and student-student relationships (SSR) and their impact on academic performance. The control group were taught in One-on-One desk critique settings counterpointed with the heterarchical Cross-pollinative Team Learning (CTL) experimental group. The CTL pedagogy recalibrates the asymmetrical power relations in traditional One-on-One studios and actively encourages the cross-pollination of ideas for students’ individual design projects. The cohort shared a standard project brief and assessment criteria, and a panel of three tutors averaged their grades. The Child and Adolescence Social Support Scale (CASSS) was administered to participating first-year architecture students from both pedagogical groups at the beginning and conclusion of Semester Two. The independent t-tests revealed that both One-on-One and CTL students enjoyed comparable levels of TSR (p= .067) and similar academic attainment (p= .134), but CTL students significantly perceived better SSR (p= .025). However, during the second half of the semester, CTL students perceived significantly higher levels of TSR (p= .0016), SSR (p= .0013) and academically outperformed their One-on-One peers (p= .0010). These positive findings suggest that healthy levels of TSR, catalysed by CTL, provide academic benefits when leveraged in socially driven design studios.
How Is Story Used in Higher Education for Design in Japan?
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Shunta Tomimatsu
The term "story" is widely used in the field of design; however, its definitions vary, and a comprehensive understanding has yet to be established. This study investigates how the concept of "story" is employed in the curriculum of Japanese higher education to provide an organized framework for its roles and associated design disciplines. A total of 224 syllabi containing the keywords "story" or "narrative," collected from 37 Japanese universities with design-related faculties, departments, or courses were analyzed. Each syllabus was examined based on the descriptions found in their overviews, objectives, and schedules, and the roles of the keywords, as well as the classifications of design disciplines, were identified. The analysis revealed four key roles for "story": (1) Component, representing an element of the content itself; (2) Foundation, providing background information for design works; (3) Experience, defining the relationship between design works and users; and (4) Process, outlining the sequence of design activities. The roles of Component and Foundation were predominantly observed in content design disciplines such as film and manga, whereas Experience and Process were more common in fields like product and service design, urban and architectural design, and business. These findings suggest the potential for "story" to be applied across disciplines, enabling innovative design concepts that transcend traditional frameworks and adapt to evolving societal and technological contexts.
Featured Insights into Perceived Authorship in Designer-AI Collaboration: Exploring Design Students’ Perspectives on AI-Assisted Design Processes
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Byungsoo Kim
This paper highlights teaching and research efforts aimed at exploring the integration of AI tools in design education, with a focus on perceptions of authorship in collaborative design processes. A study conducted within an AI and design workshop introduced second-year industrial design (ID) and interior architecture (IA) students to the use of AI during the idea refinement phase of their studio projects. Students utilized image prompts derived from their own work to generate AI-assisted designs, varying the level of AI influence from 0% to 100%. A survey (n=30, ID=12, IA=18) was administered to assess their perceptions of authorship at different contribution levels. The study results revealed no statistically significant differences between ID and IA students’ responses. A notable 33.3% of participants considered AI-generated outputs as their own creation up to a 50% prompt influence, while 46.4% reported comfort collaborating with AI and acknowledged its contributions. The findings underscore the importance of equipping students with the skills to effectively navigate AI collaboration, ensuring a balanced approach that values both human creativity and technological innovation.
