RESEARCH LIBRARY
Our library gathers, organizes, and summarizes professional resources that will help you develop curriculum, explore assessment techniques, tackle online strategies, create student engagement and support your professional growth as a graphic design educator.
The strengths and weaknesses of critiques as an assessment tool.
Critiquing the crit
BLYTHMAN, MARGO; ORR, SUSAN; BLAIR BERNADETTE, 2007
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Examines the students’ perceptions that they are not getting enough feedback
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Comprehensive research evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of critiques
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Provides an evaluation of multiple critique strategies including one-on-one, small group and industry critiques
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Good practice examples and development materials to help support better critiques
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Includes case studies of both principle and practice for review
Image courtesy of Minneapolis College of Art and Design
As design educators, we might have a slight love/hate relationships with critiques. They are a great way to assess learning and an opportunity to use design vocabulary in a natural way. On he other hand, they can be exasperating for both teacher and student and some days you just feel like there is no point. Students come unprepared or they say very little. It feels like they say a few words and then “check out” after...MORE
Setting expectations with clear rubrics that guide student success.
Developing assessment rubric in graphic design studio-based learning
MERVAT MEDHAT ET AL, 2011
Identifies the steps of developing a rubric for studio-based learning
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Case studies on the effects of rubrics on students’ performance
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Supporting rubrics through curriculum, planning and interpreting
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Summary on the positives and negatives in using rubrics as an assessment tool
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Building student support of rubric based assessment though consistency
Original image courtesy of Minneapolis College of Art and Design
Grading student studio work without an assessment tool such as a rubric can create an ambiguous process that has been proven to be inconsistent, lack-transparency and cause confusion for students in assessing their learning. Rubrics can be used not only to help you set up your own consistent standards but it can also help students understand what you are expecting as outcomes for a given project. This reduces ...MORE
Assessing the process, product and person for a balanced approach
A model for holistic studio assessment in the creative disciplines
DE LA HARPE, BARBARA; PETERSON, FIONA, 2011
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Examines the students’ perceptions that they are not getting enough feedback
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Comprehensive research evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of critiques
​
Provides an evaluation of multiple critique strategies including one-on-one, small group and industry critiques
​
Good practice examples and development materials to help support better critiques
​
Includes case studies of both principle and practice for review
When deciding on what the focus should be for grading your students’ work, the process of creating the final piece or artifact should be part of your criteria. Too often we focus only on the final outcome, but so much of what happens a long the way, is large part of student learning. It helps to build critical design thinking skills that are important to future success and allows you to check for students understanding…MORE
Building history and theory into your studio courses for better results
Integration of studio and theory in the teaching of graphic design
RAEIN, MAZLAR; , 2004
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Separating design history and theory from the studio can be confusing to students.
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Creating a connection between research and creative development creates better life-long skill.
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In today's world, designers are asked to be authors and creators.
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Employing visual learning style into theory build knowledge retention
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This practice creates the ability in students to communicate process and visual solutions with their peers and clients.
As design educators, we might have a little of a love/hate relationships with critiques. They are a great way to assess learning and an opportunity to use design vocabulary in a natural way. On he other hand, they can be exasperating for both teacher and student and some days you just feel like there is no point. Students come unprepared or they say very little. It feels like they say a few words and then “check out” after...MORE
Syllabi examples from leading design schools
for inspiration
Teaching Graphic Design: Course Offerings and Class Projects from
the leading Undergraduate and
Graduate Programs
EDITED BY STEVEN HELLER, 2003
Well organized examples divided into undergraduate and graduate programs
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Curriculum examples are broken down into years, 1st -4th to get a good ideas of how a program can flow.
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Over 50 examples to review and pull inspiration from.
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Syllabi include objectives, course description, assignments and reading.
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The book does not have visual examples so it can be harder to visualize outcomes
As design educators, we might have a little of a love/hate relationships with critiques. They are a great way to assess learning and an opportunity to use design vocabulary in a natural way. On he other hand, they can be exasperating for both teacher and student and some days you just feel like there is no point. Students come unprepared or they say very little. It feels like they say a few words and then “check out” after...MORE
Image courtesy of Shannon McCarthy, Eastern Kentucky University
Making reflection a part of your pedagogy
Graphic design pedagogy: Employing reflection to support the articulation
of knowledge and learning from the design experience
ELLMERS, GRANT; BROWN, IAN; BENNETT, SUE; 2009
Using the final artifact as a primary measure of success limits the ability to assess the learning along the way.
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"High-road learning" can be viewed as students transfer knowledge away from the context it was originally taught.
Use student reflection to analyze experience while separating from the emotional attachment to the artifact.
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Our purpose as educators is not to teach individual mastery of tasks, but promote learning that can be transferred to higher level and more challenging design problems. This creates future designers with the skills to tackle all of the changes and challenges that are ahead of them in their professional careers. In order to increase the transfer of knowledge, Ellmers, Brown and Bennett explore the value of...MORE
Building history and theory into your studio courses for better results
Integration of studio and theory in the teaching of graphic design
RAEIN, MAZLAR; , 2004
​
Separating design history and theory from the studio can be confusing to students.
​
Creating a connection between research and creative development creates better life-long skill.
​
In today's world, designers are asked to be authors and creators.
​
Employing visual learning style into theory build knowledge retention
​
This practice creates the ability in students to communicate process and visual solutions with their peers and clients.
Many design programs have a tendency to separate design history from studio classes, when the two really work hand and hand together to build a framework for our design students and their learning. Taking a cookie cutter approach and separating your research and writing activities from your hands-on studio work can put them at a dis-advantage for their future where their profession requires such critical thinking...MORE
Syllabi examples from leading design schools
for inspiration
Teaching Graphic Design: Course Offerings and Class Projects from
the leading Undergraduate and
Graduate Programs
EDITED BY STEVEN HELLER, 2003
Well organized examples divided into undergraduate and graduate programs
​
Curriculum examples are broken down into years, 1st -4th to get a good ideas of how a program can flow.
​
Over 50 examples to review and pull inspiration from.
​
Syllabi include objectives, course description, assignments and reading.
​
The book does not have visual examples so it can be harder to visualize outcomes
Steven Heller is a veteran educator with decades of experience to bring to the table. He has worked on multiple publications on the topic of graphic design education and during this time he has gathered submissions of syllabi to support his writings. He became fascinated by the different approaches to the fundamental coursework that exists at the foundations of most graphic design programs...MORE
Creative activity used to generate new ideas
Creative Connection Cards
NOTTINGHAM, ANITRA; STOUT JEREMY
Use in your classroom to help foster creative strategy and ideation
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These cards break the silence and engage your students in the creative process in a fun and productive way.
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Use for individual students who are "stuck" in developing a creative solution to the design problem.
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Build conversation by breaking routines and randomly changing perspective
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Contains over a hundred 107 methods
There are many times when we can get stuck in a routine and creativity seems to get sucked right out of the classroom. Whether it is the demands from the outside or the compounding of multiple assignments at once, students can get stuck. Traditional brainstorming techniques like mind-mapping and keyword searches can help get things started, but they too can have a routine feel. One way to shake it up...MORE
Building your student engagement techniques to support achievement
Student Engagement Techniques: A Handbook for College Faculty
BARKLEY, ELIZABETH F; 2010
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Includes hundreds of techniques and strategies from across multiple disciples.
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Find practical applications and cognitive theory on how to get your students to engage in learning.
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Promoting student autonomy so that they understand that they are responsible for their achievement, not the instructor.
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When your class occurs can require different engagement techniques
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Getting and keeping students motivated, engaged and actively learning is a challenge that educators face in all disciplines. This is especially true for new educators who can not draw on previous classroom experience to help drive solutions. Add to that students have a lot of things to distract them from engagement from social media to messaging apps popping in on their computer screens..MORE