Linking classroom and community: A theoretical alignment of service learning and a human-centered design methodology in contemporary communication design education

LINKING CLASSROOM AND COMMUNITY: A THEORETICAL ALIGNMENT OF SERVICE LEARNING AND A HUMANCENTERED DESIGN METHODOLOGY IN CONTEMPORARY COMMUNICATION DESIGN EDUCATION Anneli Bowie University of Pretoria Email: Fatima Cassim University of Pretoria ABSTRACT The current emphasis on social responsibility and community collaboration within higher education has led to an increased drive to include service learning in the curriculum. With its emphasis on mutually beneficial collaborations, service learning can be meaningful for both students and the community, but is challenging to manage successfully. From a design education perspective, it is interesting to note that contemporary design practice emphasises a similar approach known as a human-centered design, where users are considered and included throughout the design process. In considering both service learning and human-centered design as foundations for design pedagogy, various philosophical and methodological similarities are evident. The paper explores the relationship between a service learning community engagement approach and a human-centered design approach in contemporary communication design education. To this end, each approach is considered individually after university of south africa Education as Change www.educationaschange.co.za Volume 20 | Number 1 | 2016 pp. 126–148 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17159/1947-9417/2016/556 Print ISSN 1682-3206 | Online 1947-9417 © 2016 The Authors 126 Bowie and Cassim Linking classroom and community which a joint frame of reference is presented. Butin’s service learning typology, namely the four Rs – respect, reciprocity, relevance and reflection – serves as a point of departure for the joint frame of reference. Lastly, the potential value and relevance of a combined understanding of service learning and humancentered design is considered. Keywords: design education, human-centered design, service learning, curricular community engagement, experiential learning INTRODUCTION From a global perspective, there is currently an increased emphasis on social responsibility as well as the role of community engagement within higher education. More specifically, the focus is placed on curricular and research-related community engagement where community engagement activities are formally integrated into the curricula of undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. The aim of these activities is to establish a mutually beneficial and respectful collaboration in the teaching, learning and scholarship of educators, students and external partners such as schools, community service agencies and organisations, to name a few. When mutually beneficial collaborations take place, such activities are referred to as service learning. Robert Bringle and Julie Hatcher (1996:222) define the activity of service learning ‘as a course-based, credit bearing educational experience in which students participate in an organised service activity that meets identified community goals and reflect on the service activity in such a way as to gain further understanding of the course content, broader appreciation of the discipline, and an enhanced sense of civic responsibility’. Furthermore, according to Anne Colby, Thomas Ehrlich, Elizabeth Beaumont, Jennifer Rosner and Jason Stephens (2000:xxix), service learning considers the development of the student as an accountable and engaged participant in society. Owing to the pedagogic foundation of service learning, it needs to be adapted for use by different disciplines as part of disciplinary specific curricula. For purposes of this article, service learning is considered for use within the discipline of communication design. Drawing on the abovementioned focus of service learning, it is worth noting that contemporary communication design practice shares a similar viewpoint about collaboration and social responsibility. In order to deliver more responsible and sustainable design products, contemporary design practice is increasingly focused on what is known as human-centered design approaches, where the user is considered and ideally included throughout the design process. A greater understanding of users and their context is reached through an iterative design process, which includes user research, co-creation, prototyping, continuous reflection (in-action and on-action) and critical evaluation of outcomes. 127 Bowie and Cassim Linking classroom and community Human-centered design is not a new concept but has evolved over time to indicate a shifting emphasis from a focus merely on desiging products, to designing for, and with, the people who use those products. In this way, end-users are given a face and are not just seen as a homogeneous entity. A human-centered approach therefore emphasises relevance, sustainability and accountability throughout the process and aims to create products that ‘make life better’ (Frascara 2002:39). Here the word ‘product’ does not only denote tangible products but extends to intangible outcomes such as experiences as well. Design students need to be made aware of their roles and responsibilities within the design industry and broader society, not only in terms of commercial enterprise, but also social enterprise. This stance of design as a social enterprise is supported by current trends in design discourse, which include themes such as design for social change (Shea 2012) and design for development (Oosterlaken 2009). In order to prepare communication design students to realise their widespread potential and contribution to social innovation, educators need to include experiential learning opportunities in the curriculum to instil and foster civic and social values such as responsibility, accountability as well as empathy. Considering higher education in general and more specifically design education outlined above, the aim of the article is to theoretically align a service learning community engagement approach and a human-centered design approach. Each approach is defined and considered individually by means of a literature review before a joint frame of reference is presented. Dan Butin’s (2003) service learning typology, namely the four Rs – respect, reciprocity, relevance and reflection – serves as a point of departure for the joint frame of reference between the two approaches. This comparison is done in order to explore the value of new methodologies for experiential learning within the context of design education. Reference is made to students’ reflections on a design project to illustrate some of the theoretical concepts and to show the link between theory and practice. This research is of particular significance to communication design educators at tertiary institutions in South Africa and abroad since they have the responsibility of putting theory into appropriate and meaningful teaching practice. To this end, the research aims not only to inform pedagogy but also to act as a springboard for additional research (...truncated)