Project Title: A Pedagogic framework of sustainability - an evaluation of its effectiveness in design process

Supervisor: Prof. Ravi Poovaiah

There is no more debate about the need for Sustainability in design. We now need to concentrate efforts on how to reduce ecological footprints of the design solutions. Our field of concern for this study is- Design Pedagogy. The question is- how knowledge and skills can be imparted to students of design, such that they are able to contribute positively to integrating sustainability into their design efforts. Just as there can be no responsible design without a responsible designer (Findeli, 2001), students have to be educated with a responsible pedagogy to become the responsible designers.

The purpose of the study is to find a pedagogic framework of sustainability which can be integrated in non-dedicated design courses. Thus the attempt is to make sustainability the meta-objective of pedagogy generic or non-dedicated design courses. A distinction has been made between design courses with sustainability as the focus and generic design courses where sustainability is not an explicit focus. For the purposes of the study, the former have been termed as dedicated courses and the latter non-dedicated courses.

The unit of observation is the design process within studio pedagogy. This is the research site for observation. Design process thus observed will reveal 'Normative domains' and 'exemplars' as the epistemic units of analysis. Normative domains are norms 'that ought to be' and exemplars are 'shared examples and symbolic generalizations' in a discipline. The units of analysis-Normative domains and exemplars will be identified for both dedicated as well as non-dedicated courses. The units identified in the former will inform the latter. This will help build the pedagogic framework for sustainability.

The methodology which fits the purpose is action research and critical theory. This translates into improving practice by uncovering deep seated ideologies which need to be critiqued and transformed. Within action research, case study and content analysis will be the methods for operationalizing the research questions. The study will involve three case studies. Two of the cases will generate content for analysis and one case will be documented on the site of intervention.

The objective of the resulting pedagogic framework of sustainability is that it should be possible to generalize it to all design disciplines.

Contact details:
Industrial Design Centre,
IIT Bombay ,
Powai, Mumbai 400076

Telephone:
091-022-25767812

E-mail:rupa.n.agarwal[at]iitb.ac.in