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Course I: Understanding Narrative Method (.3 hours
CEU credit) By Sheila Danko, Cornell University Course Description How can we teach young designers to embrace a human-centered approach to their design decision-making? One way may be to add narrative or "storytelling" to their repertoire of design methods. If you are looking to energize the design studio or classroom experience while emphasizing a humane approach to designing, you will want to explore this method. This CEU is actually three distinct but sequential courses. The triad begins by building a theoretical and hands-on understanding of narrative as a design method in the first course and ends with the application of a unique and custom storytelling exercise (created by you with the guidance of the course author) for one of your own courses. You can enroll in one, two, or all three of the courses and will receive .3 hours of CEU credit for each of the courses you successfully complete. All three courses are based on the Journal of Interior Design article "Humanizing Design through Narrative Inquiry." This CEU is for any design educator who 1) seeks to build greater empathy in their students for the users they are responsible to and 2) enjoys experimenting with new ways of teaching and learning in the classroom or studio. Course I: Understanding Narrative Method begins by laying a foundation of theoretical and applied knowledge of the basics of narrative method including how storytelling is being used in innovative ways in other applied disciplines like business, medicine, engineering and law. Course I consists of reading the JID article and successfully completing an on line quiz to test comprehension. Only those who successfully complete this first course can enroll in Course II.
Course II: Preparation of a Student Assignment based on Narrative continues the learning process through an active learning component. In Course II you are asked to apply the basic tenets of narrative learned in course I to a problem of your choosing. The instructor will work with you to create a custom storytelling exercise for one of your courses, working with you to maximize the benefits of storytelling to fit your course goals and objectives and to identify mechanisms for evaluation. An outline of key project elements is provided to help guide you through the process in addition to the instructor mentorship. The outcome from Course II will be a thoughtfully constructed exercise. Only those who successfully complete Course II can enroll in Course III.
Course III: Implementation of a Student Assignment based on Narrative completes the learning cycle by encouraging you to apply the exercise created in Course II to a real life classroom experience and reflect on the successes and failures. A five point framework for reflection is provided to help you assess the strengths, weaknesses and future applications of storytelling for your coursework. The author will work with you to ensure that your experimental efforts in the classroom yield meaningful insights and next steps. The outcome from Course III will be a series of thoughtfully constructed answers to the five questions asked that will yield insight for future development and application.
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