Active Learning Module for Design History Courses

Agne Jurenaite

Co-Presenters: Individual Presentation

College: Michael Graves College

Major: Interior Deisign

Faculty Research Mentor: Jeffery McCullough

Abstract:

This project is a component of a research project led by interior design professor Jeffery McCullough on active learning modules for studying design history.This World Design I assignment was to sketch and journal objects that could be seen in everyday life, such as public buildings and sculpture on display in public spaces, as well as objects on view in museums in New Jersey and New York. Students selected objects they connected with to enter in their sketchbook/journal by drawing and making notes. I chose to go to three museums: the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Newark Museum of Art, and Montclair Museum of Art. Additionally, as part of the Thinking Creatively Conference, I went to the home of Michael Graves in Princeton. Once I noticed a piece I liked, I would study that object and make comparisons to similar objects learned in class first, only then would I sketch and journal.The results show the capability for a significant increase in my final grade for the course. Sketching and journaling made me view the objects differently. When drawing something yourself, it trains your eye to see it in a way you wouldn’t have otherwise if you were only studying images, as is done in a traditional mode of teaching history. Through journaling I was able to explore shape, form, materiality, color, texture, etc. As an interior design student, it helped me understand spaces better and have a deeper connection with history and its influence on what design is today.