CROSS-DISCIPLINARY PEDAGOGY: FROM CHINESE FAN DANCE TO DESIGNING A BANDSTAND
Year: 2016
Editor: Erik Bohemia, Ahmed Kovacevic, Lyndon Buck, Christian Tollestrup, Kaare Eriksen, Nis Ovesen
Author: Hilton, Clive
Series: E&PDE
Institution: Coventry University
Section: Preparing Students for Cross-dsciplinarity
Page(s): 539-544
ISBN: 978-1-904670-62-9
Abstract
This paper offers insights into the value of a cross-disciplinary, transcultural approach to tertiary
design education pedagogy through exploration of two cases-studies. The first centres on the author’s
experience as an invited participant in a collaborative international venture - Shanghai Open
University (SOU) Immersion Hub 2015. This culturally immersive experience aims to deliver an
enhanced understanding of Chinese culture and methods of delivery and learning in a higher
educational context within China. The paper explains how SOU is investing in pedagogy research,
advanced learning technology and resources in its quest to deliver effective online distance learning
(ODL) to its 1.3 million students and seeks to establish the value of such technologies in the delivery
of design education in the UK. The second case-study revolves around a live cross-disciplinary,
collaborative design competition involving postgraduate students of Industrial Product Design, Design
and Transport, and Interior Design. The brief was to design a contemporary take on ‘the bandstand’ as
point of focus and as an expression of Coventry’s cultural ethnography and changing demographic.
The paper concludes with an overview that stresses the importance of pedagogic understanding of
cultural difference and its role in enabling international students to acquire the necessary collaborative
and cross-disciplinary skills needed to succeed both academically and beyond in a global design
economy.
Keywords: collaboration, cultural difference, design pedagogy, China, cross-disciplinary