Evaluation of The Effects of Participatory Methods in The Teaching of Ecological Thinking in Design in Kuwait

In a world that faces global warming and other major environmental challenges, it is essential that students learn about the principles of sustainability so that they can apply these principles in their future lives and careers. This is particularly so in fields such as interior architecture and design, which will impact how well humans can move toward a sustainable way of life. The aim of the present study was to evaluate a participatory teaching approach for students of interior design that incorporates ecological thinking. It is particularly intended for use at universities and other places of higher education where such contexts are not currently available and, furthermore, where the teaching has been primarily of a didactic, teacher-centred form. The teaching approach was developed and tested through the involvement of students and staff at a technical institute in Kuwait – a country with severe environmental problems in which teaching at all levels has traditionally been rigidly didactic. A review was carried out of literature on learning theories, design principles, and sustainability paradigms that bore upon the research aim. Following this, a method was chosen, based on action research that involved running different types of workshops, in order to measure the impact of the teaching styles that are ideal to deliver ecological knowledge.

Name dc:type.qualificationname

Doctor of Philosophy

Level dc:type.qualificationlevel

Doctoral Thesis

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

University of Dundee

Year dc:date.issued

2017

Author dc:creator

• Alazemi, Sami

Advisors dc:contributor.advisor

• Fazey, Ioan
• Paul, Jeanette

• Ecological design
• Interior architecture
• Design thinking
• Interior design
• Design education
• Participatory teaching
• Ecological literacy
• Facilitation
• Teaching theories
• Group learning
• Co-creation
• Participatory Action Research
• Module creation
• Ecological theoreis
• Biophilic design
• Holism
• Resilience

Language dc:language

eng

Identifier

oai:discovery.dundee.ac.uk:studenttheses/54490bc5-da20-4a15-9688-37f46c1021a1

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:discovery.dundee.ac.uk:studenttheses/54490bc5-da20-4a15-9688-37f46c1021a1