critique

In May I went to my company’s annual conference where I spoke on Design-Led Innovation and Inclusivity in Design. At the same time, my students in my Design Research Methods class were finishing their finals where they were able to show their entire research journey from generative all the way through to evaluative including tested low-fi designs! It was my first time teaching in an academic setting, so I was really interested in my evaluations. Here are a few of the comments that I enjoyed the most:

1. I really like how this course is designed so your group can work at the pace decided amongst members. I like that this is a semester-long project because I’m able to delve into the topic and become an expert on it and have hands-on experience with it instead of just listening to powerpoint lectures the entire time. I like that we have workshop classes where we can work in class.

2. Dr. Hubbard is an excellent instructor. She knows what she is talking about and I think her experience in the field, as well as her desire to see us succeed, is what makes this class so valuable. The workload is quite heavy, but I feel like I have learned a lot about what it means to be a designer. This is probably one of the best professor/ classes that ATEC offers thus far.

3. This course was great. I learned so much about user research that I am now actively engaging in pursuing this as a career.

4. This course was really stressful at times but I feel like that representative of a job of this type would feel like in the real world. I feel really prepared because of this course than most other classes I took.

I did have a single student whose opinion differed from these, but I appreciated that response all the same. Critique is important and I want to be able to fulfill the needs of all students. So, I’ll be keeping the good and making changes to account for those things that could be done better.

To that end, I am currently taking a course on how to design and teach online courses for a private university located in the North East. It has been a fantastic learning experience and I’m excited to try the things I’ve learned when I design the Masters level version of this class.

All in all, I’ve really enjoyed teaching. It is extremely fulfilling and it lets me be a part of the academic community I so miss after finishing my doctorate.