Educating for a pandemic generation and beyond

If the pandemic has taught students and educators anything, it is that we can pivot on a dime. There were some hiccups during that first semester of quarantine when two weeks morphed into the remainder of the semester, no one knew what to expect next, but come fall of 2020, we were up to speed on our new technology resources and poised to teach and learn completely remotely. Thanks to the bevy of resources and training provided by the Center of Teaching and Learning at Scottsdale Community College, even the least tech-savvy instructor was now an online teaching savant.

COVID-19 forced us to quickly confront some inevitable changes coming to higher education, and we have learned a lot about the benefits and challenges of distance learning. Faced with temporarily moving all of our courses online, we had to be strategic about how this would work best for interior design studios. Faculty delivered supplies and material samples to students (thanks in large part to Facings of America). Studio courses employed an entirely new class modality - live online learning - where we hoped to bridge the gap between in-person and asynchronous online experiences. We identified the classes (or even parts of classes) that worked well virtually, as well as those that do not, and have responded by creating many new hybrid (a combination of in-person and online) classes. We created new technology-focused workshops to improve software skills, and the SCC Interior Design program now offers a number of faculty attended in-person open lab hours. Soon, we will provide a brand new type of course offering referred to as a “high-flex” course. High-flex courses provide students the opportunity to take a class in-person or live online, while advanced cameras and microphones record the instructor’s presentation in the classroom.

The SCC Interior Design program has been offering courses online for more than a decade. I created our first online courses (design histories) because we believed these lecture-based courses work well in this modality and can serve more students; busy learners love being able to take these courses on their own time. I enjoy teaching online, but I have to admit that I really miss sharing my love of design history with students in person. In fact, most educators prefer teaching in person. It seems counter-intuitive, but if an online class is taught well, it’s actually much more difficult to manage. There is more presentation material to prepare, and providing feedback is time-consuming. When in-person, student engagement is heightened, student-teacher relationships are cemented, and class discussions are more lively, so it’s easier for teachers to be engaged as well. Courses are offered virtually for only one reason - increased student access. Prior to the spring of 2020, there was this looming question facing educators and students of higher education. When will there be a demand that we do this all online, and how will that devalue education?

Our experiences during this pandemic have answered this question. We learned that we can do much more online than we ever hoped, but there are some things that need to continue in person; the best interior design program should be a blend of modalities. We offered a student poll at the end of 2020 asking students their preferred methods of taking our courses. Many answers were not surprising -they like taking history online but prefer to take fabrics in-person. Some responses prompted us to re-think how we were offering certain courses - such as our introduction course. The class was being offered as an asynchronous eight-week online course, but half of our respondents expressed the desire to have a live instructor - either in person or live online. This spring we will be teaching our second semester of a live online introductory course, where students can join me for an hour over their lunch break each week to chat about the current lesson. We also learned that handson courses like interior materials and fabrics must be mostly held in person. Students need to touch materials and visit showrooms, but we can decrease in-person class meetings by requiring some independent online work. Software courses need to be offered in dual formats; some students do well learning AutoCAD independently online, while others like to learn technology with peers in a studio environment. Most importantly we learned that learning modalities should not be all or nothing - but a blend of formats. Live classes can reduce class meetings by also requiring asynchronous online work and even some live online class meetings. With these reduced class meetings, now each studio instructor offers an open lab so online students can work in person with their instructor on campus if needed. The future of design education is not entirely online, but enjoying the technologies we grew comfortable with during this pandemic while also remembering that humans need human interaction to thrive.

In addition to modifications in course modality, the SCC Interior Design program has also made some improvements to our curriculum. Hand drafting and sketching are valuable tools, but in the growing virtual environment, electronic tools must take precedent. We have a short amount of time with our students, so we have to be strategic in what we teach. Faculty CJ Robb and Maryse Jospitre, who both have advanced technical backgrounds, have developed courses and workshops that increase student exposure to software programs such as AutoCAD, Sketchup, and the Adobe Creative Suite. They’ve also added basic computer functions like file management and workflow to our curriculum and worked with the Architectural Technology program’s leader Mike Kuzmik to rethink the curriculum of the introductory CAD courses.

COVID-19 has inspired many people to re-career, and we have seen a surge of experienced and mature students enrolling in classes. Our increased virtual class offerings have made it possible for many working professionals to join our program. These students want to become professional designers and earn their NCIDQ certification, but do not necessarily need another four-year degree. Also, the continuing demand for remodeling professionals has increased the need for designers who have knowledge of building codes, building systems, lighting, and even commercial design. To serve these students we have reintroduced a “third-year” to our program, with an additional twenty-one credit hours. We call this the Interior Design Professional certificate. We assume students taking these classes are already working in the industry, so these classes are all available either online or in the evening. In addition to current students, we invite any currently practicing Interior Designer who would like to improve their technical skills to join us for our new courses. Most of these classes are offered just once per year, so please reach out to Rachel.Simmons@ ScottsdaleCC with any questions.

Link to new Interior Design Professional certification: https://www.scottsdalecc.edu/degrees-certificates/ visual-and-performing-arts/interior-design-professional-5068-ccl continued on page 22