Learning Through Design
Instructors: Jilly Traganou, Cynthia Lawson
Spring 2009

This course will be conducted in collaboration with elementary schools in New York City, aiming to foster a reciprocal relation of learning between students and elementary school children, as well as utilize and learn about constructivist methods of pedagogy.

Upon entering elementary school, most children experience the conventional separation between academic learning and the arts, that will mark most of their future educational and career experiences. Considering design as an intermediary between the two, this course is based on the premise that an uninterrupted design education from pre-K through K-12 is fundamental for the cognitive development of children (and therefore individuals), and for fostering a meaningful relationship with their environment. The term 'design pedagogy' implies not merely vocational design training, but rather the use of design thinking as an intellectual process that through visual learning, hands-on experiences, creative play and research-based methods, can help children comprehend a variety of humanities and science-based subjects.

The course will provide an overview of various hands-on pedagogical systems, such as Montessori, Froebel, Summerhil, Steiner (Waldorf), Patti Smith Hill, Reggio Emilia and Bank Street, analyzing their approach towards educational materials/classroom, urban space and the natural environment. During the semester, students will undertake theoretically-grounded design propositions, preferably in collaboration with or in accordance to the objectives of an education-related establishment in New York City (school, publishing house, non-profit organization, etc.).

The class will visit schools in New York City that follow the above mentioned systems, in order to perform first-hand observations of their educational environments and methods. The final students’ projects will be worked in teams and in collaboration with schools from various neighborhoods in New York City.

Children as Learning Partners: Imagining the Neighborhood Project
(course module focusing on urban space)
Instructors: Jilly Traganou, Cynthia Lawson
Spring 2009

The course is based on the belief that the understanding of the urban environment can lead to more democratic processes of participation in the decision making and design of the cities, and it will focus on the study of New York neighborhoods as a fundamental component of urban life, where every day experience is being grounded. Parsons students will guide elementary school children of different communities in the investigation and re-imagining of their localities, while at the same time obtain a first-hand, participatory means of understanding the neighborhood as an urban unit. College and elementary school students will study and design material and immaterial aspects of the urban neighborhoods where the partner-schools are situated, bridging exploratory, research-based means of knowledge with project-driven inquiries. The course will study various aspects of the neighborhood in an "emerging curriculum" manner, including questions such as the role of indoor and outdoor community spaces; how real estate and gentrification affect community; urban infrastructure, supply and connectivity with the rest of the city, country and the world; identity and communication among divergent sub-groups; children's agency as equal community members; aspects of material and social sustainability; etc. The above questions will be articulated in the form of a design proposal, with outcomes that may vary from the design of two- or three-dimensional objects (such as murals, awareness campaigns, playgrounds or public equipment) to exhibition-design and printed or electronic publications.