High level design

1HIGH LEVEL DESIGN

Fostering creative thinking skills in first-year students of the graphic design program at Cgep du Vieux-Montral by milie Ren-Vronneau ETEC651 Nadia Naffi Concordia University

2TABLE OF CONTENTS

3 System Overview

4 Intervention Calendar

5 Reflexive teaching training

5 Cra newsletter

6 Cadavre-esquisse

6 How Creativity Works workshop

7 Creativity techniques poster/pamphlet

7 Keeping tracks of my ideas

8 Environmental mindmap

8 Multi-disciplinary guest speakers

9 Unexhibit advertisement

9 Peer mentors

10 The more, the merrier!

10 This is (not) my project

11 T-shirts and prints

11 Unexhibit

12 Teacher.tv

13 References

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second and third-year

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Reflexive teaching training and coaching Information on creativity

Interact in a safe, playful and positive environment where creativity is valued

Coaching and model behaviorsConstructive feedback

Apply creative thinking techniques Record their ideas

Create multiple sketches Think critically

Training on creativity and creative thinking techniques Proper incentives to foster creative behaviors

Coaching and model behaviorsConstructive feedback and tools

Increased visibility Improved reputation

Creative outcomes Better portfolios

Increased student integration

increased creative thinking abilities

first-year students

institution

potential students and their parents

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programsworkforce

Increased revenue

Increased applications

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System OverviewThe concept map below illustrates the different components of a system supporting the performance objectives outlined in the performance needs assessment document.

high level design

fall semester winter semester

Intervention Calendar

Different interventions are scheduled within the school year. The darker areas correspond to the timing of these interventions.

01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15

SOURCE Life-belt. (Davidson, 1908)

4

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*

*

* Variable timeframe and on demand Stand-alone intervention Stand-alone intervention leveraged towards the Unexhibit

reflexive teaching training

cra newsletter

cadavre-esquisse

how creativity works training

creativity techniques poster

keeping track of my ideas

environmental mindmap

multi-disciplinary guests speakers

unexhibit advertisement

peer mentors

the more, the merrier!

this is (not) my proJect

t-shirts and prints

unexhibit

teacher.tv

51 reflexive teaching traininginstructional interventionA vast majority of teachers in the graphic design program have not undergone pedagogical training. This intervention is focused on training teachers at reflexive teaching so they will be able to better self-monitor how they impact creativity in their classrooms.

Teachers will go through 15 hours of asynchronous online training, split in five sessions of three hours over a semester. The training will be based on Donald Schns work The reflective prac-titioner: How professionals think in action (1983).

A monthly meeting with a pedagogical advisor from Cgep du Vieux-Montral will ensure that the teachers are engaging in reflexive practice in a smooth way as well as discussing obstacles and resistance. These meetings will also address current issues in practice such as the impact of grading sketches at the same time than the final piece, giving constructive feedback, model-ing behaviour and foster a proper classroom environment for creativity.

advantages Pre-recorded lectures on reflexive teaching ensures that this

intervention can be reused if new teachers are hired. Pedagogical advisors follow-up by supporting and guiding

teachers through these lectures regarding specific issues and can assess teacher attitudes towards reflexive teaching.

limitations Teachers may be resistant to training and coaching. Ultimately, it is up to the teachers to engage with the content

and apply it to their teaching and there is no guarantee they will do so.

users Teachers

form Asynchronous online training and in-person coaching

medium Online training delivery followed by meetings with a pedagogical advisor

tone Professional

performance need Skill and knowledge

performance obJective

Given information about creativity, creative thinking and reflexive teaching, the performers explain their own creative processes and model creative behaviors to the students, facilitating the stu-dents acquisition of key cre-ative personal characteristics.

2 cra newsletternon-instructional interventionMany teachers knowledge of creativity may be partly outdated or based on intuition. This newsletter aims at filling gaps in know-ledge about creativity and inform teacher practices.

Specifically, it provides the latest findings and articles about creativity, ideas for teaching creativity, creative thinking tech-niques and exercises. It is sent to teachers emails at the beginning of every semester.

Teachers are curious but also busy. Therefore, the newsletter will contain summarized articles while providing supplementary links to allow a deeper engagement on the topics covered.

Moreover, reading about creative processes may assist the teacher in being more self-aware of their own creative processes, as well as find ways to explain them to students.

advantages Brings all the information in one place. Can be consulted at any time. Can be archived to form a body of reference for future needs.

limitations There is no guarantee they will do so the teachers to engage

with the content and apply it to their teaching.

users Teachers

form Newsletter

medium Email

tone Professional, recent and accessible information, clean and thoughtful visual.

performance need Information


Given information about creativity, creative thinking and reflexive teaching, the performers explain their own creative processes and model creative behaviors to the students, facilitating the stu-dents acquisition of key cre-ative personal characteristics.

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63 cadavre-esquissenon-isructional interventionNew students in the program may be wary of their new environ-ment and how they will integrate among their classmates. This short drawing activity is designed so that students will think cre-atively, quickly and also get to know each other in a fun ambiance. It acts as a conversation starter at the beginning of the semester and also requires students to show each other their ideas, slowly establishing trust among themselves.

Students around a table and draw a random squiggle on a piece of paper. They then pass the paper to the student next to them who attempts to create something using the squiggle as a starting point. They are given one minute and this process is repeated 30 times, resulting in 750 drawings.

advantages Easy and quick to setup. The time limit forces students to think creatively

without censoring themselves. The best outcomes can be reused for a series of t-shirts or

exhibit materials but the students will not be told this at first so that they are not overly focused on their drawing abilities.

limitations Some students may not like that they are not given the time to

produce a more detailed rendering.

users First-year students Getting started

form Game.

medium In person, using paper and pen

tone Fun and light-hearted

performance need Capacity, motivation


Given a problem, performers start by researching and cre-ating multiple sketches which communicate ideas, without censoring themselves.

Given a positive environment where creative behaviors are valued, performers interact in playful, cooperative and trust-ing ways to facilitate creative outcomes and processes.

4 how creativity works workshopinstructional interventionThis intervention aims at giving first-year students basic know-ledge on the workings of creativity works as well as creative thinking techniques and habits. It will also attempt to convey that creativity is not a fixed trait and that they are evolving in an environment which is open to this phenomenon.

The workshop will cover how insight comes about as well as divergent and convergent thinking. It will explore how some great inventions were born, sometimes accidentally. It will also discuss and make students practice the techniques of brainstorming and scamper as well as journal keeping. Finally, it will attempt to demonstrate to students that they are evolving in an environment which values creatvity by showing past examples of highly cre-ative work and the creative process involved.

This activity will take place in the first weeks of the first semes-ter. It will be given by two teachers to make it more dynamic and engaging.

advantages A workshop format can involve activities that make students

interact with each other and help them get to know their classmates.

This intervention can be updated easily by using the latest information within the Cra newsletter.

limitations The workshop alone will not increase students creative skills.

Concrete activities will be required to integrate these skills. Students may forget the material quickly if not engaged. If this activity cannot be included as part of the curriculum,

attendance may need to be incentivized either through a bonus grade or some other means such as giving away prints or t-shirts from previous years.

users First-year students Getting started

form Workshop

medium In person

tone Intelligent material conveyed in a fun and interactive way.

performance need Skills and knowledge


Given information about crea-tivity and creative thinking as well as proper models of behavior, performers apply techniques to leverage their creative skills.

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75 creativity techniques poster /pamphletThis document will be produced to summarize the content and serve as a reference for the How Creativity Works workshop. It aims at increasing the likeliness that students will use creative thinking techniques.

This document provides a summary of the creativity training workshop as well as a troubleshooting guide to get out of creative ruts. It unfolds as a poster with the same content and can easily be pinned in students homes as well as classrooms. It is handed to each student after the How Creativity Works workshop as well as pinned in every classroom. It should be informative and visually attractive so students will want to hold on to it.

advantages Can be designed and printed using our own resources. The possibility to unfold is as a poster reduces

the likeliness it will be put out of sight.

limitations Students may just throw the pamphlet away. We may want

to consider an alternative such as a digital wallpaper if there is too much waste.

users First-year students

form Pamphlet/poster hybrid

medium Print document

tone Intelligent material conveyed in a visually attractive document using accessible language.

performance need Information, resources


Given information about creativity and creative thinking as well as proper models of behavior, performers apply techniques to leverage their creative skills.

6 keeping track of my ideasnon-instructional interventionJournaling can help students become more aware of their inner voice by giving them a place to write down random thoughts and sketches.

Following the creativity workshop and its introduction to the journaling technique, each student will be handed a blank-paged booklet in which they will be able to explore ideas.

It is imperative that the journal is introduced as the students own place and that they are aware it doesnt need to follow any rules or structure.

Teachers will schedule quick reviews every five weeks. The students will submit their journal by the end of the year for a quick review and the best spreads will be picked for display purposes for the Unexhibit.

advantages Ease of use. Can be used to track long-term progress. Allows students to keep their ideas in a single,

light-weight, and portable document. Archived ideas can be revisited and improved on. The outcomes of this intervention can be reused in the

Unexhibit.

limitations Students may not see the use for journaling

until theyve really tried it. Students may not feel comfortable writing

their thoughts down. Students may rush to fill the journal at the end

of the year instead of truly journaling.

users First-year students Novice

form Journal

medium Portable booklet with blank pages

tone Caring and sensitive, putting emphasis on introspection.

performance need Resources


Given tools such as paper and pen, performers record their ideas by drawing original inspiration from themselves and their surroundings.

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87 environmental mindmapnon-instructional interventionStudents often look for inspiration online. This does not incite them to think for themselves and plagiarism can be tempting. This intervention aims at increasing students observation skills and to have them listen to their inner voice.

As an added assignment in the Graphisme et esquisse course, students will be required to stay in the same spot for 30 min-utes and observe their surroundings. Using the journal theyve acquired in the Keeping track of my ideas intervention, they record everything they observe in this period of time, as well as ideas and questions related to these observations. This can be done anywhere they wish around the institution. Later in class, they display their mindmaps and are asked to reflect on what this means for their work in terms of finding inspiration.

Students may be uncomfortable at first with this request as it is very open. Teachers should spend some time explaining the goal of the exercice and reassure them that there are no right or wrong answers.

advantages This exercice also allows them to discover the surrounding

areas of Cgep du Vieux-Montral and possibly make them feel more at home.

The outcome of this intervention can be reused in the Unexhibit.

limitations Its not possible to ensure the students really do this assignment

by following the rules.

users First-year students Novice

form Observation assignment

medium Mindmap

tone Caring and sensitive, putting emphasis on introspection.





8 multi-disciplinary guest speakersnon-instructional interventionWhile students aspirations for a graphic design career may not always materialize, the acquisition of creative skills can be useful in a variety of other disciplines as well as life in general. The rationale behind this intervention is for students to grant more value to creative skills by witnessing their use in other spheres.

Cgep du Vieux-Montral is a hotbed of creativity as it hosts multiple artistic departments. In order to raise awareness that creativity can be transfered and used through all sorts of fields, speakers from varied disciplines will be invited to give talks.The guests will speak about their creative processes, how they get out of creative ruts, how they use creativity in their lives and what is the perception of creativity in their jobs. The talks will be held at convenient times for students such as lunch time or after classes, and take place in the first few weeks of every semester. Rooms fit for up to 40, 90, 100 or 300 people will be booked according to the popularity of the events.

The speakers will be chosen based on how well they can spark interest and inspiration. Students and teachers of all departments will be welcome to attend. Each participant will be awarded a collectible and unique badge as an incentive to attend.

advantages As the Cgep du Vieux-Montral hosts varied creative

programs such as industrial design, visual arts, photography and more, the costs and efforts for organization will be split between departments.

This will allow students and teachers from different programs to get to know each other and meet inspiring people.

limitations Students may not attend the talks in spite of the incentives

put in place.

users All performers from the graphic design department and other creative disciplines

form Guests

medium In person

tone The speakers will be requested to put an emphasis on the creativity involved in their lives and work with respect to all creative disciplines.

performance need Information, motivation




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99 unexhibit advertisementnon-instructional interventionIn order to spark interest towards the graphic design program at Cgep du Vieux-Montral, the Unexhibit advertisement will be produced to diffuse the Unexhibit to students and the larger public. It will aim at portraying how creativity can be freeing of constraints, and create a sense of belonging and anticipation towards the event.

The advertisement will provide an idea of what the exhibit is about, as well as its location and calendar. It will be distributed through institutional social media channels, web sites, as well as broadcast in the subway network, if funding allows.

advantages This intervention can be produced internally

and diffused at low costs.

limitations Recreating a compelling ad every year with a different theme

will be time consuming and challenging.

users All performers from the graphic design department and general public

form Advertisement

medium Video

tone Youthful and visually rich

performance need Incentives



10 peer mentorsnon-instructional interventionInciting students of varied skill level to collaborate can be benefi-cial to all of them as novices learn from more advanced students and advanced students find ways to explain the way they work and their reasoning to others.

The peer support program puts in place small teams of students of varied skill to discuss projects together. Volunteer second and third-year students are matched with first-year students for meetings where they discuss on-going projects. Students who are effective mentors will get a reference letter from the teacher com-mittee. The students will meet monthly in the computer lab for an hour long meeting, in accordance to the students schedules.

A teacher committee will need to be put in place to create teams likely to work well together, based on students interests and personalities. The committee will also provide recommanda-tion letters to successful mentors as well as manage related issues arising in teams.

advantages Coaching acts as a synergy where both mentors

and mentee learn from each other. Positive relationships among students will benefit

the work environment in general.

limitations As this intervention requires a hefty time investment for all

performers as well as fairly complex logistics, it will need to be assessed to ensure it is truly valuable to our program.

users All students of the graphic design department

form Support groups

medium In person

tone Informal and defined by students interactions together.

performance need

Resources, incentives, motivation


Given information about creativity and creative thinking as well as proper models of behavior, performers apply techniques to leverage their creative skills.

Given their progress on a problem, performers reflect critically about their solutions and seek constructive feed-back from peers and teachers.


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11 the more, the merrier!non-instructional interventionOne of the main issues outlined in the performance needs assess-ment regarding first-year students is that they do not produce a large quantity of ideas. They are often unaware of the sheer amount of available possibilities and their ability to generate these. The rationale behind this intervention is for students to put into practice the creative thinking methods taught in the workshop at different intervals to favor retention as well as foster collaboration.

Every semester, they will be challenged to come up with a hundred unique ideas on a specific theme. A 10 10 grid of squares will be pinned on the billboard where students will sketch relevant ideas as the semester progresses. They will be required to include their initials in order to keep track of participation and authorship.

The whole grid will be featured in the Unexhibit. The best ideas will be reused to create t-shirts and prints to generate visibility and funds in a subsequent intervention.

advantages Challenges the students to come up with more ideas. Gives them a project to cooperate on, bringing them together. The outcome of this intervention can be reused

in other interventions.

limitations Some students may complain at others ideas or not. Some students may not follow the thematic constraints.

users First-year students Feeling arrogant

form Collective project

medium Print

tone Fun and light-hearted



Given a problem, performers start by researching and cre-ating multiple sketches which communicate ideas, without censoring themselves.


12 this is (not) my proJectnon-instructional interventionStudents are often very attached to their ideas and this may hinder them to think critically about their work. Also, they are often insecure about presenting their ideas to their classmates.

In this intervention, students present a project that is not their own. They are randomly assigned someone elses project and cannot consult with the original creator. This forces them to think critically on the strengths, weaknesses and choices that were made to get to the end result. When presenting the project, they should be focusing on the strengths. They may even occasionally uncover new reasons for choices that the original creator did not think of themselves. Students and teacher are allowed to ask the presentator questions about the project to put them on the spot.

advantages Allows the student to focus on how they present the project

instead of their fear of their project being judged. Seeing a project presented by a classmate can allow

the creator to see if in a different light. Helps students make sense of how presentation abilities can

affect their perception of the quality of a project.

limitations Some students may not like the project they are presenting. Some students may not like roleplaying.


form Presentation

medium In person

tone Roleplaying





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13 t-shirts and printsnon-instructional interventionStudents are often very proud at having their work printed and rarely have this chance to celebrate so early in the program. As many of the previous activites generate multiple creative outcomes, this intervention is an opportunity to have students ideas diffused, advertise the Unexhibit as well as the institution and raise some funds to be used in hiring speakers and buying journals.

The best sketches produced by the students in the previous year will be printed on posters and t-shirts. Since most outcomes are likely to be sketches and using a single color, the t-shirts will be easy and cheap to produce in our own facilities. If these are popular, we should consider collaborating with an on-line store to create a collections of designs.

advantages Can be produced in-house in our silkscreen workshop

at low cost. Generates visibility for the Cgep du Vieux-Montral Left over inventory can be sold at other event. Can be sold to get money for funding the Unexhibit, buying

journals for Keeping my Ideas. Students do not have the opportunity to see their work printer

on merchandise at this stage normally so this can be a form of celebration to them.

limitations Only a few ideas can be printed on a limited quantity

of styles and sizes. T-shirts may be expensive to buy in bulk at first.


form Merchandise

medium T-shirts, prints

tone Visual, black and white with bright colors, Include a Cgep du Vieux-Montral symbol, generating visibility.

performance need

Incentives, resources, motivation


Given their acquisition of creative thinking skills, the performers will have increased chances of integrating quality graphic design jobs and under-graduate design programs, impacting positively on stu-dents admission, revenue and reputation, and therefore, the longevity of the graphic design program.



14 the unexhibitnon-instructional interventionThis exhibit aims at valuing the process for its own sake as it is too often ignored in place of final pieces.

Outcomes generated by previous interventions will be featured, such as the grid for The more, the merrier!, the twenty best mind-maps and journal spreads will be enlarged and put on display. The works to be put on display will be decided through democratic vote. Prints and t-shirts will be sold for the occasion.

This yearly event will held at LAgora at the end of the year and will be a celebration of variety and students progress.

advantages Gives a goal for students to look forward to. Provides visibility for the institution and the students.

limitations Students whose work is not on display may have hurt feelings.


form Event / Exhibit

medium In person

tone Formal but celebratory

performance need

Resources, incentives, motivation


Given their acquisition of creative thinking skills, the performers will have increased chances of integrating quality graphic design jobs and under-graduate design programs, impacting positively on stu-dents admission, revenue and reputation, and therefore, the longevity of the graphic design program.

Given a positive environment where creative behaviors are valued, performers interact in playful, cooperative and trust-ing ways to facilitate creative outcomes and processes.11

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15 teacher.tvinstructional interventionThe program at Cgep du Vieux-Montral does not include an internship and students may lack some knowledge of the profes-sional market. While teachers coach students in the making of their projects, students rarely have the chance to see their own teachers at work. However, teachers often have side projects they are happy to talk about but classroom time does not always allow this.

Self-broadcasting is a fairly recent phenomenon where the use of streaming video or screen capture is combined with a chatroom. In these informal virtual places, users can interact with the streaming host and ask informal questions. Self-broadcasting through a service such as LiveStream and letting students tune in would allow them to get a glimpse on how professional graphic designers work.

advantages Even if students miss a live broadcast, they will be able to view

archives without accessing the chatroom. Due to its informal nature, topics not covered in class may be

covered and students may form better bonds with teachers. Opening these events up to former students could create an

opportunity for networking.

limitations Takes place only when the teacher has an opportunity

and this may not fit with students schedules. Due to its informal nature, it cannot be predicted how much

learning will occur and on what specific topics. Teachers may not like the idea of self-broadcasting.

users All students of the graphic design department including potential former students

form Informal Online Event

medium Online video streaming

tone Informal

performance need Information, resources



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References

Schn, Donald A. (1983). The reflective practitioner:

How professionals think in action. New York:Basic

Books.

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High level design

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