Experiences in using blended learning to optimise design sketching education

The development of a student’s sketching skills partly depends on the structure in which the education is being organized. In our classroom experiences over the last ten years, it became harder to reach the students with regular classical education in workshop format. On the one hand teachers are forced to improve their efficiency and on the other hand the attention span and focus of the students seems to diminish. All together leading to lower competence levels. Classic teaching techniques are still very useful, however they can be transformed in such a way that they connect better to the context of the students and become more attractive to them. This observation led to the development and implementation of an online learning platform which created new possibilities for different kinds of blended learning. Several experiments have led to new insights in teaching methodology and to improvements of the digital platform and how it is being used in education. Experience with over 500 bachelor students of Industrial Design Engineering showed that a digital learning environment creates several advantages without having to lose the strengths of regular classroom education. It connects better to the students’ modern experience and gives a wider variety of tools and stimuli to reach them. Especially the possibility to review tutorial videos seem to have great impact on the development of the basic sketching skills. Besides this, improvement can be seen in soft skill development, including self-confidence and critical attitude.
Keywords: Design education, sketching, teaching methodology, student development, self-confidence