(Award available for year: Master of Arts)
1. Develop a design-research-driven understanding of contemporary challenges and its application to design.
2. Develop critical research skills to solve design problems using appropriate research methodologies.
3. Create an innovative design project through problem identification, evaluation and prototyping.
4. Formulate research questions and plans to assess the design project using the appropriate evaluation methods.
Skills Learning Outcomes
1. Communicate design ideas effectively through verbal and visual formats.
2. Develop reflective practice skills and analyse design projects critically.
3. Plan, manage and conduct design projects strategically.
Competence Standards
1.Effectively use research findings to inform problem identification, evaluation, prototyping and design solution.
2. Effectively communicate clear ideas and purpose for design solutions informed by research, feedback and contemporary contexts.
3. Devise a self-directed research study or design solution using a suitable production method using appropriate support as necessary.
In the School of Design you will be assessed through a variety of methods, these include visual 2D and 3D responses, portfolios of text and image, blogs, short videos, presentations as well as more traditional essays and reports. Some of your assessments will be based upon collaboration with your peers. This collaboration could be in the development of artefacts, proposals and/or various forms of visual and textual communication in response to problem-based issues.
The nature of assessment will change as you progress through your programme:
* Semester 1: Assessments will focus on your understanding and acquisition of new knowledge, academic, creativity, digital and professional skills.
* Semester 2: Assessments will focus more on establishing how well you understand, analyse and apply this new knowledge and these new skills in relation to real-world, local and global settings.
* Semester 3: Study will become more self-directed major project or dissertation often being negotiated and agreed with tutors.
Throughout the year, it is to be expected that you will find that assessments are progressively more challenging. To support you as you navigate assessment, we provide formative as well as summative assessment. Formative assessment gives staff an opportunity to give you feedback on personal progress, in good time before a summative deadline. Given the range of assessment types in any one level of study, formative assessment and feedback enables you to reflect upon your personal progress and establish which forms of assessment allow you to play to your strengths.
Authentic assessment means relevant assessment; relevant in terms of contemporary contexts and also relevant to your personal interests and your future aspirations. The authenticity of assessment is an important consideration in how we design assignments and project briefs. This means that we think carefully about the relevance of assessment outcomes; not only in academic terms but also in terms of your chosen career path, skill development needs and the future of work in your chosen discipline. Where appropriate, there will be an element of choice in your assessment. Some projects will allow you to choose the focus and format of your submission.
Dialogic teaching methods emphasise in-class discussion and support staff / student debate. This approach to teaching and learning enables staff to hear all student voices. In turn, for some modules, this in-class dynamic may facilitate and inform the co-production of assessment tasks. Co-production of assessment tasks means that staff and students work together to devise fair and inclusive assessment; both formative and summative. This allows staff to consider the requirements of a module alongside opportunities to allow students to harness their strengths.
While remaining considerate of module and programme learning outcomes, where relevant and beneficial, we strive to adopt a flexible approach to assessment design. This flexibility allows us to respond to student voice, maintain an agility that allows us to react to global, social and cultural change and respond swiftly to opportunities to devise projects with our industrial partners. We aim for all assessment to be relevant, meaningful and engaging.
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