Structuring knowledge-building in online design education

Design education has traditionally been deemed a face-to-face endeavor causing online learning to be disregarded as a viable teaching option. Nonetheless, the recent impact of COVID-19 pressured design schools to rapidly migrate online, impelling many educators to utilize this unfamiliar and largely dismissed methodology. The impending problems exposed with this sudden shift point to a significant gap in research. Accordingly, this study proposes a set of guidelines targeting design knowledge-building, based on an in-depth look at student experience during an online design course. Data were collected through a 63-item course efficiency survey (n = 59) and a series of semi-structured focus group interviews (n = 16) with the enrolled students. The following overarching themes emerged through iterative thematic analysis of the interview data: (1) flexibility and handling stress, (2) managing self-pacing issues (3) formal conversation platform, (4) content variety and access options. The themes were interpreted in relation to the survey findings and the broader research on learning. The proposed guidelines emphasize initially clear goals and objectives, pacing flexibility with progress guidance, content and communication variety, sense of presence and peer exposure, and individualized feedback. It is expected that the guidelines will be helpful in building, conducting, and evaluating future online design knowledge-building experiences.