Marcela Acosta

Looking to shake up your course? Take a look at the tools offered in Design Factory!

Alongside the pedagogical development services currently offered at Design Factory through courses, we sometimes get special request for pedagogical development workshops. Recently ADF was happy to welcome a group of Korean high school teachers looking to improve their pedagogical skills in an environment fostering entrepreneurship. The workshop, in which the teachers reflected on what good

Series part 9: Facilitated feedback sessions Facilitated feedback sessions throughout a course doing group work is a great tool to reduce assumptions, resolve problems, and promote communication. Satu Rekonen, from Design Factory developed the “I like/I wish” method for facilitating a feedback session in a safe and comfortable environment. Visit http://ilikeiwish.org/ for more information on

Learning to work in multicultural groups and increasing one’s intercultural competence is an important working life skill in the global market. As an international learning center, studying at Aalto University creates many opportunities to learn this skill.

If you start your university studies this autumn, there is enough time for the available digital information to multiply during your studies. According to studies, the new information is too much. As new data replaces older so quickly, data content therefore no longer creates a solid basis for a work career. Cramming has become pointless.

Series part 6: Prototyping, failing, and learning An integral part of Project-Based Learning is prototype-making. Making prototypes are a useful learning tool that provides a common language for students with different academic and cultural backgrounds, and allows the creation process to advance faster by providing a physical object that clarifies the students’ abstract ideas, and

Series Part 5: The role of the teacher When using the PBL method, the role of a teacher changes from being a lecturer to facilitating the learning process. Producing learning is not dependent on teachers’ ability to transfer knowledge to students. Rather, it depends on their ability to actively participate in their own learning process.

Series Part 4: PBL actitivities PBL activities apply theory to practice through real-life problems that can be accomplished only with support of a master in the field. In this situated learning, rather than separating theoretical knowledge learned in class from the practical application, students search for the knowledge needed to carry out a particular situated

Series Part 3: Group work Participation in group work results in the interaction with other students, for example through the discussion and debating of topics, resolution of conflicts or disagreement, as well as peer- and self-assessment. This is an example of social learning. In social learning, social experiences and interactions support the understanding of content.

Part 2: The Environment Immersing the student in an environment that favours activity and experience, and fosters immediate engagement, promotes knowledge and the development of soft skills. By feeling part of a supportive community, the student moves from completion of tasks to a more central role. A supportive environment provides a safe space for failure