Title: Game-Based Learning in Interior Architecture Education
Author Name: Sherry Jordan
Selected Case (Published Article):Â Babacan Çörekci, T. (2023). Game-Based Learning in Interior Architecture Education. Design and Technology Education, 28(1), 55–78.
1. Introduction
Game-based learning involves gameplay that has clear learning objectives. Four functions of games are used for learning: motivation, player engagement, adaptivity, and graceful failure. (Babacan, 2023) There should be motivational features that ensure engagement among participants which is closely linked to the player engagement function. The adaptivity function is achieved by giving players the option to customize and personalize their game experience. (Babacan, 2023) Graceful failure allows players to improve their learning attitudes, boost motivation, stimulate higher-order thinking, and influence decision-making processes through how the game is designed to lower the consequences of failure.
This case study involves second-year students at the Department of Interior Architecture at Istanbul University and a game designed for the design studio process which is an important required course in their curriculum. Interior architecture is the designing and arranging of interior spaces with features such as color, texture, light, furniture, and accessories for the needs of the user and the function of the space within the architectural space. Students typically learn to do this by experiencing designing on their own. It is understandable how game-based learning could help students achieve that design experience. (Babacan, 2023) Design skills typically require students to have a collaborative mindset, a problem-solving, and an individual-centric approach. In the design studio processes. This study examines the effects of game-based learning in an attempt to understand the design processes and time management in a voluntary workshop with the students. (Babacan, 2023)
2. Overview of the Case
This case study takes place in a higher education setting and the participants are second-year students at the Department of Interior Architecture at Istanbul University. The study intends to observe and answer how design education is evaluated by students, how is the act of designing performed by students, how the use of game-based learning methods in design education affects students’ design processes, and how game-based learning can be effective in students understanding and maintenance of design education. (Babacan, 2023) These questions were asked to address some critical issues within the design processes course which were student workload distribution, heavy reliance on the master-apprentice model, and the ambiguity of assessment measures. (Babacan, 2023)
A pre-test was conducted at the end of the design studio course to identify these issues and led to the creation of a workshop structure to understand how students manage the processes of the design and to utilize the game-based learning method to seek a solution for the problems they were experiencing during the design process. (Babacan, 2023) The pre-test results found that students interpreted the design process as linear and often did not go back to revisit stages of the design process.
3. Solutions Implemented
A voluntary in-person four-day workshop was created during a semester break which was described as a design sprint for four days. Each day a different function was introduced to the students. The workshop also introduced the designed games for students to play via Miro. Miro is an interactive digital interface that allows students to communicate and see changes made by other students in the workshop. (Babacan, 2023)
The first day of the workshop consisted of research and sketching and the following days were supporting the designs with technical drawings, working on detailed studies and visualizations. The final day was devoted to presentations of the students’ finalized designs. There were three games in the workshop process: Bingo Board, Guess the Number and Look and See. The learning objectives of each gamer were time management, managing the design processes, multi-tasking skill development, understanding the detail scale, and learning to pay attention to detail. (Babacan, 2023)
Students were also put in groups and given a design challenge to solve that involved the design of a sales office that would work in a residential structure with a minimum of two people. The groups had to complete three design challenges and one side challenge which consisted of design subjects such as color theory and Ching’s horizontal and vertical elements. The side challenge was an abstraction problem in which they had to express a famous painting in an abstract way in their space. (Babacan, 2023)
Bingo Board allowed the groups to compete and also incorporated time management as it was designed to help shorten completion times. If a group completed all their daily tasks they could put their group color checker on the bingo board and if tasks were not completed then the workshop coordinator would remove the checker which allowed other groups to add their checkers if the tasks were completed within their group. (Babacan, 2023)
Guess the Number was a game designed as a way for groups to showcase their professional knowledge by being tested on the construction dates and measurements of architectural structures and had to answer within various timeframes each day. The group with the closest number to the answer won a star and if a group was able to give the exact answer, they were awarded two stars. (Babacan, 2023)
Look and See was designed for students to pay attention to the details of their environment and become familiar with the detail scale. (Babacan, 2023) Students had to identify what and where the macro shots provided were. Rewards were the same as the Guess the Number Game where groups were awarded stars for identifying each macro shot correctly. The groups that won each game had the choice to choose from 12 prizes or penalties.
4. Outcomes
A post-test was conducted after the workshop that showed improvements in students’ experience of the processes regarding clarifying objectives and establishing functions. There was also an increase in student’s sketching process. All of this was achieved via the game-based learning method. The conclusion of the workshop revealed that there were positive embedded outcomes in the areas of time management, self-confidence, and confidence in professional relationships. (Babacan, 2023)
5. Implications
In this case study game-based learning helped provide an alternative solution to the issue of limited availability in the master-apprentice model that interior architecture students need. In the created workshop students were able to substitute this experience by using having these interactions with their peers and the workshop coordinator. The workshop was able to address many of the issues identified in the pre-test. The games designed required students to go back and revisit the stages in the design process as they previously perceived the design process as linear. There were improvements in the addressed designed processes but also in other areas as well which will allow students to succeed overall in their program. Future studies will allow this approach and incorporation of game-based learning in other architecture education courses. (Babacan, 2023)
ReferencesÂ
Babacan Çörekci, T. (2023). Game-Based Learning in Interior Architecture Education. Design and Technology Education, 28(1), 55–78.