Moholy-Nagy Visual Modules-Research on Art Didactics Design Education in Secondary Schools, Let’s Space Design!, 3rd Case Study – Space

Our objective is the development of the methodology of design culture education in Hungary which is including the selection of efficient improvement methods with the help of measurements and other evaluating procedures. We focuses on 10th grade students and two basic spatial skills which can mostly be improved upon by real displacement in space. Our methods consist of individual and group projects, and design tasks which focuses on exploring and researching several solutions and also on the procedure of solving the tasks. Student performance is measured with the help of nine tests, including tools designed to assess spatial perception and evaluate students’ portfolio. Results of the measured group, which consisted of 70 secondary school students, are compared against control groups. The relevance in education is creating a system, which is currently in limited use in Hungary, that would rely on tested ‘Design education‘ methods and tasks. 122 Synnyt / Origins | 2 / 2019 | Non-peer reviewed | Full paper


Keywords
Design culture , design thinking, creative problem solving, spatial abilities, 3D modeling, interdisciplinarity, visualization and spatial operational skills.
In my presentation, I would like to introduce my annual guidelines of teaching and learning, which is carried out within the Environmental Design module of the Moholy-Nagy Visual Modules.Its aim is to develop design culture's teaching methodology.The programme involved 36 10th grade students, who attend a special math class at Fazekas Mihály Primary and Secondary Grammar School.We were able to work with the pupils once a week, for 45 minutes.In our research, while working with 10th graders, we centre the improvement of the spatial perception with real-life, spatial exercises, which require 2 essential abilities: visual imagination (for example rotation, manipulation) and spatial orientation (up and down).The focus was on different solid shapes that are capable of showing the surface manipulation and created by rotating or scaling the object.We have done personal and group design exercises as well as projects.These projects concentrated on not only the possible solutions to the problem, but also the whole process.The design exercises start with getting acquainted with the plane shape and structure of the solid shapes and then transform the flat form into a 3D object.We were inspired by natural forms, our built environment and different geometric patterns.Our goal is to assess concrete, materialized results, in which the usability and the aesthetics are primary.The programme's educational significance is found in the differentiated teaching and learning, as well as in the spread of the tested exercises in Hungary, which are appropriate to teach design culture.
The first exercise of the teaching and learning programme: We deal with one group of the brain teasers that are built on folding: the task is to group the signs, numbers, letters or forms on the paper in a specified sequence.The exercises include riddles that must be solved in 2D, but also that can be folded into 3D; both need a sequence of earnest, spatial operations.
There are several improvement goals.For example, to cognitively model spatial and other logic operations, to improve problem-solving thinking, to deepen the skills and knowledge of working with materials and tools (for instant folding paper); to use the new space arisen after the perforation of the surface, and to improve the skills of making shapes and forming space.
The primary commodity of these logic riddles is paper, on which the students can make sketches with drawing tools.It is possible to paint the surfaces and form perforated surfaces.
The riddles' frame can be changed by cutting.
Our project includes personal and also group work, so it is important to harmonize the students' social skills.The autonomous personalities form a co-operative learning community by working together.
On the first occasion, the students form groups, where they severally solve different folding riddles.The groups score points with correctly solved tasks considering the chronological order.
Next time they severally make riddles that will be solved in class on the third occasion.The task also requires writing the description of the game.During the exercises, it is possible to hide a lot of other things: I asked a few students to make their (non-art-related) homework in a folding riddle, and then give it to the subject teacher to find the solution.One student wrote a calligram, while another put Pythagoras' theorem into a folding riddle.
On the third occasion, every single student in the groups receives four riddles made by the members of the class.One riddle is made by their own group so that they have to reproduce the solution.In the group competition, the winner is the group, who has most of the points by solving most of the riddles correctly.We also consider the chronological order.
Folding riddles can be hard to solve.It is recommended to differentiate the teasers by their difficulty and help the students step by step by giving little instructions during their discovery.
Riddles based on shapes were more common than others.In case of 3D folding riddles, simpler solid shapes were working.
Among the individually made spatial riddles, there were exceptional ones, but their difficultylevel doesn't reach the hardest rank.Writing the description of the games seemed to be difficult for several students, thus their riddles are hard to understand.
It was an interesting experience on the third occasion when it came to solving the brain teasers made by the students: a few pupils couldn't even solve their own riddles, and it turned out that some of the teasers were impossible to solve because of few left out logic operations.
While modelling known solid shapes, the students can develop their skills by building and mapping the real, solid shapes.
The improvement goals include cognitive modelling, making mock-up models of solid geometric or mathematical operations, wording the similarities and the differences during the analysis of the solid shapes, and recognising rulesets.(Euler's theorem) It is important to harmonize social skills: when learning together, the autonomous personalities form a co-operative learning community, and they deepen the skills and knowledge of working with materials and tools.
In the beginning, every student receives a table.They make a 3D drawing of the solid geometric shapes, and then, they write the number of vertices (V), edges (E), and faces (F) to the appropriate place.It is possible to check it during their work.The whole process requires 15 minutes.After that, the former groups rejoin, their task is to make a 3D model of "THODI".
The 5 solid geometric shapes have to be materialized by making separate models from different primary commodities (straw, yarn, glue).According to the table, a certain number of straws are available for each group.The groups collect points by solving the tasks correctly considering the chronological order.The students can shape the geometric objects with the help of the bendable straws and the yarn.Scissors are necessary to cut the yarn, but the staws can be fixed without yarn, by slipping one in another.
It was quite hard for some students to make a 3D drawing of the solid shapes.There were several unsuccessful drawings, so after modelling, I gave back the tablet to make corrections.It was not difficult to count the vertices, edges and faces, only 1 or 2 mistakes had been made.At the end of the second lesson, while summarizing the results, the students were able to word the rules and to call up Euler's polyhedral formula.
III. Theme: Designing and modelling a parasite installation, making a presentation Our third topic requires a more serious design.Thus, students have more time to complete the task.

Duration: 5x45 minutes
The pupils got to know a method to build mock-up models through building "THODI".
The task is to design a parasite installation using solid shapes (THODI) to one of three Hungarian locations (optional): - After selecting the location, the task is to work out a fictive frame story, which explains why the installation is there.The designed shapes have to fit in the imaginary story.Having drawn a few variations, the next step is to make a design plan from the most sympathetic sketch.
However, we practice using methods of spatial depiction and different perspectives by drawing design plans; the most outstanding part of the task is to model the design plans in scale.RF 1:100 After taking photos of their work, the students make a presentation in which they show their notions in 5 minutes.
We use the school's IT room during our project.
The improvement goals include developing problem-solving skills through interpreting the connections between the shape and its function.Observation of the visual environment, interpretation of the sight, selection of the appropriate point of view.Comparison of buildings considering different viewpoints, getting acquainted with trends in the history of architecture.
Comparison of planned and formed environment, and the connections between the shape and its function.Becoming familiar with structural principles.Application of different illustrational conventions, deepening the students' knowledge, as well as learning new things.Deepening the skills and knowledge of working with materials and tools.
During the design, the methods and forms of work were the following: On the first occasion, we learned the phrases in an interactive way (the meaning of the word parasite, parasite architecture, conceptual plan, statics etc.).The projected slides showed inspiring images with architectural and fine artistic examples, as well as conceptual plans.We practised analysing basic statical problems.Then, every student chose a location from the ones mentioned above and started making a research.We used digital appliances.They made analysing sketches and wrote the important details in footnote.The students individually word the fictive background story, on which they build up the concept of the installation.I asked for three different graphic sketches of the materialized shapes.Our goal was to use "THODI"namely to connect solid shapes with each other, to truncate, to duplicate, to scale shapes etc.to plan the spatial parasite installation.The environment played a major role in the design, the students had to consider the chosen location's features.
At last, I had asked the pupils to select one conceptual plan, which was worked out more carefully (design plan).They made a model from the chosen plan.
After the consultation, three groups dealt with modelling.
a) one group use paper and other materials to build the mock-up model b) one group built the mock-up model using LEGO c) one group make a model in Blender (which is a free, open-source code, 3D creation suite) The students used paper, plasticine, skewers, plastic and other (even waste) materials, as well as LEGO and software during their work.
After construction and documentation, the pupils made a 5-minute-long digital presentation in which they introduced the chosen location, the frame story and the plan.
With the help of a projected visual evaluation sheet, every student individually evaluated his/her achievement after work.Their self-evaluation and my evaluation sheets were collated.
There were no huge differences, even though few students greatly overrated or under-evaluated their achievement.
My reflection to the task was the following: the use of the spatial modelling application provides freedom for students, whose creativity is pulled back by the graphic expression.Several pupils had learned how to use the software, and they showed images rendered from different perspectives.It was a great experience to rotate the 3D models in the application.
We made the presentations using Canva website (https://www.canva.com/).My aim was to divert the student from the ordinary schemes of the presentation making programmes and to avoid unreadable slides because of the badly chosen letter size and colour.Everybody enjoyed trying, using and customizing new presentation templates.
IV. Theme: Map reading, interpreting plain view, planning routes to the destination

Duration: 1x45 minutes
The students formed pairs and received a colourful map of Paris subway and a Paris city map.
Their task was to plan routes from A to B with the help of the maps answering the test questions.
The pairs had 20 seconds to answer them.
I had chosen the Kahoot!application to complete the test.I constructed the test considering the questions' difficulty, thus we went from the easy ones to more difficult, multiple choice questions.The correct answers could be found by reading the map.
The Kahoot! application works on smartphones.When working in pairs, one mobile phone was necessary, as well as the teacher's laptop and the projector.
The improvement goals are to interpret visual signal systems, plain views, orientation and scales, but also to execute spatial and temporal cognitive operations.
Before loading the app Kahoot!, I cleared-up the rules and introduced how the game works.
The students got an entering code to start the game, and the pairs could log in with their nickname.The players had 20 seconds to choose the correct answer.The system counts the points and immediately gives a feedback.
V. Theme: Design the installation of Yona Friedman's exhibition -graphic analysis (make a few small sketches of Yona's works, pay attention to the recurring elements) -smaller illustrations of 3 ideas at least, from an optional perspective (totally different and/or variants of a theme) -worked-out, colourful drawings of your favourite idea (front and side view, plain view, design plan from the most adequate perspective -this should be the biggest drawing on the paper, a background is recommended) -if necessary, type the scripts, descriptions or explanations with capital letters Handouts: A4 size printed sheet with Yona Friedman's pictures, floor map, description Submission: A3 size plan, and a floor map that shows well the final layout Tools, materials: pencil, colour pencil, water-colour, felt tip pen, brush pen, drawing pen, ink

Improvement goals
This topic makes it possible to form a problem-sensitive, reflecting, active and initiative attitude, as well as to identify with the role of a designer.The issued inspiring materials served as stylistic, conceptual and compositional markers, emphasizing the spatial expression.
The primary goal is to improve cognitive modelling of spatial logic operations and problemsolving thinking. it.
I had explained the task in spoken word, and then, the students asked questions in connection with the interpretation of the task.They received the description, the floor map and the inspiring pictures.It was quite hard to draw the composition on one paper because it was made up of several illustrations (planning procedure and design plan).The spatial illustration seemed to be difficult, but it wasn't impossible, furthermore, the students enjoyed it.At first, the axonometric illustration was more common than the one or two point perspective, which we had used before.In the beginning, the students were more likely to think in 2D (plane), the idea of It was not difficult for the students to draw distorted projections of simple, geometric forms.
The image appeared correctly in the mirror in every case.

VII. Theme: Drawing a catoptric anamorphosis II
Duration: 2x45 minutes On the next occasion, we dealt with more difficult geometric forms.The sample picture that was used in the anamorphosis exercise, couldn't be bigger, than the cylindrical mirror's circle diameter.It was harder for the students to scale the sample picture for the appropriate size, and not to exceed the stipulation.Then came the drawing of the distorted picture.I expected that the tones on the sample picture should be properly shown on the distorted drawing too, and on the reflective surface, the correct picture must appear, like on the sample.
Beside the first anamorphosis exercise's improvement goals, here, it was important to properly use the light-shadow contrast and tones, as well as to realistically illustrate the spatial view.
fields of science.The subjects use the logic, methodology, structure and approach of classic branches of science (maths, biology, physics, chemistry, geography etc.) in school education, starting from the elementary schools' 5th grade.The formation of these subjects generated revolutionary changes -for example, seeing the world's phenomena not only from a theological view, and creating demand for the cause-and-effect approach-, though it sets up boundaries in understanding the logical connections of the world.Since, our lives are out of the boundaries of science, considering either environmental or sociological phenomena.The meeting points and webs of sciences are probative aspects, which incline us to integrate into the system of too fetishized subject structures.These structures are inelastic and isolated, they map the cogniz-

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. Theme: Logic riddles (brain teasers based on folding) Duration: 3x45 minutes 123 Synnyt / Origins | 2 / 2019 | Non-peer reviewed | Full paper Our fifth big topic was to complete the task of the Metropolitan Complex Drawing Competition, which was written by the Visual Community of Fazekas Mihály Primary and Secondary Grammar School.Garamvölgyi Béla, Mészáros Zsuzsanna and Póczos Valéria were the members of the community and the jury (http://rajz-new.fazekas.hu/).Duration: 3x45 minutesEvery student receives a printed copy of the description.The task was the following:-you get some floor maps of the hall (you can use them to organize and compose the space, to fix your ideas as well as to try them) -you only have to hand in the final floor map with your layout 5) Steps of planning or your final plan must include: spatial construction didn't crop up.The personal consultations gave momentum to the planning procedure.I called their attention to the open slab in the designing location, thus more students thought of using the gallery also.The open slab in the designing location lesson was plenty enough to finish the exercise.The improvement goals include the development of the students' ability to cognitively model spatial and geometric operations, as well as to interpret the appropriate angle of view of the catoptric anamorphosis.During the interpretation of the anamorphosis, the students get acquainted with examples in History of Art, and we talked about spatial distortions appeared in everyday life.To complete the task correctly, a demanding use of tools is necessary.The exercise could be more complicated if we consider cast shadow and tonal drawing.