Interdisciplinarity, Design Thinking, and Innovation in Public Spaces: A Teaching Experience in Florianopolis Botanical Garden Park.

Abstract

Abstract:Innovation of public spaces requires dense management efforts. Interdisciplinary studies must be conducted to raise needs of stakeholders. Then, potentialities, problems, and opportunities are explored. These works require interdisciplinary knowledge to carry out a broad analysis of the social, technological, economic, environmental, political, and legal spheres to understand influencing factors in the management of such spaces. In this context, one important challenge faced by professors is to promote the development of strategic skills among students. This work has arisen from the specific need of designing an active learning method, to motivate business administration undergraduate students to think strategically while dealing with complex problems. To achieve the objectives of the course – Change Management and Business Consulting –, we have created a nine steps study guide based on design thinking. Our proposal is to reflect upon key learning outcomes provided by this teaching experience. We argue that future managers need to learn how to explore, and frame problems before solving them, since the highest risk they might encounter is to misdiagnose complex problems. The paper is structured into five sections. The introduction describes the research problem and the object of study. The second section presents theoretical references, which integrates authors and concepts from different management fields. The methodological section explains how design thinking was applied, by describing each step of the experience. It has followed a study guide developed for the exploration of Florianopolis Botanical Garden Park, combining fieldwork visits with in-class lectures and debates. Next, we present results and learning in three subtopics: conceptual aspects, related to the purpose of the studied space; infrastructural needs and management challenges. To conclude, we indicate possible ways of exploring this public space, and also recommend the development of future didactic experiences with similar scopes. Keywords: interdisciplinarity, design thinking, knowledge management, innovation, public spaces.

A Comparison between Collaborative and Individual Writings in Promoting Motivation and Language Acquisition

“…The acquisition of a L2 requires, among other aspects, the development of writing skills [1,2]. Such development often demands active and innovative teaching methods in order to achieve the established curricular elements [4,5,[9][10][11].…”

“…The development of innovative educational methods entails efforts and sacrifices by those implied in the processes of teaching and learning, both by the organization of the schools [4], and the teachers [5]. Diverse pedagogical proposals that allow the improvement of students' performance exist [6][7][8][9][10][11].…”

Bibliometric Study of Scientific Production on the Term Collaborative Learning in Web of Science

“…However, the inclusion of these innovative practices in the teaching-learning processes requires an effort and coordination of all the players involved. This implies both teachers [12] and those agents involved in managing educational institutions [13]. It is essential to begin by rethinking teaching processes [14], where information and communication technologies (ICT) facilitate the development and application of innovative teaching methods [15,16].…”

Collaborative Learning Based on Harry Potter for Learning Geometric Figures in the Subject of Mathematics

“…Therefore, the collaborative method, developed by means of the Harry Potter theme for students in the first year of Compulsory Secondary Education in the subject of mathematics, causes a better attitude of the student towards the teaching and learning process. Furthermore, it facilitates the acquisition of mathematical contents related to geometry, which does not directly affect the students' grades because, although those of the experimental group are better than those obtained by the control group, the differences between the two are minimal.However, for the inclusion of alternative and innovative learning methods in the teaching-learning process to be appropriate, an effort is needed, both from those responsible for managing the educational centres [13] and from the teachers themselves [14], who must rethink the teaching processes [15] and where information and communication technologies are a means to achieve such innovation [16][17][18].Among the various pedagogical actions considered innovative and that have demonstrated effective results in improving student learning [19][20][21] are collaborative teaching methods. These have become a more common practice in recent times in the processes of teaching and learning [22], thanks to their high educational potential [23].We can define collaborative learning as learning that is carried out by two or more people [24], where-at certain times-resources are shared [25] or the different skills of the group members are required to be put into practice [26] to achieve academic achievements through interaction [27], exchanges of experience [28], or changes in roles within the group [29], as the actions of all members have an impact on the achievements of the rest [30].…”

“…However, for the inclusion of alternative and innovative learning methods in the teaching-learning process to be appropriate, an effort is needed, both from those responsible for managing the educational centres [13] and from the teachers themselves [14], who must rethink the teaching processes [15] and where information and communication technologies are a means to achieve such innovation [16][17][18].…”