The Black Thread Project: building student communities
Chapter, Peer reviewed
Published version
Permanent lenke
https://hdl.handle.net/10642/5672Utgivelsesdato
2017Metadata
Vis full innførselSamlinger
Originalversjon
Kvellestad RV: The Black Thread Project: building student communities. In: Berg A, Bohemia E, Buck L, Gulden T, Kovacevic A, Pavel N. Proceedings of E&PDE 2017 - International Conference on Engineering and Product Design Education. Building Community: Design Education for a Sustainable Future, 2017. The Design SocietySammendrag
Teamwork involves different types of interactions and is necessary in education as well as a number of
professions. The Black Thread is a
co-design embroidery
research project in design education for
Specia
lised Teacher Training in Design, Arts and Crafts at the Oslo and Akershus University College
of Applied Sciences, Department of Art, Design and Drama programme. Over a three
-year span, the
project dedicated nine student groups, each with approximately 15
members. Each year, t
he teacher
asked the students to investigate a new area of combinations of materials in embroidery. The
instructions ranged from vague in the first year to clearer recommendations in the two last years.
Differences in teamwork were obs
erved; in the first year, the students’ cooperated, but their
spontaneous embroideries were rougher and their composition w
as disjointed,
whereas in the two last
years, t
he students collaborated in the planning of their work and used material and compositi
on rules.
Both approaches to the professional development work required a variety of learning skills and
experience with materials.
Dialogue was important in advancing the project during the different
stages. The observed difference between cooperation and
collaboration underlines the role of the
teacher in influencing the dynamics of a group.
Co
-design embroidery projects such as the Black Thread develop the participants’ patience, manual
skills, creativity and abilities. These (personal) qualities are imp
ortant for design education and
represent cornerstones of almost every community. The students learned how to successfully manage
and complete a project. Hopefully, they can transform the competence they gained and apply it to
teaching pupils of all ages.