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Don Carr, IDSA

Professor, Syracuse University

Don Carr, IDSA

Don Carr is a professor of design, coordinator of the School of Design’s M.F.A. in design program, and coordinator of the industrial and interaction design program.

At Syracuse University he has served as chair of the Meredith Professorship Committee and Interdisciplinary Design Spire; University Senator, University Senate, faculty representative; chair and committee member of the Tenure and Promotion Committees; committee member, University-wide Interdisciplinary Committees; and on the NASAD Committee.

Carr also serves on the DCC (Disability and Cultural Center) Advisory Board, the Blackstone LaunchPad e-roundtable, and is an affiliate faculty member of the Aging Studies Institute. Carr is also a founding member of the Adaptive Design Association Syracuse and co-founder of the Central New York Biomimicry regional network.

From 150 to 120- Curriculum Redesign to the Extreme

Education Symposium

Rapid Fire Group C

August 25, 2023

11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Breakout - Shubert

Presenting with Ralf Schneider, IDSA

For design educators, the challenge of rethinking a 5-year industrial design curriculum to fit within a 4-year envelope can be a formidable task. For every ‘new learning outcome’ to be added, and equal or greater number needed to be taken away. This story chronicles this 2- year process and offers a glimpse of what has emerged as the new curriculum at XYZ University.

The first step for our faculty was to conduct a curriculum mapping exercise. This involved reviewing the current curriculum and mapping out the learning objectives, outcomes, and assessments for each existing course. The mapping exercise helped to prioritize courses that align with the overall goals and objectives of the program, uncovering gaps in essential knowledge and emerging skills.

Current perspectives on what should constitute an ID curriculum were evaluated and debated. In addition, industry experts, alumni, and current students were invited to lend their insights. Collectively, they provided valuable feedback on which courses are most relevant, useful, and essential in order to succeed in the field. This resulted in a top-to-bottom overhaul of the majority of our course offerings. As a result, what has emerged is a 4-stage curriculum with the following over-arching themes:

Year 1: Design Worlds Today
Year 2: Deep Dive: Industrial and Interaction Design
Year 3: Human and Environmental Contexts
Year 4: Speculative Futures and Professional Launch

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