Reflexive Design Project

Owner	Bachelor Future Planet Studies
Coordinator	dr. Coyan Tromp
Part of	Exchange Programme Faculty of Science, specialisation BSc Future Planet Studies, year 1Bachelor Future Planet Studies, year 2

Course manual 2021/2022

Course content

The so-called ‘wicked’ problems such as the food issue require a way of working that takes as point of departure an open, inquiring attitude rather than omniscient expertise. An attitude that is supportive and investigative rather than oriented towards simple solutions. Design thinking can offer such an approach. The way we see it, is that it’s a form of solution-based thinking in which complexity and systems thinking are used to develop creative interventions or strategies to produce constructive results. The Design Method can be used to test out whether a particular technology, intervention or policy that was designed to offer a solution for a particular problem indeed works out as hoped. If it does, it can be implemented on a large(r) scale in a real life setting. If it doesn’t, adjustments need to be made to come up with a better solution. In any case, we will have gained more understanding of the steps that must be taken to overcome the problem. During this course, students will be trained in this way of thinking and are invited to put it into practice in their own Reflexive Design Project.

 

In the various courses in the Future Earth and Future Society track, vital questions related to the food issue are addressed, such as:

• Which resources are available for food production; do we have enough water and land to grow crops or do we need to develop alternative substrates for soil to meet the demand?
• Should we stick to ‘conventional’ breeding methods to fortify our crops or can we also use new technologies such as genetically modified organisms (GMOs) to enhance (the quality of) our food production?
• What about our food chains, are they optimally organized; are they efficient, are they fair?
• What are the main challenges regarding the global food supply; is it food production, is it food distribution, is it both?
• What does this tell us about the current food system and other related systems such as the water supply and the global economic system? Can we meet our future demands with the current systems, or are system changes needed to tackle these huge challenges?

 

Taking the design method as point of departure, students are challenged to come up with a solution for a pressing food issue (or to a related topic concerning the climate, or energy or water demand). After a thorough problem analysis, the project team is asked to design an intervention or policy that is aimed at improving the existing situation. The solution is first tested on a small scale, and the team members reflect on the anticipated effects, both intended effects and potential undesirable side-effects. If necessary they adjust their action plan.

Meanwhile, the group also reflects on the group process to see whether the cooperation runs smoothly or whether the alignment of tasks among the team members needs to be improved. They then draw up an action plan for the implementation of the solution in a real-life situation.

After the December break, the team will work the whole month of January on the actual implementation of the solution. At the end of the project, they present their results to their peers and [interested wider audience] a jury of change makers and transition champions.          To conclude, they are asked to look back once more on the group process during their whole design project and reflect on what they learned from this as it comes to dealing with complex problems such as the world food issue.

Study materials

Literature

• Selected passages from books that were used earlier in the curriculum:

  • Tromp, C. (2018). Wicked Philosophy. Philosophy of Science and Vision Development for Complex Problems, Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press:
    • Design Thinking and the Policy Cycle (p. 87-89).
    • From Simple towards Reflexive Modernisation (p. 159-164).
    • Science as a Rational Process (p. 91-114).
  • Meadows, D. (2008) Thinking in Systems. A Primer, White River Junction, Vermont: Chelsea Green Publishing.
    • Leverage Points: Places to Intervene in a System, Ch 6, p. 145-165.

Syllabus

• Relevant material will be made available on Canvas, such as:

  • Lawson, B. (2006) Problems, solutions and the design process, Part of Chapter 7 from ibid.: How Designers Think. The Design Process Demystified, Amsterdam/Boston etc: Elsevier, pp. 120-126.
  • Students who have a deficiency in systems thinking can repair this gap in their knowledge by reading this useful Guidebook: Metabolic (2018) Using Systems Thinking to Transform Society, Report in commission of WWF, downloadable via https://www.metabolic.nl/news/using-systems-thinking-to-transform-society-a-guidebook/

Practical training material

• Tools for Design Thinking will be provided during the workgroups, often in the form of exercises, the result of which can be incorporated in the Assignments for the Reflexive Design Project.

Other

• Knowledge clips that help explain key concepts of the course.

Objectives

• Use a range of conceptual tools from the realm of design thinking to come up with smart solutions for a selected food (or related) issue.
• Use earlier acquired system skills and methods, particularly making a system analysis, identifying system traps and selecting leverage points for effective interventions, and incorporate those with complexity and design thinking in their project.
• Work together in an interdisciplinary team, bringing together disciplinary knowledge and skills to come up with the best possible solutions for a selected food (or related) issue.
• Expand their academic skills and 21st century skills by enhancement of their critical thinking skills, problem-solving skills, collaboration skills and reflexive capacities.
• Identify and define complex issues from an interdisciplinary perspective, and to critically reflect on possible intended and unintended consequences of social and ecological interventions on our future life, specifically with regard to the chosen topic.

Teaching methods

• Self-study
• Working independently on e.g. a project or thesis
• Supervision/feedback meeting
• Knowledge clips
• Work groups
• Seminar
• Presentation/symposium

In the Reflexive Design Project online and offline work forms are combined to create a stimulating learning environment. To start with, there are several explanatory knowledge clips available on Canvas that introduce you to:

• The Design Method (including Systems and Complexity Thinking).
• Reflexive thinking.
• The set-up and the Assignments and Assessments of the course.

Additional literature gives you further insight in these topics.

What is explained in the clips and literature, will not be further addressed in the work groups, unless you still have pressing questions about certain key concepts.

Besides knowledge clips we organize Masterclasses by invited experts in the field who can share their experiences with useful tools from the realm of the Design Method and Serious Game Design, Systems and Complexity Thinking and Change Making. Depending on the situation, these will be either organized on campus or online.

In the subsequent work groups you will be supported in the Assignments you have to make for the Reflexive Design Project. We offer active work forms to prepare you for the several steps that you need to take during the process. And we will provide you with plenty tools, including those from the design kit, to support you in that process.

Learning activities

Attendance

Programme's requirements concerning attendance (OER-B):

• Participation in fieldwork is compulsory and cannot be replaced by assignments or other courses.
• In case of practical sessions, the student is obliged to attend at least of 90% of the sessions and to prepare himself adequately, unless indicated otherwise in the course manual. In case the student attends less than 90%, the practical sessions should be redone entirely.
• In case of tutorials/seminars with assignments, the student is obliged to attend at least 7 out of 8 seminars and to prepare thoroughly for these meetings, unless indicated otherwise in the course manual. If the course has more than 8 seminars, the student can miss up to 1 extra meeting for every (part of) 8 tutorials/seminars. If the students attends less than the mandatory tutorials/seminars, the course cannot be completed.

Additional requirements for this course:

 

For the work groups there is a strict attendance rule: if you’ve missed two work groups, your attendance at work groups will be graded with NAP (Not Attended or Present). This results in exclusion from the course. If for any reason you are going to miss a work group, you must inform your work group teacher in advance by sending an e-mail to announce your anticipated absence.

 

Note 1: As long as the Covid-19 pandemic is still an issue, we will offer the opportunity to attend a workgroup online so that students who cannot attend it live (occasionally, due to illness or quarantine rules), are still able to follow all workgroups. Those students who have a structural issue with attending, need to take up contact with the coordinator.

 

Note 2: Not preparing for the work groups and missing deadlines to send in assignments will lead to exclusion from the work groups. If this happens more than twice you will be excluded from the course.

 

The course schedule will be published and kept updated at www.datanose.nl.

Assessment

Item and weight	Details
Final grade

Examination consists of five assignments for the Reflexive Design Project: 1. Problem Analysis (25%) 2: Selected Leverage Point and designed Intervention (25%) 3. Action Plan (25%) 4. Reflection on group process (NAV) 5. Implementation of the Action Plan, and Evaluation and Presentation of the Results of the Reflexive Design Project (25%).

Assessment diagram

Objectives:	Assessment via:
#1. Use a range of conceptual tools from the realm of design thinking to come up with smart solutions for a selected food (or related) issue.	Assignment 1, 2, 3 & 5
#2.Use earlier acquired system skills and methods, particularly making a system analysis, identifying system traps and selecting leverage points for effective interventions, and incorporate those with complexity and design thinking in their project.	Assignment 1, 2, 3 & 5, but mainly assessed via Assignment 1 & Assignment 2
#3 .Work together in an interdisciplinary team, bringing together disciplinary knowledge and skills to come up with the best possible solutions for a selected food (or related) issue.	Assignment 1, 2, 3 & 5, but assessed via  Assignment 4 & (a part of) Assignment 5
#4. Expand your academic skills and 21st century skills by enhancement of their critical thinking skills, problem-solving skills, collaboration skills and reflexive capacities.	Assignment 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5
#5. Identify and define complex issues from an interdisciplinary perspective, and to critically reflect on possible intended and unintended consequences of social and ecological interventions on our future life, specifically with regard to the chosen topic.	Assignment 1, 2, 3 & 5, but mainly assessed via Assignment 2 & (a part of) Assignment 5

Assignments

 

Table 2: Assessment, deadlines and exam dates

 

Type of Assessment	Date / Deadline	Weight	Min. score	Compen-sable?	Deadline 2nd chance
Assignment 1: Problem Analysis	At the beginning of week 4	25%	No	Yes	In consultancy with teacher
Assignment 2: Selected Leverage Point and designed Intervention	At the beginning of week 8	25%	No	Yes	In consultancy with teacher
Assignment 3: Action Plan	At the beginning of week 8	25%	No	Yes	In consultancy with teacher
Assignment 4A: Interim Reflection on group process Assignment 4B: Final Reflection on group process	Halfway in week 7   At the end of week 12	Pass/Fail	*	*
Assignment 5: Implementation of the Action Plan (25%) & Evaluation and Presentation of the Results (50% resp. 25%)	At the end of week 12	25%	No	Yes	In consultancy with teacher

 

 

Assignment 1 Reflexive Design Project (Deadline in Week 4):

Problem Analysis, including a description of the system trap that seems to be involved and a visualization in the form of a System Map or Causal Loop Diagram.

 

Assignment 2 Reflexive Design Project  (Deadline in Week 8):

Selected Leverage Point and designed Intervention, including an indication of which underlying process(es) are targeted and what impact you aim for.

 

Assignment 3 Reflexive Design Project (Deadline in Week 8):

Action Plan for the real-life implementation of the designed intervention (in January). Plus a Reflection in the form of an anticipation of the possible intended and unintended effects of your chosen solution within the context of the subsystem, and formulation of improvements. This is partly based on the insights gained during an Expert Interview.

 

Assignment 4 Reflexive Design Project (Deadlines in Week 7 & Week 12):

Reflection on the Group Process, including a Self- and Peer Assessment. An Interim Reflection is planned in week 7. If the results of the Self- and Peer Assessment show that the contribution from some team members is disproportional compared to others, the team will jointly discuss this and take action to correct this. If it turns out from the results of the Final Self- and Peer Assessment that things haven’t substantially changed during the remainder of the project, this can have repercussions for the grading of individual members (see *).

 

Assignment 5 Reflexive Design Project (Deadline in Week 12):

The last graded Assignment consist of three parts: the Implementation of the Action Plan, which the teams will be working on during the whole month of January; a Reflection on & Evaluation of the findings when the projects draws towards its end, and a Presentation of the results to conclude the course.

 

On Canvas, you can find further instructions, including clear assessment criteria to indicate what is exactly expected for each Assignment. Read the instructions carefully, as deviation of the requirements can cost you valuable points.

 

* While all assignments are group assignments, various grades can be rewarded to individual group members. For if needed, the group grade will be corrected to reflect the real contribution made by individual members according to the values appointed via the Self and Peer Assessment. In case this correction diminishes the total score of an individual team member to < 5.5, the final grade will not be sufficient to pass the course. In that case, the student will consult with the teacher to see what additional work needs to be done to try and pass after a second chance.

 

When personal circumstances give cause, you can approach your work group teacher and ask for delay of a deadline. In view of the deadline for the grading, postponement can never be more than one or maximally two weeks.

Fraud and plagiarism

The 'Regulations governing fraud and plagiarism for UvA students' applies to this course. This will be monitored carefully. Upon suspicion of fraud or plagiarism the Examinations Board of the programme will be informed. For the 'Regulations governing fraud and plagiarism for UvA students' see: www.student.uva.nl

Course structure

Timetable

The schedule for this course is published on DataNose.

Last year's course evaluation

In order to provide students some insight how we use the feedback of student evaluations to enhance the quality of education, we decided to include the table below in all course guides.

Course Name (#EC)	N
Strengths The action oriented, problem-solving focus of the course is highly valued.  Students appreciate that they can work on a topic of their preference, and/or with peers who they like working with. The workgroups are highly valued.  The closure with the Digital Fair was a great success.	Less favorable points  The lectures are valued less favorable. Students fail to see the connection with what they are doing in their projects and rather see some inspiring examples.
Response lecturer: The teachers would like to be able to give more feedback during the workgoups. Hence they would like to see some (preparatory) assignments moved to self-study, so they can work with these assignments in the workgroups and give feedback on them. The coordinator

Contact information

Coordinator

• dr. Coyan Tromp

The work group teachers are:

Donya Danesh (coordinating work group teacher). Email address: d.c.danesh@uva.nl

Lotus Arian. Email address: l.y.arian@uva.nl

Els Aarts. Email address: e.aarts@uva.nl

Rosa van Schaick. Email address: r.vanschaick@uva.nl