Specification:

PILLAR:

Designers and Stakeholders

Design Phase:

Research

SOLO TAXONOMY LEVEL:

Multistructural

TIME:

Short

In this teaching activity, students will learn to formulate their own values. They will be able to describe similarities and differences of their own values to those of others, and to illustrate that values are an integrated part of their design work. This is beneficial because designers are also stakeholders in design.

Design work is often based on a collaborative effort of a group of designers. While students are often introduced to design methods for involving other people in the design (e.g. interviews or focus groups), these methods do not necessarily address or relate to other people's values, and they also do not focus on the values of the project members themselves.

This teaching activity supports students in becoming able to understand and explain their own underlying values, that their values are different from other students’ values, to adapt to other students’ values, and explain that values have an impact on the design of products, systems and services.

After the teaching activity students will be able to:

• have gained an understanding of their own underlying values by formulating them using existing value frameworks,
• be able to describe the similarities and differences between their own values and other people’s values,
• be able to illustrate that values are the drivers of behaviour in all kinds of activities, such as design activities.

• Consider whether the activity will run both steps or just one of the steps at a time (see Teaching Activity).
• Consider whether the activity will run in an analogue or digital way (see Teaching Activity).
• Choose a collection of values, such as the HuValue Tool or Schwartz Theory of Basic Values.
• Consider if the students should do a preparatory activity for identifying their individual values, such as the Schwartz Value Inventory, see the slides for instructions. The activity can be done in the classroom or as homework before class.
• Arrange settings for group work.
  • Analogue: Place post-its and pens on the tables for each student.
  • Digital: prepare two digital shared repositories (e.g. Google docs, Menti.com, Wordcloud).

Show a collection of values for inspiration, such as the HuValue Wheel or Schwartz Theory of Basic Values.

Step 1 - Individual:

• Ask the students to individually decide on three values that are important to them as a person.
  • Analogue: ask the students to write down their values on post-it notes or papers.
  • Digital: ask the students to report on their three values in a shared repository (e.g. Google Docs, Menti.com wordcloud, etc.).
• Share the collection of students’ values with the class. Ask the following questions:
  • What are the similarities and differences between your values and other people’s values?
  • In what ways do these values have an impact on you as a student/designer/group member?
• Take a concrete example from the student values, and problematise it, e.g., if “sustainability” is a core value for many students, how will this impact them when meeting with people? Will they value people who go by car instead of bicycle differently?

Step 2 - Group:

• Ask the students in groups to agree upon five values that are important to them as a group of students.
  • Analogue: ask the student groups to write down their values on post-it notes or papers.
  • Digital: ask the student groups to report on their three values in a shared repository (e.g. Google docs, Menti.com wordcloud).
• Share the collection of group values with the class. Ask the following questions:
  • What are the similarities and differences between your values and other groups’ values?
  • In what ways do these values have an impact on your design work as a group?
• Share the results of the two steps with the students, so that they can return to them later.

To assess whether the intended learning outcomes were attained by the teaching activity the following assessment activities can be carried out (in class or after class).

Assess students' learning by asking them to write a reflective value report (formative assessment) where they present their formulated values, the implications of them compared to those of others and reflect on how to make values an integrated part of their design work.

Assess students' learning by asking them to record a personal video on values (ipsative assessment) where they through a visual medium illustrate their values and how the teaching activity has made them reflect and develop as responsible designers to think differently about their own value position.

In the assessment activity ask students to focus on:

• formulating their own values and how they might shape them as responsible designers and impact their design practice,
• describing how their individual values interact with and position them in relation to the values of other students or stakeholders,
• illustrating how values can be a driver in their design work and might impact on the design of products, systems and services.

Schwartz, Shalom H. (2012). An Overview of the Schwartz Theory of Basic Values. Online Readings. Psychology and Culture, 2(1). https://doi.org/10.9707/2307-0919.1116

HuValue (2021). HuValue. Retrieved 2021-04-15 from https://huvaluetool.com/