TEACHING

I have a deep advocacy towards education with a primary goal of supporting students' growth and learning.

2024 - Present
Sessional Instructor
at Emily Carr University of Art + Design in Vancouver, Canada.

ECUAD Campus

Emily Carr University of Art + Design

2024 - Present

I joined Emily Carr University as a Sessional Instructor in 2024 after completing my Master's degree in the same insitution. Aside from being faculty in the Industrial Design department, I am also a Summer Teens Instructor for ECU Continuing Studies' Junior Arts Institute Program.

Design Studio Classroom
Design studios allow for critical thinking, iterative making, and diverse exploration of ideas. I make use of engaging course materials to allow the studio environment to be more immersive and collaborative. As with my personal design and research practices, I prefer not to tell or even show, but rather let people experience first-hand what I am trying to convey, and having a tangible and engaging studio environment allows for great flexibility in emphasizing this approach.
Course Delivery + Materials
I have delivered lectures primarily in the context of teaching Industrial Design, always making sure to be interactive and engaging. To support these lectures, I develop course materials such as printed worksheets, project briefs, design prompts, online games, and exam sheets to break down complex topics into more manageable bits of information that culminate into greater understanding by students. Sometimes, I like to throw in a few 3D printed models and tools to help communicate ideas better.
Research Practice + Teaching
My research interests lie in the realm of design psychology, human factors, and frameworks for design education. I hope to practice my own research and design practices alongside teaching, as they all influence and greatly heighten one another.
 
Currently, I am exploring the creation of tangible tools for embodied learning that stimulates multi-sensory learning experiences through digitally fabricated tools that would be open-source and accessible to educators and learners.
Teaching Philosophy
I believe that education and learning is a powerful tool that helps transform lives. As an educator, I aim to instil in my students a deep appreciation for the value of education especially in the field of design by allowing students to discover themselves through critical thinking stimulation, a collaborative and conducive learning environment, having creative freedom, and building communication skills in and out of the four walls of the classroom.
 
I believe there are three qualities that would define my teaching:
 
First, I believe in not only telling nor showing, but rather allowing people to have first-hand experiences to engage and understand materials better. I believe tangible interactive experiences allow for better engagement with students and allow for a direct translation of concepts to medium that they would be able to associate with in the real world. Using our bodie, we can learn so much through movement, perception, and interaction with the things around us.
 
Second, I believe in encouraging my students to think outside of the box and make use of methods that may not even be remotely close to conventional design methods in order to investigate, conceptualize, create, and communicate their ideas. I would like to encourage my students to not view design as a step-by-step procedure to enact, but rather a dynamic and ever-changing process of getting to know the world they are designing for. With this, designers must adapt, and their thinking and processes must cope accordingly. It is not enough to be teaching design theories, software use, and hard skills. These must be supplemented by the ability to be resourceful, to think on one’s feet, and to believe in their own abilities and what they value. In order to translate these into learnings, it is not only necessary to learn what design is, but who and what it impacts in our everyday lives.
 
And finally, I believe in fostering a conducive learning environment where experimentation and failing is okay. We learn by doing, and if we don't try it out, we would never know if it works or not. School is the place to fail as many times as possible in attempts of trying things out. I want to drill this into them where failing is not actual failure, but rather a learning experience that we all go through at some point, especially in safe learning spaces, as it is the best place to fail safely and learn to grow.
 
To conclude, being an educator for me is being able to inspire and impart what value education holds to others through not only telling but allowing for students to have first-hand tangible interactive experiences, encouraging them to think critically and make use of other far-from-conventional-design methods in their ideas, and fostering a conducive learning environment where it’s okay to fail securely as they build their confidence in their own abilities through constant communication not only from their instructor but from their peers as well. As an educator, I not only impart my own learnings onto others, but also learn from both my students and peers alike.

All Courses

Human Fit: Applied Ergonomics
This course supports core studio work in product design and interaction design by providing students with the opportunity to explore the ergonomic credibility and possibilities for their projects. A preliminary introduction to ergonomics methodology and testing protocols is followed by the testing and assessment of individual students' core studio prototype. This course will support a variety of different types of projects in various stages of development, including small skill-building opportunities in the application of ergonomic principles and effective and ethical testing protocols in the first part of the course continuing with focused and additional skills in the second part of the course. Techniques will be taught to assist in all phases of product development with a particular emphasis on effective testing protocols. Products are tested for physical ease of use as well as psychological and cognitive accessibility.

Human Fit: Applied Ergonomics
Human Fit: Applied Ergonomics
This course supports core studio work in product design and interaction design by providing students with the opportunity to explore the ergonomic credibility and possibilities for their projects. A preliminary introduction to ergonomics methodology and testing protocols is followed by the testing and assessment of individual students' core studio prototype. This course will support a variety of different types of projects in various stages of development, including small skill-building opportunities in the application of ergonomic principles and effective and ethical testing protocols in the first part of the course continuing with focused and additional skills in the second part of the course. Techniques will be taught to assist in all phases of product development with a particular emphasis on effective testing protocols. Products are tested for physical ease of use as well as psychological and cognitive accessibility.

INDUSTRIAL DESIGN/3D PRINTING SERVICES FOR EDUCATION

As it is with my advocacy, if you are a student, an educator, or an education-related organization in BC, Canada in need of industrial design or 3D printing services, feel free to reach out and let’s collaborate bringing ideas come to life in every classroom.

Get in touch.

Do you have a project or idea in mind? Send me a message.

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