LDT550:

Discussion Expectations for Design Studio

Discussion plays an important role in Design Studio. The ability to clearly and accurately state your positions and thoughts in a dialogue while maintaining relevance and an ethical perspective is critical to dialogue in the design process. The expectation of discussion participation in Design Studio is that studio members will

• participate in all discussions,
• address the initial questions and discussion prompts,
• give and receive feedback,
• generate additional threads of thought and questions that increase the depth and breadth of discussion, and
• provide useful and applicable thoughts and suggestions to studiomates.

To that end, here are some tips for developing your discussion abilities:

• Strive for clarity, accuracy, and relevance in initial posts and responses to other posts.
• Frame the discussion with an opening statement, such as these:
  • Your post made me think of this question…
  • Can you write more on this part of your post…
  • The biggest takeaway from this, for me, was…
  • I can see this in design thinking this way…
  • I disagree with this…and here is why…
  • This reminds me of a time when…and this happened…
  • Another way to think of this is…
  • Here is a way to improve this…
  • What would happen if…
• Read your discussion out loud before you post. This often helps develop clarity and tone.
• Likewise, read other posts out loud. This often helps "hearing" the true content and tone of a post.
• Write provocative posts, prompting others to reply and begin a deep dialogue.