1 11/12/2010 3:32:38 PM What is the most effective educational approach that results in the best learning and career outcomes for interior design students? From a survey of the available literature on the subject of interior design education pedagogies, the following four aspects currently appear to have the greatest impact on the learning and career outcomes for students: 1) Interdisciplinary education; 2) Collaborative and Cooperative learning; 3) Design Studios; and 4) Technological advancements. In order to determine what is the most effective education pedagogy that will result in the best outcomes for interior design students, this review will examine the above four aspects. In the current climate of corporate downsizing, designers are expected to multitask. Thus, multidisciplinary designers will have greater job security (Dolan, 2003). The results of Dolan¶s (2003) research reveals that practitioners and educators perceive interdisciplinary design to be beneficial, particularly it make designers more marketable, as clients view it as an added value to services provided.The results should be considered carefully however,as the number of survey respondents may be insufficient to be statistically reliable.Mendoza, Bernasconi and MacDonald (2007) concurs with Dolan(2003) that interdisciplinary education fosters a better appreciation of what each discipline brings to the project, and contends that there are synergistic benefits from interdisciplinary collaboration. Dane (2004) states that there is extensive published research on ³Collaborative´ and ³Cooperative´learning benefits, and goes on todifferentiate between collaborative and cooperative learning on the basis of the structure level of the learning experience.
