Work

Research-Education Partnerships: A Co-Design Classroom for College Students with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: Co-design of technology encourages participation and decision-making input of end-users. In the case of technologies for individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD), the end-users are historically left out of the design process. Further deepening the disconnect between this group and technology, they are also excluded from formal technology design knowledge sharing, such as college courses. To address this, our study investigates the efficacy of a formal classroom adaptation of co-design activities to encourage learning and participation. Through collaboration between educators and designers, we adopted user-centered co-design activities to facilitate knowledge and application of technological design methods within a class of 13 students with IDD. Findings uncovered factors contributing to co-teaching collaboration planning and reflection between educators and designers, and ways that activities can provide accessible collaborative learning environments for students with IDD by supporting collaboration, cognitive engagement, and meta-cognition. We discuss how these factors can support successful co-teacher collaborations that promote student empowerment. Finally, we contribute collaborative co-teaching strategies for educational co-design activities for individuals with IDD.

Source: Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction

DOI: 10.1145/3687050

Authors: Rachel Lowy, Khushi Magiawala, Shravika Mittal, Kaely Hall, Jessica Roberts, Jennifer G Kim

Institution: Georgia Institute of Technology

Language: English

Topic: Design Education and Practice

Subfield: Mechanical Engineering

Field: Engineering

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDGs: Quality education, Reduced inequalities

Open Access status: hybrid

Funder: Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute