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Thursday, January 16, 2025

De Angela L. DuffAssociate Vice Provost, NYU

Industry Professor, Integrated Design & Media (IDM), NYU Tandon

deangela.duff@nyu.edu

Teaching Philosophy & More

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Who is De Angela as an educator?

26

years�Teaching Project-Based Learning*

20 �years

Curriculum Development

16 years

Academic Leadership

*at the Intersection of Design, Art & Technology

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De Angela’s Selected Academic Experience

1999–2013 (14 years)

School of Design

2012–2013, Interim Co-Director�

Design, Art & Technology�(formerly Multimedia)

2012–2013 • Program Director

2012–2013 • Associate Professor�

Multimedia

2009–2012 • Interim Director

2010–2012 • Associate Professor

2003–2010 • Assistant Professor

1999–2003 • Senior Lecturer

2018–2019 (one year)

Innovation Lab

2018–2019• Co-Director

Department of Art & Visual Culture

2018–2019 • Associate Professor

2013–current (11 years)

Integrated Design & Media (IDM)

2018– current • Industry Professor��Integrated Digital Media

2013–2018 • Industry Associate Professor

2013–2018 • Co-Director

1870–2024

2019–current (6 years)

Office of the Provost

2019–current, Associate Vice Provost

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Selected Courses That De Angela Has Taught

  • Creative Coding
  • Dynamic Web Applications
  • Ideation & Prototyping (UG, G, & Online)
  • Intro to Web Development
  • Motion Graphics Studio
  • MS Thesis in Digital Media (G)
  • Professional Practices for Creatives
  • Senior Project in Digital Media
  • Special Topics in Digital Media �(The Art of Gathering)
  • Visual Foundation Studio
  • Web Studio (G)

  • Documentation and Presentation
  • Dynamic Web Development
  • Exhibition and Promotion
  • Introduction to Interactive Programming
  • Interactive Studio 1 & 2
  • Motion Graphics Studio
  • Research, Sketching, Mapping & Prototyping
  • Senior Studio 1 & 2
  • Special Projects in Multimedia (ZAMM)
  • Visual Communication Studio
  • Visual Concepts 1 & 2
  • Web Design Studio

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TEACHING

Philosophy

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My Primary Pedagogical Goal

Learning How To Learn

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“If you teach a man anything, �he will never learn.”�

~George Bernard Shaw

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“Learning results from what the

student does and thinks and only

from what the student does and

thinks. The teacher can advance

learning only by influencing what

the student does to learn.”�

~Herbert Simon

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Secondary Pedagogical Goals

Instill

Curiosity

Play &

Experiment

Be Fearless Take Risks

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The F-Word

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FAILURE

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FAIL QUICK

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FAILURE = FEEDBACK

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As engaged teachers, we tell our

students that everything is a

‘process” that can be improved,

that we learn from mistakes or

weaknesses, that that’s what

Learning is.” ~Cathy Davidson & Christina Katopodis

The New College Classroom (p. 215). Harvard University Press. 2022.

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“We thrive when we stay on our own leading edge”�

~Sarah Lewis �The Rise: Creativity, the Gift of Failure, �and the Search for Mastery (p.20)

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Bloom’s Taxonomy is Dead!

Source: Armstrong, P. (2010). Bloom’s Taxonomy. Vanderbilt University Center for Teaching, https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/blooms-taxonomy.

in the age �of gAI

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Dee Fink’s Taxonomy

Source: Fink, L. Dee. A Self-Directed Guide to Designing Courses for Significant Learning, https://www.bu.edu/sph/files/2014/03/www.deefinkandassociates.com_GuidetoCourseDesignAug05.pdf.

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Faculty should still focus

on learning outcomes, but also the WHY–now, more than ever!

��

in the age �of gAI

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TILT

The Transparency in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education Project, founded by Mary-Ann Winkelmes, can help faculty, apply the Transparency Framework of purpose/task/criteria in assignments and assessments, all toward the goal of enhancing student success equitably. Here are TILT Higher Ed Examples and Resources.

  • Purpose (Start with why!)
  • Task
    • Support process over product (in the beginning stages).
    • Explain the benefit of the task and not just the final output.
    • What, How, When, Where, With Whom, and For Whom?
  • Criteria (provide checklists, rubrics, and/or examples)

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Student Values

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Senior Project Expected Student Values �(reinforced in syllabus)

  • Have desire amounting to enthusiasm to learn and explore.
  • Have self-motivation, proactiveness, and focus.
  • Have patience, persistence, and discipline.
  • Be curious and creative.
  • Have self-confidence and pride in your work!
  • Have Integrity.

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The Open Inquiry Toolkit

For a values-based discussion with students, the Open Inquiry Toolkit hosted at Penn State, may be helpful to some.

The Open Inquiry Toolkit aims to cultivate habits of mind in undergraduate students, faculty, librarians, and others in higher education to promote the intellectual virtues needed for research and learning, both individually and in community. Intellectual virtues are the deep personal qualities or character strengths of a good thinker or learner. They include qualities like curiosity, open-mindedness, intellectual courage, and intellectual tenacity.

Curiosity• Open-Mindedness • Intellectual Courage • Intellectual Tenacity

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Experiential Learning Cycles �& Creativity

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Experiential Learning Cycles

ACT: Do something--anything, in fact. Run a meeting, give a presentation, have a difficult conversation. (One of the most valuable aspects of this model is the way in which it allows us to turn every experience into a learning opportunity. The challenge, of course, is that we rarely complete the cycle and leave most potential learning untapped.)

REFLECT: Look back on your experience and assess the results. Determine what happened, what went well and what didn't.

CONCEPTUALIZE: Make sense of your experience. Seek to understand why things turned out as they did. Draw some conclusions and make some hypotheses.

APPLY: Put those hypotheses to the test. Don't simply re-act. Instead, have a conscious plan to do things differently to be more effective. And begin the cycle again.

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Experiential Learning Cycles

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From Austin Kleon’s Steal Like An Artist

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Edward De Bono

In Serious Creativity, de Bono defines creativity as "bringing into being something that was not there before."

De Bono also stresses that creativity requires time, effort, and focus.

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Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience

According to Csikszentmihalyi, the "best" moments in our lives are not passive, receptive, or relaxing—although such experiences can also be enjoyable, if we have worked hard to attain them.

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Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience

Rather, Csikszentmihalyi asserts that the "best" moments usually occur when a person’s body or mind is stretched to its limits in a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult and worthwhile. ��Thus defined, an "optimal experience" is achievable through our own choices and determination.

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Self-Regulated Learning

2013

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Self-Regulated Learning

Self-regulation encompasses

  • the monitoring and managing of one’s cognitive processes, �as well as
  • the awareness of and control over one’s emotions, motivations, behavior,
  • and environment

as related to learning.

Nilson, Linda. Creating Self-Regulated Learners: Strategies to Strengthen Students’ Self-Awareness and Learning Skills (p. 36). Stylus Publishing.

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Self-Regulated Learning

Self-regulated learning proceeds through three stages:

  • Planning a strategy before the learning or performance task, which includes conducting a task or project analysis�
  • Monitoring one's learning during the task or project�
  • Evaluating one's learning after the task or project

Nilson, Linda B. Teaching at Its Best: A Research-Based Resource for College Instructors, John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated, 2016. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/nyulibrary-ebooks/detail.action?docID=4567495. p. 288

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Self-Regulated Learning

In addition, the process takes place in three dimensions:

  • The metacognitive, which constitutes metacognition, often defined as “thinking about one's thinking”�
  • The meta-emotional, which involves monitoring and directing one's emotions to ensure sufficient motivation, justified confidence, open-mindedness to challenging ideas, and perseverance

Nilson, Linda B.. Teaching at Its Best : A Research-Based Resource for College Instructors, John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated, 2016. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/nyulibrary-ebooks/detail.action?docID=4567495. p. 288

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Self-Regulated Learning

In addition, the process takes place in three dimensions:

  • The environmental, which entails finding and setting up the best physical conditions for one's learning

Nilson, Linda B.. Teaching at Its Best : A Research-Based Resource for College Instructors, John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated, 2016. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/nyulibrary-ebooks/detail.action?docID=4567495. p. 288

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Project-Based

Learning

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Project-Based Learning

Project-Based learning is where students design and develop, and build a hands-on solution to a problem or opportunity with or without a client.

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MAKE THE �INVISIBLE VISIBLE

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SWOC of Project-Based Learning

Strengths

Intrinsic Motivation

Weaknesses

Paralysis / Blank Page Syndrome

Opportunities

Deep Learning

Creativity

Flow AKA Focus

Challenges

Feedback Anxiety�Perfection�SCOPE

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Austin Kleon’s Steal Like An Artist

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Austin Kleon’s Steal Like An Artist

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Copyrighted artwork by Sydney Harris Inc.

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Project Process

Research

Design

Development

  • Influences
  • Competitive Analysis / Related Projects

Including, but not limited to, design sketches, process maps, drawings, wireframes / schematics, storyboards, comps, mood boards, concept boards, screenshots, videos, diagrams, images

Including, but not limited to minimum viable product (MVP), prototypes including but not limited to exercises, tests, models, maquettes, animatics

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Feedback Sessions

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Verbal Feedback Sessions AKA Studio Critiques

Feedback sessions are the best way for students to articulate their ideas to others and get immediate feedback. During the session, the instructor and their classmates question, analyze, and suggest ways to improve or re-evaluate progress.

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Why are Feedback Sessions Important & Useful?

They help students to:�

  • improve and move their projects forward.�
  • get unstuck.�
  • get exposed to other ideas and possibilities from others.

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The Anatomy of a Verbal Feedback Session

At its core, a feedback session is simple:�

  • What is working?�
  • What is not working?�
  • How can the project be improved?

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Rules for a Feedback Session

  • Do your best (with your project milestones).
  • Be present and engaged.
  • Give feedback to your classmates.
  • Do not make assumptions. Ask questions.
  • Critique the work, not the creator.
  • Do NOT take feedback personally. Remember feedback sessions are about your work, not you. They are about making your project better.
  • Be impeccable with your word. Don’t just give a value judgment like “I like it or love it” or “It’s ok or alright.” Give constructive feedback. Be specific and say why.

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PERFECTION does not exist!

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Watch Finished Not Perfect by Jake Parker on YouTube < 2min

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Project Scope

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SCOPE: MoSCoW Method

Must Have

Should Have

Could Have

Won’t Have

Requirements necessary for the completion of the project

Requirements that are important, but not essential.

Nice-to-have requirements that have a small impact if left out.

Requirements that are not important for this phase, but can be implemented in the future for a revised version.

Mo S Co W

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Ideation

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Ideation

Sketchbook / Notebook

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Ideation

Freewriting

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Ideation

Word Lists

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Ideation

Mind Maps

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Ideation

Input Map

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Ideation

Concept Maps

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Ideation

Image Attribution Chuck Frey on Medium

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Image Attribution David Herd’s Night Studio

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Kirby Ferguson’s Basic Elements of Creativity

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Watch Kirby Ferguson’s Everything is a Remix Series

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Kirby Ferguson’s 4 Steps to Getting an Idea

Step 1: Create Boundaries

Step 2: Consume Everything

Step 3: Digest the Research

Step 4: Drop Out

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by James Webb Young

Eureka Moment!

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Donald Norman’s Seven Stages of Action

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“Creativity is just connecting things.”�

~Bill Bernbach

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Dee Fink’s Taxonomy

Source: Fink, L. Dee. A Self-Directed Guide to Designing Courses for Significant Learning, https://www.bu.edu/sph/files/2014/03/www.deefinkandassociates.com_GuidetoCourseDesignAug05.pdf.

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“We do not learn from experience… We learn from reflecting on experience!”

~John Dewey

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