Development of instructional material for Descriptive Geometry: a participatory design experience

Abstract

This study aims to develop, by means of a participatory design approach, instructional material for DG
teaching, particularly meant for Design students. In order to achieve such purpose, we initially conducted a
literature review about Descriptive Geometry teaching, focusing on the role of graphic representations on the
learning of concepts and principles from such knowledge domain. The material was developed within the
context of the classroom, when the students, supervised by the teacher, reported their impressions and
proposed suggestions to improve the material. Since the material turned out to be more dynamic, students felt
stimulated and, consequently, more motivated to study DG. The dialogue between students and the teacher
also improved, and several proposals have emerged so far. These proposals have been discussed, among
which the main idea is to create concrete artefacts, demonstrating basic aspects of DG. The instructional
material is currently being used by new DG students and as a reference for related contents.