In 2018, I had the privilege of being selected to work as Research Assistant to OCAD U Design faculty member, Ranee Lee, as she set out to assess the impact of her 2nd year participatory design course "Identity Materialized."
Ranee had formed a relationship with the Centre for Community Learning and Development in Toronto's Regent Park. In order to bridge education with real-life experience, she united OCAD U ID students with a local group of sewing masters in a participatory design project that spanned the full semester. Students from OCAD U teamed up with a talented group of seamstresses to produce soft good products that would be sold to benefit the Regent Park community.
With this project now running in its second year, it was my task to observe in-class interactions as well as interview all participants for their first-hand experiences. The data was then collated into an overview evaluation of this collaboration.
With this project now running in its second year, it was my task to observe in-class interactions as well as interview all participants for their first-hand experiences. The data was then collated into an overview evaluation of this collaboration.
Equity in this exchange of time and resources is paramount. Was the course equitable? Sustainable? Scalable? These are the questions that we asked as we assessed this collaboration of these two great Toronto institutions.
Click image to view full report:
Click image to view full report:
