Design Education for Adult-Learners
Feeling creatively dulled, I temporarily left industry to reignite my love of design. During the past six months, I’ve led adult learners yearning to explore their own creative capacities. Below are a series of initiatives that I pioneered during my time as Lead Instructor at General Assembly, an Adecco Company.
The Challenge
Adult learners present unique challenges.
Many have invested large portions of their time and money towards a radical life decision with uncertain outcomes. Daily stress is exacerbated by the academic demands of an immersive course.
Drawing from my work in the wellness space, I created a 10-week mindfulness program which introduced the basics of yoga and meditation.
“Kyle’s mindfulness program completely altered my experience of the course.”
Students participating in the mindfulness program reported being able to navigate the spectrum of emotions typical of an immersive course with more ease. Many reported that it was one of the most unexpected and enjoyable parts of my course.
Curriculum Customization
The design industry evolves constantly. Rigid curriculum do not.
As a design instructor, I was challenged with adapting rigid course content to dynamic industry. What is “best practice,” and “on-trend” one day is disproven and obsolete the next. Through basing lecture and curriculum content in anecdotal examples, I was able to design a class that felt relevant and challenging.
I slide I created which links the principles of accessibility with a personal example of accessible design using contrast.
I developed a series of custom visual and UI design lectures.
Acknowledging the increased importance for all designers to have foundational visual design skills, I developed a lecture series specifically geared towards visual and user interface design. I covered color, typography, layout and advanced UI skills as part of this ongoing series.
Tech-community volunteer program
Establishing a community of volunteer designers widened the lens of the course.
It was important for me to communicate to students that I represent the perspective of one designer, with one set of experiences. I prioritized creating a network of guest speakers to broaden the lens of the course material. A first at GA, I’ve averaged 11 guests from a variety of leading companies to come in and share their expertise.
“The industry professionals Kyle brought in made the course that much more relatable.”
By networking with Chicago businesses, I facilitated thousands of dollars in client work.
When I joined GA, it became required that instructional staff identify clients for students’ capstone projects. With the help of my instructor associate, we identified incubators for small businesses who might benefit from pro-bono design work. Thus far, our clients have spanned such industries as health and wellness, recruiting, and food / beverage.