Daniel, I'm very interested in your project, agree with your general observations, and can make several suggestions.
Marian Petre and I wrote a couple of papers on the role of mental imagery in programming, providing strong evidence that sketching and visual images are important to programmers. In work with Francois Penz, of the department of architecture in Cambridge, we looked at what happened when students in his life drawing class spent sessions working with a paint program rather than charcoal and pencil. Several of my computer science students took the class, analysing the outputs in various ways, and we felt there was extremely valuable interchange. This was one of the inputs to the Cambridge Digital Studios project, sadly now dormant after funding threat to the architecture department. I'm sure you're aware of the Winograd book "Bringing Design to Software". I've been making modifications to computer science syllabus in Cambridge over several years, based mainly on that book. This has resulted in increasing emphasis on traditional design skills teaching, and I do in fact have a plan to introduce life drawing as an element of a first-year CS with design option. Of the various universities around the world with similar interests to mine, the one where I am most impressed by the teaching programme is CMU. On a visit there in 2004, I spent some time in studio classes where drawing skills are considered a natural component of design education for HCI students. So overall, I'd like to encourage you to pursue those plans, would be very interested to learn more about the results, and would even offer assistance, if you need it! Alan > In recent years I have been involved in teaching both Java (for the Sun > Certified Java Programmer exam) and life-drawing. This has included > after-work life-drawing classes attended by people working in largely > technical / analytical jobs. Life-drawing is an intensive creative activity, > which demands a very high level of concentration; therefore I was concerned > that people might struggle with it after a full day's work, especially as > many of them had no previous experience of life-drawing. > > However, we found the opposite to be the case. During our discussions > afterwards, class members expressed how refreshed they felt after the > process, describing it as being like stretching a limb that had been cramped > up all day. Drawing relieved the mental stress caused by concentrating for > long hours on analytical work, and led to a feeling of completeness; it > relaxed the mind, but also left it sharper and more open. > > It has occurred to me to run another Java Certification course, but this > time with short breaks throughout the day for life-drawing. I envisage the > class arranged in a semi-circle, each student at a separate desk with an > easel (or flip-chart stand) beside it. The centre of the semi-circle would > be where I would teach, and where the model would pose. > > Students would be encouraged to be bold in their drawings and to feel that > the process is more important than the product. I would use certain > exercises to encourage this view (such as drawing where you cannot see the > page you are drawing on), and would ensure the students did not feel that > they had to share their pictures if their confidence was low - but > nonetheless provide opportunities for putting work up on the walls. > > My theory is that the switch between the two very different activity types > would: > > a) help keep the mind alert throughout what is otherwise a very intense day > of technical learning > b) prevent narrowing of focus and blocking of lateral thought > c) better enable students to see connections between concepts at an abstract > level > d) stimulate interest and discussion, building a faster group rapport. > > Another thing that interests me in relation to this is a blurring of tool > use - e.g. having the students perform some programming exercises in > charcoal on the easels, and drawing on the computers (with appropriate input > devices, such as drawing tablets). Alternatively, this particular course is > one which I have often thought could be taught entirely without computers, > due to the nature of the exam one is preparing for; furthermore many of the > questions benefit strongly from a visual interpretation ( e.g. class > hierarchies); therefore the pencil-and-paper approach of the life-drawing > could be carried over quite deeply into the Java part of the course. > > This idea is based only on small-sample observations, general reading, > anecdote and personal experience. It bears some relation to the earlier > thread entitled "Problems sitting on the seat", about the value of taking a > break - however in this case I am suggesting a specifically active break > aimed at stimulating different parts of the brain. (Real breaks would also > be provided!) > > I would be very interested to know if anyone is aware of any research either > supporting or contradicting such an approach. > > Many thanks > Daniel Scrivener > -- Alan Blackwell Computer Laboratory, University of Cambridge http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/users/afb21/ Phone: +44 (0) 1223 334418 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- PPIG Discuss List (discuss@ppig.org) Discuss admin: http://limitlessmail.net/mailman/listinfo/discuss Announce admin: http://limitlessmail.net/mailman/listinfo/announce PPIG Discuss archive: http://www.mail-archive.com/discuss%40ppig.org/
