Contrary to popular belief, it is the tasks that are tedious and effortful that produce the most powerful learning. It is easy to equate ablest, leisurely recall to retention because it feels so natural, almost innate. Despite the intuitive nature of the learning ideology that is repetition, the result is simply an illusion of mastery. We become familiar with the way the information is presented, gain a sense of comfort with the syntax, and become confident in recognizing the stimulus (Brown, Roediger, & McDaniel, 2014).
Learning doesn’t rely merely on exposure but on intent and effort. Many learning strategies we have accepted are not durable because they simply do not require dedication. This same philosophy can be applied across disciplines, including fashion design pedagogy. The critique method has been widely critiqued in the design sphere as being largely subjective and offering non-constructive feedback. According to the principles of desirable difficulties, the critique method is actually a learning asset that students will go on to use throughout their careers in the industry.
If students were to spend their formative years in design school without outside perspectives of peers and instructors, they would become accustomed to their own internal dialogue and creative process. This familiarization would breed a false sense of understanding all design, and the aforementioned illusion of mastery. The critique method has been found to be crucial in teaching students design skills such as how to judge their own and other’s work and perfecting the way that they verbalize their design thinking. The subjectivity that exists in all design critiques is often seen as a negative, but I would argue that it offers a foundation from which students can become cognizant of multiple solutions to design problems. This subjectivity also helps students learn to refine their own design problems and to verbalize their abstract thoughts.
Designers must learn the skill of exploring the space between theory and practice."It is one thing to have an idea and another thing to make that idea concrete and real" (Breslin & Buchanan, 2008, p.36). If design students were never given the chance to verbalize the non-verbal, they would miss out on the development of an absolutely essential skill. Students may see their artifact through the lens of others through the critique method, despite its outward difficulties.
As stated by Robert Bjork, when a method is labeled as a desirable difficulty, the long term goal must be identified as longterm learning, the very antithesis of immediate fluency. Although there is no shortage of literature critiquing the critique method, it is certainly integral to student learning in design school.
I agree, the critique methods used in design incorporate many features of what we are exploring. Keep investigating are sharing these connections. I for one want to learn more.
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