Dec 09, 2025

Theorizing Practice: Student projects as catalysts for educational shift

Eric Lee

About this video

Description

Design education is evolving from traditional problem-solving paradigms toward more inclusive, inquiry- driven approaches. This presentation explores a pedagogical shift from "Practice of Theory" to "Theorizing of Practice"—where students become researchers of their own interests rather than passive recipients of predetermined outcomes.
In this presentation, projects range from repositioning children as creativity experts to exploring indigenous approaches to cultural preservation to developing community-centered healing experiences. Each challenges conventional boundaries—between expert and learner, tradition and change, individual and collective care.
Students consistently break boundaries between disciplines while addressing complex societal challenges, demonstrating that transformative education emerges when we honor student agency and diverse perspectives.
This presentation offers concrete pedagogical conditions that enable perspective-shifting and boundary-breaking. Participants will gain transferable frameworks for fostering student agency, implementing inquiry-based learning and creating inclusive educational environments that maintain academic excellence.

Eric Lee