Validating KANVAS: An interactive planner for project-based courses
Süner Pla Cerda S. (Yürütücü), Cantürk D.
Yükseköğretim Kurumları Destekli Proje, BAP Araştırma Projesi, 2026 - 2027
- Proje Türü: Yükseköğretim Kurumları Destekli Proje
- Destek Programı: BAP Araştırma Projesi
- Başlama Tarihi: Nisan 2026
- Bitiş Tarihi: Nisan 2027
Proje Özeti
Design education, project-based applied courses, and similar constructivist approaches embody distinctive pedagogical practices rooted in experiential learning, reflective dialogue through project deliverables, and frequent interactions among students, instructors, and external project partners. This creates a dynamic and interactive learning environment that requires seamless coordination among multiple stakeholders, the use of various tools and technologies, and the continuous evolution of project deliverables through reflective discussion. Technology-enhanced trends in higher education, such as blended, online and hybrid learning, and digital transformation accelerated by the global pandemic, have further increased the complexity of such project-based courses. Traditional learning management systems offer limited support for these courses, which depend on continuous exchange, interaction, and reflection, making them inadequate for instructors who need to actively plan and manage multi-faceted project processes. This project aims to build on previous work conducted as part of a TÜBİTAK-funded project completed by a multidisciplinary team of design and education researchers to develop a novel pedagogical toolkit to support the planning of design projects in higher education. The toolkit design was grounded on an evidence-based blended learning model developed via in-depth analysis of 12 case studies with 44 design instructors across six different universities. A holistic evaluation of the case analyses, synthesised with various models from educational sciences and existing literature, led to the creation of a conceptual model specific to design education and a manual toolkit derived from this model’s structure. The findings from early tests of the manual toolkit in eight workshops with 22 instructors informed the design of an interactive, web-based application (KANVAS) built in Figma. The KANVAS application aims to support instructors in planning, managing, and assessing design projects and can work in integration with the institutional systems to share and update necessary information. Its core features include: designing technology-supported learning experiences that blend synchronous/asynchronous, face-to-face/remote, and physical/digital activities; parallel course activity planning; organising multi-stakeholder project structures; assigning and tracking tasks within the teaching team; maintaining a centralised, easily accessible, and editable project archive; evaluating course and project-related learning outcomes and planning stakeholder assessments; as well as sharing project plans and exporting personalised schedules. The goal of the current project is to (1) validate the KANVAS system by developing a working prototype with a multidisciplinary team consisting of designers and software developers, (2) conduct usability tests with instructors to detect potential usability flaws, and (3) finalise the prototype for a potential software patent application. Another aim of this project is to test the system design with instructors of project-based courses from non-design disciplines (e.g., engineering, education, and service courses) to assess its broader applicability.