The ASPEN method: Establishing the relationship between unmediated creative methods and heuristics adapted to the context of teaching design via an algorithm

This article’s purpose is to demonstrate the ASPEN method (from the acronym in Portuguese Algorithm to Solving Problems in Teaching), developed to help teachers solve problems in design teaching and establish the relationship between unmediated creative methods and heuristics adapted to this context. The long-standing relationship between teachers and students has been under transformation into an increasingly complex knowledge ecosystem and it has been driving teachers to take on new roles and communicate in ways they have not done before. Now, as opposed to merely passing on knowledge, teachers must guide their students’ learning process. Due to the societal challenges that we all face nowadays, teachers must be able to articulate across multiple disciplines, have a global understanding of the matters and be timely up to speed with technology. Taking an innovation ecosystem that includes all agents of teacher education into consideration, these professionals must be prepared to the fast-changing social scenarios that have been recently presented. The ASPEN method emerges from an ethnographic and exploratory investigation of the behaviour of teachers in the classroom, observation and analysis of interviews, and the analysis of pedagogical influences through curricular plans. The observation results found that older and highly experienced teachers claim that they do not need to participate in continuing education courses primarily because they do not have enough time and because they are often more involved with their own investigations. The classroom is no longer a priority. They believe that their pedagogical techniques still work. The ASPEN method is structured to enhance teacher’s experience in anticipating and solving possible problems in the classroom, as well as helping address specific issues that could occasionally arise during the learning process. The expected outcome of this research converges around the guidelines resulting from the practical implementation of specific pedagogies in design education grounded on the ASPEN method. This pedagogical model has been tested in the design field, but it can be applied in multiple areas.