DESIGNING FOR EQUITY, ACCESSIBILITY, DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION IN AN UNDERGRAD INDUSTRIAL DESIGN COURSE

Centered on a Universal Design for Learning approach, a third-year undergraduate course at OCAD University, Design for Health, has approached the pandemic as a problem-based learning opportunity. The course aims to decolonize the undergraduate curriculum by acknowledging one’s own position, challenging biases in health care, and examining the technical layers that surround products, services and systems. Combining ethnographic and observational methods to guide the work, students are encouraged to engage in diverse design applications that drive innovation, decrease systemic barriers and increase access to health and wellness for all. Through various opportunities for engagement, multiple means of presenting the course material, and authentic assessment, students learn to effectively navigate the design process as they collaborate with their peers and reflect on their own experience.