“Teaching is both an art and a science” (Harrison & Coll, 2008 p.1). Good teaching excites students and cultivates their curiosity to learn more than they are asked. But what if students’ blank faces tell you that the teaching did not land, what can you do? Using an analogy or metaphor to explain the principle helps students visualize and comprehend the knowledge of difficult, abstract concepts by making it familiar. The National Academy of Engineers issued a report in 2008 emphasizing the need for design engineers to develop 21st century skills, such as ingenuity and creativity, and to create innovative products and markets. However, designers have a hard time ignoring evident constraints on their concepts during their design process. This is especially difficult for novice designers when attempting to use analogical reasoning (Osborn, 1963; Hey et al. 2008). Hey et al. explains how the multitude of design considerations is even more difficult for novice as compared to expert designers who are more able to focus on the important features of a problem. Kolodner (1997) iterates how novice designers have difficulty sifting through the mass of information they encounter. They need help with the transfer of knowledge that analogical reasoning requires. When students can clearly extract and articulate what they have learned, this helps them to internalize this. Biomimicry education teaches the clear extraction and articulation while learning to decipher and transfer function analogies from biology to design. This transfer can also improve reasoning when solving problems (Wu and Weng, 2013), reacting to the challenge in a more ‘out-of-the-box’ manner (Yang et al. 2015). However, not being able to fully understand this “conceptual leap between biology and design” in an accurate manner, is sited as a key obstacle of this field (Rowland, 2017; Rovalo and McCardle 2019, p. 1). Therefore, didactics on how to teach this analogical leap to overcome the hurdles is essential. There is insufficient research on the effectivity of biomimicry education in design to help establish ‘best practices’. This thesis offers advice to fill this pedagogical gap to find out how to overcome the obstacle of analogical reasoning for novice designers, while practicing biomimicry. The contribution to science is a not earlier tested methodology that leads to a clearer understanding of the translation of biological strategies and mechanisms found in scientific research. This translation from biology to design in visual and textual manner, is called the Abstracted Design Principle (ADP) and is introduced and explained in detail in chapters 4, 5 and 6 of this thesis. Together with the proposed instructions, we sketch the net-gain of positive mind-set for novice designers on their path to design for a sustainable future.
Biomimicry education is grounded in a set of natural design principles common to every known lifeform on Earth. These Life’s Principles (LPs) (cc Biomimicry 3.8), provide guidelines for emulating sustainable strategies that are field-tested over nearly four billion years of evolution. This study evaluates an exercise for teaching LPs to interdisciplinary students at three universities, Arizona State University (ASU) in Phoenix, Arizona (USA), College of Charleston (CofC) in Charleston, South Carolina (USA) and The Hague University of Applied Sciences (THUAS) in The Hague (The Netherlands) during the spring 2021 semester. Students researched examples of both biological organisms and human designs exhibiting the LPs. We gauged the effectiveness of the exercise through a common rubric and a survey to discover ways to improve instruction and student understanding. Increased student success was found to be directly linked to introducing the LPs with illustrative examples, assigning an active search for examples as part of the exercise, and utilizing direct assessment feedback loops. Requiring students to highlight the specific terms of the LP sub-principles in each example is a suggested improvement to the instructions and rubric. An iterative, face-to-face, discussion-based teaching and learning approach helps overcome minor misunderstandings. Reiterating the LPs throughout the semester with opportunities for application will highlight the potential for incorporating LPs into students’ future sustainable design process. Stevens LL, Fehler M, Bidwell D, Singhal A, Baumeister D. Building from the Bottom Up: A Closer Look into the Teaching and Learning of Life’s Principles in Biomimicry Design Thinking Courses. Biomimetics. 2022; 7(1):25. https://doi.org/10.3390/biomimetics7010025
Biomimicry is an emerging discipline that seeks nature’s advice and brings diverse stakeholders together to create designs that emulate the way nature functions, not just the way it looks. The field itself is a multidisciplinary endeavor, yet biomimicry educators frequently work alone. Pedagogical methods based on trial and error may waste precious time. In this study, a set of four biomimicry experts from diverse disciplines and different areas around the globe collaborated to compare pedagogy and analyze student work to illuminate best principles for teaching students to translate biology into design solutions, a key step in the biomimicry design process. A total of 313 assignments created by 179 different students were evaluated. The results showed that the inclusion of art in the learning of science, namely the hand drawing of the biological mechanism can lead to higher quality of abstracted design principles. Stevens, L., Bidwell, D., Fehler, M., Singhal, A. (2022). The Art and Science of Biomimicry—Abstracting Design Principles from Nature. In: Rezaei, N. (eds) Transdisciplinarity. Integrated Science, vol 5. Springer, Cham. https://doi-org.ezproxy.hhs.nl/10.1007/978-3-030-94651-7_29
“Empowering learners to create a sustainable future” This is the mission of Centre of Expertise Mission-Zero at The Hague University of Applied Sciences (THUAS). The postdoc candidate will expand the existing knowledge on biomimicry, which she teaches and researches, as a strategy to fulfil the mission of Mission-Zero. We know when tackling a design challenge, teams have difficulties sifting through the mass of information they encounter. The candidate aims to recognize the value of systematic biomimicry, leading the way towards the ecosystems services we need tomorrow (Pedersen Zari, 2017). Globally, biomimicry demonstrates strategies contributing to solving global challenges such as Urban Heat Islands (UHI) and human interferences, rethinking how climate and circular challenges are approached. Examples like Eastgate building (Pearce, 2016) have demonstrated successes in the field. While biomimicry offers guidelines and methodology, there is insufficient research on complex problem solving that systems-thinking requires. Our research question: Which factors are needed to help (novice) professionals initiate systems-thinking methods as part of their strategy? A solution should enable them to approach challenges in a systems-thinking manner just like nature does, to regenerate and resume projects. Our focus lies with challenges in two industries with many unsustainable practices and where a sizeable impact is possible: the built environment (Circularity Gap, 2021) and fashion (Joung, 2014). Mission Zero has identified a high demand for Biomimicry in these industries. This critical approach: 1) studies existing biomimetic tools, testing and defining gaps; 2) identifies needs of educators and professionals during and after an inter-disciplinary minor at The Hague University; and, 3) translates findings into shareable best practices through publications of results. Findings will be implemented into tangible engaging tools for educational and professional settings. Knowledge will be inclusive and disseminated to large audiences by focusing on communication through social media and intervention conferences.
Het vakgebied Biomimicry gebruikt principes uit de natuur als inspiratiebron voor het ontwerpen van productinnovaties. In de marketingpraktijk worden principes uit de natuur nog niet gebruikt. Het lectoraat New Marketing van het Expertisecentrum Sustainable Business van Avans is in 2021 gestart met een oriënterend onderzoek naar de toepassingsmogelijkheden van biomimicry binnen marketing. Uit dit onderzoek komt naar voren dat principes uit de natuur bedrijven en merken kunnen helpen om hun marketingaanpak te verduurzamen. Met name op het onderwerp ‘groei’ biedt biomimicry kansrijke aanknopingspunten en inzichten. Groei is een belangrijk thema voor bedrijven en marketeers waar ze tegelijkertijd mee worstelen: hoe kunnen zij op een groene manier groeien? Het reclamebureau Heldergroen volgt het lopende onderzoek van Avans met grote belangstelling. Ze wil principes uit de natuur graag gaan gebruiken om (potentiële) klanten te helpen om hun marketingaanpak te verduurzamen. Daarom gaat het lectoraat New Marketing in samenwerking met Heldergroen en haar klanten onderzoek doen om “een bruikbare methodiek te ontwikkelen om inzichten uit de natuurlijke wereld te benutten voor het versnellen van de transitie naar een groene economie via het vakgebied marketing.” Het lectoraat New Marketing gaat in het kader van dit verdiepend onderzoek op basis van deskresearch, interviews en actieonderzoek aan de slag om hiervoor een methodologie te ontwerpen.
Climate change and the depletion of resources in the world are widely recognized as the greatest societal challenges. The building sector is responsible for 40% of the raw material consumption globally. The emissions related to construction materials are anticipated to double by 2050, if no new technologies are adopted (EC, 2021). Based on the environmental cost indicator, isolation has the second largest (after concrete) impact to the environment. In Mythic - Myterials for THermal Insulation in Construction goal is to develop (in co-creation with the work field) the best available mycelium biocomposite, which can be used as a circular, biodegradable insulation material for construction in the building sector. In recent research projects partners concluded that Mycelium biocomposites have a high potential to replace traditional fossil-based isolation materials, but further research on the thermal insulation and moisture absorption is needed to convince the construction market. In the project various partners will cooperate, both from the production side of mycelium composites, as well as from the application side. Some partners originate from previous projects, but others contacted Centre of Expertise for the Biobased Economy (CoEBBE) to build further on the existing network. There are several SME’s from the Netherlands, but also from abroad (Nylausn from Iceland, Mogu Srl from Italy and Corstyrene form France), as well as Branche organizations and knowledge institutes. Avans works together with HZ in CoEBBE and for the microbiological knowledge we cooperate with the University of Utrecht. For the market research CoEBBE cooperates with the lectorate New Marketing within Avans, focussing on sustainability via biomimicry. Mycelium composites and natural products for the building industry is the theme that binds all partners.
