#  Pushing students to confront limits by transforming the abstract to physical form  

 



   ![Megan Panzano, Into Practice Headshot](/sites/g/files/omnuum12666/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/vpl/files/panzano_use.jpg?itok=9eSqIsED) 

 

In her [*Transformations*](https://courses.harvard.edu/detail?q=id:d_colgsas_2018_2_109375_001&returnUrl=search?q=megan%20panzano&sort=course_title%20asc&start=0&rows=25) course, **Assistant Professor of Architecture Megan Panzano** uses architectural design methods and concepts, and a workshop approach for giving feedback, to engage undergraduates from a wide range of concentrations. When students translate abstract ideas into physical form through a variety of materials and fabrication techniques (see photos below), they confront limits, question assumptions, and expand their problem-solving capacity.

## The benefits

“Creating a visual or physical manifestation of an idea” helps students’ thought patterns become less rigid. In the process, Panzano finds that students develop analytical strategies applicable to other courses. Moreover, in the collaborative and flexible studio setting, they see classmates as fellow learners, not competitors.

SortStudent projects: abstract terms to physical form

   ![Transformations student project: Weaving made from paper](/sites/g/files/omnuum12666/files/styles/hwp_1_1__720x720_scale/public/vpl/files/weaving_cropped.jpg?itok=lqq_TZ9j) 

 



   ![Transformations student project: Packing made from chipboard](/sites/g/files/omnuum12666/files/styles/hwp_1_1__720x720_scale/public/vpl/files/packing_cropped.jpg?itok=dGVQyc8R) 

 



“Weaving” (paper)

“Packing” (chipboard)





##   
The challenges 

A design studio workshop—where students use sophisticated equipment (such as 3D printers and laser cutters), receive individualized feedback from instructors, and learn with and from each other—is resource- and time-intensive, and thus hard to scale. Panzano experimented with having a 1:12 instructor to student ratio, and concluded it was too large; her ideal is 1:10.



 

##  Takeaways and best practices 

 



 ### Bridge to other disciplines. 

Integrating verbal analysis with physical making, Panzano requires students to reflect on what they are doing and why; this fosters “the management of complexity, which translates to almost any subject.” As a student is working, Panzano might ask, “if this were an essay, what might be the thesis statement to track in greater specificity here?” These parallels show students they’re able to “explore raw materials and extract a repeatable process; they can diagram an idea, or represent cell structures, through visual means in ways they couldn’t before.”



 

 ### Leverage constraints to promote awareness and flexibility. 

“Students grapple with their own ways of thinking as they grapple with what the material will or won’t do.” Paying attention to “the way paper wants to behave,” for example, forces students to consider more broadly: “what stays rigid, and what is flexible? What’s possible, and what do you have to let go of?”



 

 ### Accept a range of options in social learning. 

Panzano’s students create projects individually, but train on techniques and share equipment as a group. In “Desk Crit” mode, Panzano rotates among students, talking with each about their ideas. Other students can opt to listen in on these interchanges, and Panzano periodically raises generalizable lessons to the group. Competition is minimal because students learn from each other’s questions and strategies. In this “oscillation between self and others,” students choose the balance of collaborative and solitary work that’s right for them. ​​​​​



 

  

 

 

 

### Bottom line

By working withinmaterial constraints, generating new options, and learning together, students’ perspectives are transformed. “This process is a micro-version of translating observations *of* the world *into* the world.”



 

##  Related Research 

 



  [### Use of a Social Annotation Platform for Pre-Class Reading Assignments in a Flipped Introductory Physics Class

 ](https://hollis.harvard.edu/permalink/f/1mdq5o5/TN_cdi_doaj_primary_oai_doaj_org_article_2a22610bbac2444c8d335e9804bd22cd) In this paper, we illustrate the successful implementation of pre-class reading assignments through a social learning platform that allows students to discuss the reading online with their classmates. We show how the platform can be used to understand how... 

 

 

   [### Seven principles for good practice in midterm student feedback

 ](https://hollis.harvard.edu/permalink/f/1mdq5o5/TN_cdi_proquest_journals_2462368977) Midterm student feedback is a common process in post-secondary institutions that can lead to enhanced teaching practices and thereby potentially to higher ratings of instructional skills in summative course evaluations. 

 

 

  

 

 [ More Research arrow\_circle\_right ](/intopracticeresearch) 

 

 

 

##  Related Resource 

 



  [### 5 reasons Poll Everywhere’s PowerPoint, Keynote, and Google Slides apps are such a big deal

 ](https://blog.polleverywhere.com/native-integration/) Poll Everywhere has native integration with PowerPoint, Google Slides, and Keynote, so teaching staff may solicit feedback right within a slide deck, eliminating the need to open a separate browser window or platform. 

 

 

   [### Getting Feedback (Bok Center)

 ](https://bokcenter.harvard.edu/getting-feedback) The Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning encourages all instructors to solicit and respond to student feedback. 

 

 

  

 

 [ More Resources arrow\_circle\_right ](/intopracticeresources) 

 

 

 

 



 

 See also:- [ GSD ](/gsd)
- [ Into Practice Issues ](/practice-categories/practice-issues)
- [ learning by making ](/topics/learning-making)
- [ feedback ](/topics/feedback)