This is a simple method, but we post a question of the day a few times a week for students to answer! We get some pretty creative and funny responses and it's a short break from design work.
We try out lots of different ways to get students thinking about job hunting. Here, we tried out a learning method where Elizabeth and I had a "conversation" about editing her cover letter in Slack.
We created a design history series in which we highlight important movements and individuals that pushed design forward. We hoped to encourage our students to be aware of design history and underrepresented designers, but we also learned a lot in the research process!
One of our pressing goals was for students to finish their portfolios. We created portfolio roasts as a fun way for students to volunteer to get their portfolios "roasted" by Elizabeth and I pretending to be hiring managers. We found that students are often nervous to be critiqued by their peers and community—so, by presenting it as a "roast," we hoped to take off some of the pressure of being worried like in more traditional critiques.
Elizabeth and I try to make them as conversational and funny as possible to show that "roasts" are a casual, conversational way to get feedback on your portfolio.
Lightning talks are casual talks where students can talk about whatever they want for 5-10 minutes! They get practice presenting, speaking, and making slides, and we get to hear about everyone's interests. Talks have ranged in topic from cars to pets to working styles!
Visual design club meets every Friday and was originally started by Elizabeth! During visual design club, students participate in learning about different visual design concepts every week. Sometimes the topics are more technical (like practicing shortcuts) and other times they're more conceptual (like defending your design decisions). Visual design club is a great opportunity for students to come together and keep their visual design skills sharp.
These are just a few ways we encourage students to participate in their learning community! We're always thinking of new ways to engage students while they're on the same journey.