The Design and Implementation of an Innovative Course on the Creation of Cultural Landscape Images: A Case Study of Dalin Township in Taiwan

Innovative design-based education is a student-centered approach that aims to nurture students’ proactivity, creativity, and interdisciplinary integrated skills. The curriculum planning of a course in this study incorporated design-based learning with the 4D design process. Three units were planned: field exploration and concept development, 3D wearable creations, and cultural landscape shaping. Each unit was co-taught by an interdisciplinary teacher. By means of teamwork, the students explored agricultural spaces and cultural stories, then used paper materials and mixed media to create wearable creations. Afterward, they visually recorded their unique views of traditional spaces and created cultural landscape images. To elucidate their learning outcomes and creative expression, this study adopted a mixed-methods approach. The results are as follows: (1) The students experienced positive growth in their five core competencies. Their “field-based knowledge” and “skills and technological value” were significantly improved. (2) The five major perspectives of the students pointed out that creativity stems from multicultural symbols, the learning outside-the-classroom approach reinvigorated motivation, more confidence is gained through learning by doing, teamwork can create more possibilities, and discovering one’s other interests is possible through diverse exploratory approaches. (3) The teacher summarized the feasibility of designing and implementing innovative courses under three themes: conversing with methods, conversing with cultures, and conversing with teams.