EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING FOR INTERIOR DESIGN STUDENTS: USING CADD, LOTUS 1-2-3, AND WORDPERFECT Developments In Business Simulation & Experiential Exercises, Volume 17, 1990 203 EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING FOR INTERIOR DESIGN STUDENTS: USING CADD, LOTUS 1-2-3, AND WORDPERFECT Carol E. Mehlhoff, University of Nebraska Sue Mauldin, University of Nebraska ABSTRACT This paper discusses a computer-assisted approach to help students develop business skills needed in the interior design profession. The experiential learning project was designed with three components to hone students’ skills in computer- aided design and drafting (CADD), spreadsheets, (Lotus 1-2- 3), and word-processing (WordPerfect). The project has potential for use in business classes which develop the students’entrepreneurial, merchandising, or small business management skills as well as within the design field. INTRODUCTION Students in interior design develop their artistic skills throughout their scholastic program based on a master- apprenticeship pedagogical technique. Students also need to develop the analytical and business management skills for successful, profitable operation of a business. One of the characteristics of contemporary design education distinguishing it from that of the past stems from the belief of Gropius that students thoroughly understand What they discover for themselves (Bowser, 1983). To aid the student in the discovery process, use of computer-aided learning experiences for both the artistic arid business functions is becoming essential to prepare students for the interior design profession (McLain-Kark & Rawls, 1988). Use of computer- aided experiential exercises can act as a realistic stimulus for learning and also as a laboratory for the application of procedures taught elsewhere (Schroeder & Gentry, 1987). The computer—aided experiential exercises were developed for 45 undergraduate students in the Professional Practices for Interior Design Class. The project was based on a survey, which assessed computer skills of students in the class. Student experience ranged from no experience (16Z) to a limited number of students who had one CADD workshop and used word-processing for class papers. THE IBEAM PROJECT The Integration of Business, Experiential, Artistic, and Management skills (IBEAM) computer project consists of three components. The IBEAM project incorporates WordPerfect, Lotus 1-2-3, and CADD systems software to develop student analytical and artistic design capabilities. For the first component the students used AutoCAD software on personal computers. A problem in the development of the project was the labor-intensive aspects of teaching CADD to students. To address the problem, six of the most computer-proficient students were selected for advanced CADD training by the class instructors. These student leaders were then each responsible for teaching five to eight of their fellow students in a team-oriented approach. The CADD component required the development of two alternative floor plans for furniture arrangement in the same commercial space (office and conference room), The second component utilized a Lotus 1-2-3 spreadsheet based on classification merchandising and sales analysis. The template used classifications such as carpet, window treatments, wallcoverings, upholstery fabric, and furniture. Students were required to enter sales by classification by cost and retail for a selected month on the templates. Students were then asked to analyze sales, profitability margins, and probable reasons for poor performance of a classification. WordPerfect software was the basis for the third project component which required modification of a standardized contract. After entering a standardized contract document, students were asked to “cut and paste” the document for a specific client to reflect the application of learning about legal requirements gained in prior class sessions. CONCLUSIONS The IBEAM computer project stimulated student interaction and team effort as well as developing analytical skills. The experiential learning setting helped students enjoy the learning process and allowed students the freedom to explore additional learning experiences as they gained proficiency on the computer. REFERENCES Bowser, W. (1983). Reforming design education. Journal of Architectural] Education, 37 (2), 123-132. McLain-Kark, J., & Rawls, 5. (1988). CAD education in interior design: Computers and the creative process. Journal of Interior Design Education and Research, 14(2), 23-26. Schroeder, D. L., & Gentry, J. W. (1987). Teaching MRP experientially through used of Lotus 1-2-3. Proceedings of the 14th Annual Convention of the Association for Business and Experiential Learning 14, 179-182. Table of Contents Volume 17, 1990 The Impact of Decision Support Systems on the Effectiveness of Small Group Decisions - Revisited The Relationship Between Financial Performance and Other Measures of Learning on a Simulation Exercise Use and Effectiveness of an Analogy-Based Expert System Suggestions for Computerized Business Authors Dealing with Power: An Experiential Exercise Using Movie and Personal Diary Analysis Techniques A Model for Developing Student Skills and Assessing Outcomes Through Outdoor Training Computer-Aided Exercises Versus Workbook Exercises as Learning Facilitator in the Principles of Marketing Course An Exposition of Guilford's Si Model as a Means of Diagnosing and Generating Pedagogical Strategies in Collegiate Business Education Formal Planning and Simulation Team Performance: A Cross Sectional Approach Cases: Real Organizations in Real Time in the Classroom An Empirical Investigation of the Internal Validity of Marketing Simulation Game An Empirical Evaluation of the Pedagogical Value of Playing a Simulation Game in a Principles of Marketing Course Factors Affecting Effective Teaching of Strategic Planning: Some Preliminary Evidence An Experiential Exercise for Learning About the Relationship Between Organizational Form & the Project Management Process Accounting Communication Skills can be Taught in the Auditing Course Modeling Cost Functions in Computerized Business Simulation: An Application of Duality Theory and Sheppard's Lemma A Life Cycle Analysis of Decision Making for a Strategic Management Team What's the Problem? A Dynamic Model for Teaching Problem Solving Skills Experientially International Currency Fluctuations: Money$im, A Simulation Superstores: A Specialized Retailing Simulation Within a Specialized Marketing Curriculum Factors Affecting Student Perceptions of Learning in a Business Policy Game VC + EL = VL The Name Game: An Experiential Exercise in Intergroup Relations The Effects of Experiential Accounting Work Experience on Student Performance in Intermediate Accounting Courses The Results of Using the Experiential Activity Group Performance Evaluation in a Business Policy Setting Using a Legal Database to Describe the Legal Environment of Marketing (and Business) Matching Environmental Uncertainty and Organizational Configuration An Instructional Computer Simulation of Tampering in QC Executive Evaluation of Student Learning in the Looking Glass Simulation Group Personality Composition and Total Enterprise Simulation Performance An Expert System for Selecting Analytical Techniques for Analyzing Marketing Research Data Effects of Cognitive Styles on Responses in an In-Basket Simulation A Psychometric Analysis of Kolb's Revised Learning Style-Inventory Selecting and Developing Experiential Exercises Using Movies Application of a Real-World Strategic Management Model in the Classroom Demand Equations which Include Product Attributes Consumption as the Objective in Computer-Scored Total Enterprise Simulations The Effects of Decision Format and Evaluation on Simulation Performance, Decision Time, and Team Cohesion The Effects of Computer Related Assignments on Student Performance in Business Administration The Money Game: A Dynamic Simulation Including Random Shocks for Money and Banking Courses Methods for Evaluating Performance on Business Simulations: A Survey The Effects of Synergogy on the Policy Course: Significant Improvements in Student Learning and Teacher Evaluation Conditions and Outcomes of Trust in a Two-Person Bargaining Exercise Bankgame Enhancing Computer Business Simulation with the Use of VGA Graphics An Experiential Approach to Entrepreneurship An Advanced Simulation Method (ASM) for Multiple Objective Problems The Influence of Experiential learning Techniques on Student Recognition of Non-Primary Learning Styles Negotiating Mergers and Acquisitions: A Cocktail Napkin Approach Identification of Unintended Effects in Experiential Laboratory Exercises An Experimental Comparison of Paper and Pencil and Computer Aided Decision Support Tools Porting a Simulation from the IBM World to the Macintosh World A Transaction Cost Analysis of Experiential Learning The Development of Experiential Exercises for Courses in Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management The Assessment Center as and Experiential Classroom Exercise Pricing Strategy Algorithms for Playing Business Simulations Organizational Structures for International Operations: An Experiential Activity Simulation Emphasis in the Business School Capstone Course An Integrated Approach to Computerizing the Business Curriculum Cross-Cultural Business Negotiations Exercise Organizational Socialization and Gender Differences in Students at Work Understanding Student Work Experience: A Content-Analytic Approach Introducing Executive MBA Programs with Management Games An Analysis of Improvement in Business Decision Outcome with Sequential Use of Two Simulation Games Teaching Business Policy Utilizing Mass Lecture and Individual Case Labs Potholes Along the Road to Evaluating Learning Outcomes: The Case of Outdoor Management Training Experiential Learning for Interior Design Students: Using CADD, Lotus 1-2-3, and Wordperfect Cognitive Learning Using a Computer-Based, Qualitative Interactive Business Simulation Sex Discrimination: Does the Woman get the Job or Does the Best Man Win? A Search for Visual Aids to Support Experiential Learning Through the 1990's An Experimental Analysis fo the Effectiveness of Student Role-Playing in Sales Training How to Have Students Learn from their Term Projects Self-Evaluation Exercise (SEE): An Assessment of Class Contribution A Study of the Influence of Team Formation on Attitudes and Performance in Management Games A Hardware Based CIM Simulation Laboratory Model Test Substance Abuse in Organizations Micro Computer Training Models Teaching Forecasting, Cash Budgeting and Inventory Model Building Using SBTools A Comparison of the Effects of Experiential Learning Activities and Traditional Lecture Classes An Adjunct Writing Instruction Assistant, The Computer; With an Illustration Classroom Software for ABC Analysis Utilizing Information Processing Technology to Enhance the Business Policy Simulation Experience Progressive Cases Realistic Job Previews Vs. Traditional Job Previews: Experiencing the Differences and Understanding the Consequences Investment Analysis Using the Pragmatic Multiplier Approach A Computer Simulation Interface for Competitive and Firm Analysis Self-Assessment of Ethical Decision Making Predispositions Preparing Managers for Overseas Assignments An Inquiry into Japanese Marketing: Workshop on Teaching Japanese Marketing The Performance Appraisal Feedback Interview: A Role Play for Human Resources Management Teaching Counselor Selling techniques Using Experiential Techniques to Teach International Topics International Management Simulation Gaming: Current Status and Future Developments A Realism Comparison of Simulation Technologies/Methodologies A Time-Efficient Game to Illustrate Concepts Taught in Management Courses and Management Development Programs Teaching the Management of Technology The Concept of Face and the Applicability of Experiential Exercises in an Oriental Culture's