In this paper, we discuss challenges emerging in connection to teaching for and with more-than-human values and stakeholder perspectives in human-computer interaction (HCI) curriculum. Recently, we have experienced a rise in interest in more-than-human perspectives in various HCI venues. However, there is still a lack of published work on how to teach such perspectives, as well as practical educational resources for supporting the more-than-human HCI in education.
This position paper presents the initial steps towards the development of a pedagogical framework on teaching for more-than-human perspectives in design targeting teachers at technology design programmes and courses in higher education. We build on the methodology applied in the [ref anonymised for blind review] project [ref anonymised] and the resulting [ref anonymised] OER (Open Educational Resource). The continuation of the project focuses on developing teaching activities that address more-than-human perspectives when teaching the next generation of responsible technology designers. In recent years there has been a growing awareness towards designing for more complex and holistic systems that include perspectives of nature and the more-than-human. As stated in the UN Sustainable Development Goals, to achieve sustainable development we need to address the three levels: people (society), profit (economy), and planet (biosphere) since they are all intertwined. Still, most of the design methods both professionally practiced and taught at technology design education are geared towards humans with particular focus on users through, for example, human-centred design and user experience design. Thus, there is a gap between methods taught to designers and what methods are needed to solve problems related to environmental and social sustainability by also addressing planetary perspectives. This paper puts forward the importance of challenging the dominating paradigm of technology design practices primarily focusing on people and profit, by also including planetary and more-than-human perspectives. Examples of existing practices and approaches for including and listening to more-than-human perspectives are presented. By building on the experiences gained from the [ref anonymised] project, we present a path towards a pedagogical approach for how practices of designing for more-than-human perspectives can be turned into teaching activities in technology design educations. In doing so, teachers become agents of change by creating conditions for students to grow into responsible designers of future technologies and play a role in driving adaptation towards a more sustainable future.
Currently, we see an increased focus on the social and environ-mental responsibilities of designers when designing technologies.There are however few academic examples describing how to teachstudents to become responsible designers and engineers who areattentive to values in design. We are therefore developing teach-ing activities as open educational resources for teaching valuesin design to students in different kinds of engineering and designcourses and programs. The activities address values in differentphases of the design process. This case study article reports on theappropriation of a teaching activity by two university teachers. Theaim is to provide the reader with an insight into how a teachingactivity that we have developed can be appropriated in differenteducational settings, what the teachers’ perceived effectiveness ofthis activity is, and what kind of adaptations individual teachersmay need to make to fit them into their particular course.
In this special interest group (SIG) we invite researchers, practitioners, and educators to share their perspectives and experiences on the expansion of human-centred perspective to more-than-human design orientation in human-computer interaction (HCI). This design for and with more-than-human perspectives and values cover a range of fields and topics, and comes with unique design opportunities and challenges. In this SIG, we propose a forum for exchange of concrete experiences and a range of perspectives, and to facilitate reflective discussions and the identification of possible future paths.