Learning Through the Architectural Model: Creativity-inspired Design for Rural Children From the Perspective of Design Anthropology

Abstract

Children's creative growth in rural areas has enormous potential for village development. The main challenges to implementing creativity-inspiring programs for rural children include the children's cognitive development being behind, the lack of teaching resources, and the constrained nature of the curriculum. This study examines the "daily creativity" of rural people from the early stage of design anthropology, using Baishuidong Village, Longhui County, Hunan Province as the backdrop for Hunan University's Design Rural Revitalisation Project. The study discovered a close interaction between humans and material instruments, as well as how "materiality" characterizes the daily inventiveness of rural dwellers. Building models are used by the local community as metaphorical "in-between objects" for the transmission of abstract empirical knowledge while teaching construction skills. This served as our inspiration for creating the "Architects of Huayao" children's inspirational teaching toolkit. Using modular building blocks to impart knowledge of regional architecture, we enhanced the previous teaching toolkit by holding four workshops with 30 third-graders at Baishuidong Primary School. Rural children are given context for their daily lives as well as historical and cultural contexts through the local architecture on the one hand and are encouraged to create through building blocks on the other. This encourages the development of design thinking and innovative thinking in children as well as the creativity of rural children. Rural children's creativity in classroom activities can be efficiently stimulated by the teaching method of using physical models in a cultural setting. Participants in the project, including local kids, teachers, and other volunteers, gave it favorable reviews.