Rethinking Assessment in Event-Based Design Education

Event-Based Design Education (EBDE) comprises intensive, experiential learning formats through which students engage with complex and transdisciplinary challenges in collaboration with multiple stakeholders. These educational settings foster critical, creative, and relational competencies that are increasingly central to contemporary design practice. Despite their growing diffusion, EBDE initiatives remain insufficiently examined from an assessment perspective, particularly with regard to their educational impact over time. This paper addresses this gap by proposing an integrated and adaptive assessment model tailored to the specific characteristics of Event-Based Design Education. The model embeds assessment within the learning process, enabling the systematic collection of data and feedback across distinct temporal phases. Rather than framing assessment as a summative or external activity, the proposed approach conceptualizes it as an ongoing, situated practice. The contribution of this study lies in demonstrating how assessment can account for the relational, processual, and transformative dimensions of EBDE, which are often overlooked by conventional project-based or experiential learning evaluation frameworks. The paper advances current debates on assessment in design education and supports the development of flexible, embedded evaluation approaches capable of enhancing both the educational relevance and accountability of event-based design learning environments.

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Journal
DIID
Published
2026-02-09
DOI
https://doi.org/10.30682/diid8725h
Primary Topic
Problem and Project Based Learning
Type
article
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article

Rethinking Assessment in Event-Based Design Education

Sonia Massari, Diletta Damiano, Aureliano Capri
DIID
Problem and Project Based Learning
article

Rethinking Assessment in Event-Based Design Education

Sonia Massari, Diletta Damiano, Aureliano Capri
article en

Abstract

Event-Based Design Education (EBDE) comprises intensive, experiential learning formats through which students engage with complex and transdisciplinary challenges in collaboration with multiple stakeholders. These educational settings foster critical, creative, and relational competencies that are increasingly central to contemporary design practice. Despite their growing diffusion, EBDE initiatives remain insufficiently examined from an assessment perspective, particularly with regard to their educational impact over time. This paper addresses this gap by proposing an integrated and adaptive assessment model tailored to the specific characteristics of Event-Based Design Education. The model embeds assessment within the learning process, enabling the systematic collection of data and feedback across distinct temporal phases. Rather than framing assessment as a summative or external activity, the proposed approach conceptualizes it as an ongoing, situated practice. The contribution of this study lies in demonstrating how assessment can account for the relational, processual, and transformative dimensions of EBDE, which are often overlooked by conventional project-based or experiential learning evaluation frameworks. The paper advances current debates on assessment in design education and supports the development of flexible, embedded evaluation approaches capable of enhancing both the educational relevance and accountability of event-based design learning environments.

DIID(87)
University of Pisa (IT), University of Rome Tor Vergata (IT), Sapienza University of Rome (IT)
Quality Education
Openalex Percentile: Top 63%
Problem and Project Based Learning
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