The rapid changes in contemporary society have placed significant psychological and physical burdens on individuals. Against this backdrop, there has been growing interest in the emotion of awe which contributes to well-being and resilience. This study aims to clarify the process by which spatial design that encourages awareness of environmental sounds can transform perceptual frameworks. Employing a Research through Design approach, the study conducted three investigations using sound installation works and the Modified Grounded Theory Approach (M-GTA). The findings from each investigation were sequentially reflected in the next spatial works. As a result, the study identified a distinctive process unique to the experience of attentive listening and suggested that such experiences can facilitate new forms of perceptual learning. Furthermore, key design elements essential for creating spaces that prompt awareness of environmental sounds were revealed, leading to the proposal of concrete design outputs. This research presents a new form of practice that alters perceptual frameworks through the medium of ambient sounds—sounds that are ordinarily taken for granted in everyday life.

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This paper presents a practical report on creativity education through art workshops conducted by Musashino Art University for high school students in Hokkaido, Japan. Building upon existing programs initially developed for adult learners and undergraduate students, the workshop aimed at fostering three key creative competencies: observation, critical thinking, and conceptualization. Employing a Research through Design (RtD) approach, the program iteratively refined its content based on insights obtained between two workshop sessions conducted in Iwamizawa and Sapporo cities in Hokkaido. The research employed various data collection methods, including pre- and post-workshop surveys, participant observations, journaling, and follow-up interviews, to evaluate the workshops’ impact. The findings indicate enhanced observational abilities and improvements in conceptual thinking among participants, with varying degrees of advancement in critical thinking skills facilitated by structured critique sessions. This paper concludes by discussing insights for future educational practices and the potential application of art-based experiential learning methodologies in broader educational contexts.

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This study explores the design of “mediating artifacts” to facilitate collaborative learning in small-scale learning communities. Using both Action Research (AR) and Research through Design (RtD), the study aimed to address the tension between the growing discourse of individualism and self-responsibility, and the disjunction observed in practical knowledge of collaborative learning in previous research. The research field was a learning community formed to acquire digital skills, with a focus on its launch and early operational phases. Mediating artifacts included digital tools such as a daily report application and a team knowledge-sharing application, as well as a physical tool called the “Layered Learning Board.” These artifacts were intentionally designed and implemented as part of the learning environment. AR provided a structure for iterative cycles of problem definition, planning, action, and evaluation, while RtD contributed by embedding cycles of designing and prototyping that kept the researcher “within practice.” This dual approach enabled reflection not only on learners’ changes but also on the researcher’s own assumptions and transformations. The findings show that mediating artifacts fostered interpersonal relationships, solidarity, and responsibility among participants, contributing to theory and practice on designing artifacts that foster collaboration, particularly where individual and group benefits are not naturally aligned.

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Amid efforts to mitigate resource shortages in contemporary education by engaging nonspecialists, this study explores the value of having such individuals recast the wisdom and experience gained in their own disciplines into teachable form and put it into practice with others. Focusing on a project in which six art-university students without formal teacher preparation or prior teaching experience designed and practiced learning programs for elementary pupils, we qualitatively traced their internal transformations through participant observation and pre-/post-project interviews. Findings showed that designing and delivering a learning program served not only to transmit knowledge but also to create a powerful arena for instructors’ self-reflection on the values they hold dear within their discipline. The process prompted them to reinterpret—and sometimes transform—the values and behavioral norms they had regarded as central to their creative practice; the direction of change, however, varied markedly across individuals. Operating without preset pedagogical templates fostered continuous trial-and-error and reflection, deepening self-awareness. Thus, learning program design became a creative act of producing one’s own learning materials, extending educational opportunities beyond formal schooling and offering a rare chance to re-examine one’s stance toward society and craft a personally meaningful trajectory.

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