Exploring learning experiences in design education: Emotional journey cards as a reflective and participatory tool

Grounded in the view that emotions significantly shape learning, the study addresses the challenge that students often struggle to articulate their feelings and that instructors often have limited access to these emotional cues. The research introduces Emotional Journey Cards, a reflective tool developed to explore design students’ emotional experiences across a semester-long course. Designed within a participatory and longitudinal framework, the cards provide a structured yet flexible means for students to externalize and reflect on emotions related to lectures, in-class exercises, assignments, and teaching approaches. The week-by-week structure of the cards enabled the collection of immediate and authentic emotional reflections. The findings reveal two complementary dimensions. The tool supported students in recognizing and interpreting their emotions as part of reflective learning, while the emotional data informed the instructor’s understanding of student engagement and contributed to a more emotionally attuned learning environment.