Researching Design Learning: Issues and Findings from Two Decades of Research and Development pot

[...]... of new research and development projects coming into the Design Department at Goldsmiths, in 1990 Richard created TERU – the Technology Education Research Unit, as a Unit within which we could draw together all these research and development activities in support of design & technology in schools The Story of Teru 3 On the strength of APU Design & Technology, we acquired three new projects – two of. .. aspect of the creative thinking of designers and technologists, different from and complementary to verbal modes Its development should be an important aim of design and technology education in all schools (DES/WO, 1988b, pp 4–5) 18 3 Chapter 1 OUR STARTING POINT WITH CAPABILITY From the outset it has been our view that this process of imaging and modelling is central to the development of capability and. .. in and through design & technology has some features that make it unusual in the curriculum, and that enable it to contribute positively and uniquely to the education of young people The research and development that we have undertaken has been informed by this belief and has sought to throw light onto the traditions and practices of teaching and learning in design & technology workshops, studios and. .. the two further qualifies our own position This difference can be seen in comparisons between curriculum statements from England and from the USA The design & technology curriculum documentation for England is prefaced with a statement about ‘The importance of design and technology’ that places great emphasis on capability – on the learner’s ability to operate as a design and technologist Design and. .. think and intervene creatively to improve quality of life The subject calls for pupils to become autonomous and creative problem solvers, as individuals and members of a team They must look for needs, wants and opportunities and respond to them by developing a range of ideas and making products and systems They combine practical skills with an understanding of aesthetics, social and environmental issues, ... learning and it has been our view from the outset that engaging in the designerly thinking promoted by our responsive, iterative view of designing has immense potential for learning Oxman (2001) presents a similar perspective in her plea for a shift in design education (in her case at higher education level) away from emphasising the products of designing and towards the cognitive properties of design. .. those from within design education (e.g Archer, 1980; Archer et al., 1976; Design Council, 1980; Roberts, 1979) and from the world of designing (e.g Darke, 1979) and at the time that we were first developing our model, the importance of imaging and modelling ideas was also being recognised by those initiating the original design & technology National Curriculum In 1988, the National Curriculum Design and. .. In 1985 these two systems were merged into the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) and the opportunity was also taken to consolidate and update the content of the subjects to be examined Two of those GCSE subjects, Craft Design & Technology (work in wood, metals and plastics, graphics and technological systems) and Home Economics (work in food, textiles, child development and home management)... Technology and Home Economics, but there was at least as much doubt and confusion about its composition and practices as there was clarity and light The formulation of National Curriculum Programmes of Study and Attainment Targets – built around designing and making – forced the amalgamation of these two groupings into design & technology as it now (broadly) exists The disparate traditions and practices... whole-hearted professionalism of all the members of the research teams that we assembled for the projects Some individuals have been at the heart of many of our projects, and none more than Soo Miller and Ruth Wright, to whom we are deeply indebted We would also like to thank: Mike Fletcher, who first helped us to understand statistics Tony Lawler, for his ‘pictures’ of designing, both as artwork and metaphor . Findings from Two Decades and of Research and Development RICHARD KIMBELL KAY STABLES Goldsmiths, University of London, UK Goldsmiths, University of London,. end of this volume. VOLUME 34 Chin-Chung, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei, Taiwan Researching Design Learning Issues and Findings