P010

Design Education: How design in Technology Education differs from design in industry

Michael Parker and John Lockley

Abstract

We are surrounded by examples of things that have been designed, the clothes we wear, the cars we drive, the towns we live in.  Design can be seen everywhere and is an integral part of the very human need to create and be creative, and can be seen as a creative problem solving process.  This desire has been a part of our makeup since ancient humans first picked up a stick and designed a use for it.  As humans we are all continuously designing our environment from what we are going to wear today to what to have for dinner.  However design and creativity are looked upon as a mystical gift bestowed upon a selected few, even though the ability to be creative, design and problem solve is to be human.  This skill comes naturally to all of us.  Technology in the New Zealand Curriculum became mandatory for all schools in February 1999 (Jones, 2003).  This essential learning area is now being taught in Primary Schools right through to Bursary level.  This has seen the development of a number of different models and ways of teaching design and design processes in order to help teachers assess and teach design in Technology classrooms.  There is however an increasing literature and evidence about the shortcomings of the use of step by step models of design and how they can even hamper the learning of design and students' creativity.  Despite this growing evidence in the literature there is still a strong presence of a systematic "one size fits all" model of how design should be presented in schools.  This paper investigates how design is presented in schools and compares the designing practices of professionals in their fields with design by students.

Intended Audience

Secondary teachers and secondary teacher educators

Presenter Biography

A decision has not been made yet as to who will present the paper.  Biographical information will be supplied prior to the conference once this decision has been made.