Full circle: Balancing the knowledge equilibrium between newly-enrolled design students and their design school

In a relationship where one party has less knowledge than the other, research suggests that providing the former with more context specific knowledge can reduce the anxiety experienced by this party. I propose that for a newly-enrolled design undergraduate, the knowledge balance in the universitystudent relationship is shifted towards the institution, both in terms of subject-specific and personspecific knowledge. I argue this imbalance in the 'knowledge equilibrium' may help to explain research findings which argue that many newly-enrolled first-year university students can experience anxiety. Issues linked with anxiety can be argued to be of particular relevance in the field of design. A more equal distribution of knowledge engenders an adult-adult relationship, helping to create a 'mutuality of participation' between protagonists. Design Schools provide adult learning. Movement towards an adult-adult relationship between 'the university' and 'the student' can be facilitated through creating an environment where knowledge can be more equally distributed. This paper describes a project developed for newly-enrolled first years at a Design School situated within an English university and makes use of a publication containing input from students, tutors and alumni associated with the 3D Curriculum. This project aims to move towards facilitating a balance to the university-student knowledge relationship by providing students with knowledge that goes over and above that given in the usual induction events such as those related to library usage. Initial results have shown this knowledge has been important in reducing student anxiety at a time when individuals are particularly vulnerable to it

On Legitimacy: Designer as minor scientist

User experience research has recently been characterized in two camps, model-based and design-based, with contrasting approaches to measurement and evaluation. This paper argues that the two positions can be constructed in terms of Deleuze & Guattari’s “royal science” and “minor science”. It is argued that the “reinvention” of cultural probes is an example of a minor scientific methodology reconceptualised as a royal scientific “technology”. The distinction between royal and minor science provides insights into the nature of legitimacy within

‘Bag for Life’ – using multidisciplinary approaches in design pedagogy to develop global citizenship

As the need to integrate approaches to sustainable thinking and global citizenship becomes ever more pressing, a multi disciplinary project has been initiated at Northumbria University's School of Design to address these issues. Students from different design subject areas worked together in order to develop a set of artefacts and clothing to deal with the challenges of a seemingly pessimistic future scenario. this paper considers the learning outcomes of this pilot, presents a critical reflection on the methodology underpinning the approach and raises some fundamental questions about perspective in design pedagogy and design activism

From Tutor-led to Student-led design education: the Global Studio

“Tutor-led” design education has been argued to be a system where lecturers are at the centre of teaching & learning activities and where educators’ tastes strongly influence students’ outcomes. Design education has also been argued not to prepare graduates for working in highly complex professional capacities synonymous with the contemporary era. We argue the role of tutors in tutor-led design education to be a factor in this. The Global Studio runs Web 2.0 enabled industry sponsored international collaborations between students. One aim is to introduce learners to “complex project situations” and consequently to prepare them for contemporary working life. It is operationally different from “tutor-led” design education as lecturers are more “distant” in teaching &learning activities and students construct conversations and outcomes primarily via interaction with peers. Feedback from home-institution students suggests many individuals struggle with making decisions without “tutor-led design education” involvement from tutors. Given the on-going change in funding provision and the continuing dissolution of “normal” structures, universities are predicted to continue to undergo extensive transformation in their remit and the way education is delivered. We ask whether tutor-led design education is maintainable and whether educators and students are prepared for the consequences of change

Internationalisation from home- global collaborative project based learning

This paper explores how cross-institutional project-based-learning facilitated by Web 2.0 ICTs supported cross-cultural and cross-institutional student peer learning experiences. The focus of this paper relates to the most recent project named ‘The Gift’ conducted through ‘The Global Studio’. At each institution the students formed small local project teams which were paired with teams of students from one of the other collaborating universities. Initial findings suggest the majority of students perceived this innovative initiative as having facilitated their learning, especially in the intended areas of development of virtual teamwork and communication skills. This paper focuses on initial findings with regards peer learning in relation to ICTs and cross-cultural communication

Designerly ways of speaking: investigating how the design tribe of researchers speak on design thinking

This thesis investigates how a community of design researchers speak on ‘Design Thinking’, a key concept in design research. The thesis traces the development of Design Thinking theory over the last 100 years. It identifies errors associated with how influential research (for example, Buchanan; Cross) frames the history of investigation into Design Thinking. For example, influential theorists do not consider a complete history of investigation into the way that designers think when discussing timescales of Design Thinking research. The thesis then summarises existing research into ways of speaking associated with Design Thinking and identifies significant gaps in the knowledge. Gaps include the absence of an agreed definition of ‘Design Thinking’ despite repeated calls. A lack of existing studies which use methods specifically designed to investigate ways of speaking have helped to create the gaps in knowledge. The thesis asks: how do Design Thinking researchers speak on Design Thinking? What purposes do these ways of speaking serve? The original work involves using methods specifically designed to investigate ways of speaking (Corpus Linguistics and Content Analysis). Three studies on ways of speaking are undertaken. The data set consists of peer-reviewed papers which focus on Design Thinking. The papers are published in design journals so are representative of ways of speaking used by the small academic design research community. This thesis terms this community the Design Tribe. Ways of speaking contrast progressive Design Thinking with a range of dominant, established ways of thinking (for example, STEM models). A distinctive lexicon characterises the way that researchers speak on Design thinking. Design Thinking is: agile, complex, fluid, multimodal and collaborative; established alternative ways of thinking conceal, standardize, are rigid, squash and reduce. The study reveals a range of inconsistencies associated with the ways that researchers classify Design Thinking. These issues highlight the part that a distinctive lexicon plays in enabling researchers to claim knowledge on Design Thinking. While there is little evidence to suggest a distinctive Design Thinking, there is certainly a distinctive and coherent form of discourse. This thesis terms this discourse, ‘designerly ways of speaking’. The thesis also uses critical theory developed by Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari to speculate on aspects which help to sustain designerly ways of speaking