RULES AND COMPLEX THINKING IN DESIGN EDUCATION
Year: 2015
Editor: Guy Bingham, Darren Southee, John McCardle, Ahmed Kovacevic, Erik Bohemia, Brian Parkinson
Author: Gulden, Tore; Sjřvoll, Vibeke
Series: E&PDE
Institution: Oslo and Akershus University College of Applied Sciences
Section: Exploring Design Education
Page(s): 025-030
ISBN: 978-1-904670-62-9
Abstract
This article seeks to reformulate the notion of basics as rules within the context of design education. The typical design education curriculum introduces design methods as a pedagogical approach. This includes concepts for how to approach goals and the means for how to solve problems or disclose possibilities. Such methods are comparable to the qualities of rules found in games and play, which in turn influence behaviour and mentality. We analyzed introductory course descriptions in design education as they relate to theories on play and game, phenomenology and pragmatist aesthetics. This exploration showed that there is a tendency to define basic knowledge and skills in the very first course in design education. We interpreted this to represent a belief in rules, as in truths, following a possible unconscious establishment of a tradition for the acceptance of certain rights and wrongs as well as automatic behaviour. We argue that such a recognition of rules as a pedagogical platform may transfer to students and represent a subsequent type of culture wherein the students follow instructions rather than think for themselves.
Keywords: Rules and education, play, basics, design pedagogy.