Top

International Journal of Technology and Design Education

Published in:

01-02-2011

Exploring pupils’ beliefs about designers and designing

Author: Donna Trebell

Published in: International Journal of Technology and Design Education | Issue 1/2011

Activate our intelligent search to find suitable subject content or patents.

search-config

AI-assisted search

Off

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to report on an investigation into pupil beliefs about designers and designing conducted as part of a research project focussing on Designerly Activity in Secondary Design and Technology which builds upon a pilot study (Barlex and Trebell in Int J Technol Design Educ, 2007). Four research questions drove this element of the study: (a) What do pupils believe designers do? (b) What do pupils believe about the knowledge and skills designers must possess? (c) What do pupils believe designers are like? (d) What do pupils believe about the design decisions made by the designer of a given product? This paper compliments the work of Welch et al. (Designing the future: The design and technology association international research conference 2006, University of Wolverhampton, Telford, 2006) relating to student beliefs about designers and designing by drawing on some elements of the research design to inform this study. Pupil responses to questions relating to the role of the designer, what designers are like and what designers need to know are in line with the findings of Welch et al. (Designing the future: The design and technology association international research conference 2006, University of Wolverhampton, Telford, 2006) in their study of elementary students beliefs about designers and designing with both studies concluding that the qualities ascribed to the designer are positive and non-stereotypical—they can be young or old, female or male.

previous article Technology in the rear-view mirror: how to better incorporate the history of technology into technology education

next article Help with solving technological problems in project activities

Dont have a licence yet? Then find out more about our products and how to get one now:

Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik"

Online-Abonnement

Mit Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik" erhalten Sie Zugriff auf:

über 102.000 Bücher
über 537 Zeitschriften

aus folgenden Fachgebieten:

Automobil + Motoren
Bauwesen + Immobilien
Business IT + Informatik
Elektrotechnik + Elektronik
Energie + Nachhaltigkeit
Finance + Banking
Management + Führung
Marketing + Vertrieb
Maschinenbau + Werkstoffe
Versicherung + Risiko

Jetzt Wissensvorsprung sichern!

inform now

Springer Professional "Technik"

Online-Abonnement

Mit Springer Professional "Technik" erhalten Sie Zugriff auf:

über 67.000 Bücher
über 390 Zeitschriften

aus folgenden Fachgebieten:

Automobil + Motoren
Bauwesen + Immobilien
Business IT + Informatik
Elektrotechnik + Elektronik
Energie + Nachhaltigkeit
Maschinenbau + Werkstoffe

Jetzt Wissensvorsprung sichern!

inform now

Available only for authorised users

Anglim, B. (2006). Assessing individual designer styles. In E. W. L. Norman & D. Spendlove (Eds.), Designing the future: The design and technology association international research conference 2006 (p. 177). Telford: University of Wolverhampton.

Archer, B. (1984). Systematic methods for designers. In N. Cross (Ed.), Developments in design methodology. Chichester: Wiley.

Barlex, D. (1999). Young foresight. London: Young Foresight.

Barlex, D. (2003). Creativity in education and research. In D. Barlex (Ed.), Creativity in crisis? Design and technology at KS3 and KS4 (pp. 4–5). London: Nuffield Foundation.

Barlex, D. (2005). The centrality of designing: An emerging realization from three curriculum projects. Paper presented at the PATT15 Conference.In Technology education and research: Twenty years in retrospect. Eindhoven, The Netherlands.

Barlex, D. (2007). Capitalising on the utility embedded in design and technology activity: An exploration of cross-curricular links. DATA International Research Conference 2007.

Barlex, D., & Trebell, D. (2007). Design-without-make: Challenging the conventional approach to teaching and learning in a design and technology classroom. International Journal of Technology and Design Education. Published online: February 28, 2007, http://www.springerlink.com/content/957663w4787k6123/.

Bilda, Z., & Dirmirkan, H. (2003). An insight on designers sketching activities in traditional verses digital media. Design Studies, 24, 27–49.CrossRef

Bilda, Z., Gero, J., & Purcell, T. (2006). To sketch or not to sketch that is the question. Design Studies, 27, 587–613.CrossRef

Black, P., Harrison, C., Lee, C., Marshall, B., & William, D. (2002). Working inside the black box: Assessment for learning in the classroom. London: King’s.

Buchanan, R. (1996). Wicked problems in design thinking. In V. Margolin & R. Buchanan (Eds.), The idea of design (pp. 31–42). Cambridge, MA: MIT.

Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K. (2003). Research methods in education. London: Rouledge/Farmer.

Cross, N. (1982). Designerly ways of knowing. Design Studies, 3(4), 221–227.CrossRef

Cross, N. (1989). Design methods: Strategies for product design. New York: Wiley.

Cross, N. (1994). Engineering design methods-strategies for product design. Chichester: Wiley.

Cross, N. (1996). Creativity in design: Not leaping but bridging. In L. Candy & E. Edmunds (Eds.), Creativity and cognition 1996: Proceedings of the second international symposium. Loughborough: LUTCHI.

Cross, N. (1999). Natural intelligence in design. Design Studies, 20, 25–39.CrossRef

Cross, N., et al. (Eds.). (1996). Analyzing design activity. Chichester: Wiley.

Dakers, J., & Doherty, R. (2003). Technology education. In T. Bryce & W. Humes (Eds.), Scottish education (pp. 611–616). Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.

Darke, J. (1979). The primary generator and the design process. Design Studies, 1(1), 36–44.CrossRef

Dorst, K., & Cross, N. (2001). Creativity in the design process: Co-evolution of problem solving. Design Studies, 17, 425–437.CrossRef

Dorst, K., & Dijkhuis, J. (1995). Comparing paradigms for describing design activity. Design Studies, 16, 261–274.CrossRef

Ericsson, K., & Simon, H. (1993). A protocol analysis: Verbal reports as data. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

French, M. (1971). Engineering design: The conceptual stage. London: Heinemann.

Garner, S. (1992). The undervalued role of drawing in design. In D. Thistlewood (Ed.), Drawing research and development. London: Longman.

Goel, V. (1995). Sketches of thought. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Guilford, J. (1959). Traits of creativity. In H. Anderson (Ed.), Creativity and its cultivation, (pp. 142–161). Harper and Row.

Harlen, W., & Holroyd, C. (1996). Primary teachers’ understanding of concepts in science and technology. Interchange No. 34, Research and Intelligence Unit.

Jin, Y., & Chuslip, P. (2006). Study of mental iteration in different design situations. Design Studies, 27, 25–55.CrossRef

John-Steiner, V. (2000). Creative collaboration. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Jonson, B. (2005). Design ideation: The conceptual sketch in the digital age. Design Studies, 26, 613–624.CrossRef

Kimbell, R., & Perry, D. (2001). Design and technology in knowledge economy. London: Engineering Council.

Kimbell, R., Stables, K., Wheeler, T., Wozniak, A., & Kelly, A. V. (1991). The assessment of performance in design and technology. London: SEAC/HMSO.

Lawson, B. (1978). The architect as a designer. In W. T. Singleton (Ed.), The study of real skills vol 1: The analysis of practical skills. Lancaster: MTP Press.

Lawson, B. (1997). How designers think (3rd ed.). Oxford: Oxford Architectural Press.

Lawson, B. (2004). What designers know. Oxford: Elsevier Ltd.

Maver, T. (1970). ‘Appraisal in the building design process. In G. T. Moore (Ed.), Emerging methods in environmental design and planning. Cambridge: MIT Press.

McLellan, R., & Nicholl, B. (2008). The importance of classroom climate in fostering student creativity in design & technology lessons. In E. W. L. Norman & D. Spendlove (Eds.), Designing the curriculum–making it work: The design and technology association international research conference 2007 (pp. 29–35). Telford: Loughborough University.

Medway, P., & Andrews, R. (1992). Building with words: Discourse in an architects’ office. Carleton Papers in Applied Language Studies, 9, 1–32.

Nicholl, B., McLellan, R., & Thomas, M. (2008). A case study illustrating a designer’s use of two creative processes: Conceptual combination and analogical thinking, and the implications for teaching and learning in design and technology. In E. W. L. Norman & D. Spendlove (Eds.), Designing the curriculum – making it work: The Design and Technology Association International Research Conference 2007 (pp. 55–61). Telford: Loughborough University.

Owen-Jackson, G., & Steeg, T. (2007). The role of technical knowledge in design and technology. In D. Barlex (Ed.), Design and technology for the next generation. Shropshire: Cliffco.

Pahl, G., & Beitz, W. (1988). Engineering design: A systematic approach. London: The Design Council/Springer.

Parker, J. (2003). Weaknesses revealed. In D. Barlex (Ed.), Creativity in crisis? Design & technology in KS3 and KS4 (pp. 6–8). London: Nuffield Foundation.

Peters, M. A. (2001). National education policy constructions of the ‘knowledge economy’: Towards a critique. Journal of Education Enquiry, 2(1), 1–22.

Pugh, S. (1991). Total design. Wokingham: Addison Wesley.

Pugh, S., & Morley, I. (1988). Towards a theory of total design, design division. UK: University of Strathclyde.

Qualifications and Curriculum Authority. (1999). Design and technology: The national curriculum for England. London: Author.

Roozenberg, N., & Eekels, J. (1995). Product design: Fundamentals and methods. Chichester: Wiley.

Ropohl, G. (1997). Knowledge types in technology. International Journal of Technology and Design Education, 7, 65–72.CrossRef

Rutland, M. (2002). What can we learn about creativity from professional designers to inform design and technology classroom practice: DATA international research conference 2002. Wellesbourne: Design and Technology Association.

Rutland, M., & Barlex, D. (2006). Developing a conceptual framework for auditing design decisions in food technology: The potential impact on initial teacher education (ITE) and classroom practice. In E. W. L. Norman, & D. Spendlove, (Eds.), Designing the future: The design and technology association international research conference 2006 (p. 177). Telford: University of Wolverhampton.

Schön, D. A. (1983). The reflective practitioner: How professionals think in action. London: Temple Smith.

Schön, D. A. (1987). Educating the reflective practitioner: Toward a new design for teaching and learning in the professions. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Schön, D. A., & Wiggins, G. (1992). Kinds of seeing and their functions in designing. Design Studies, 13, 135–156.CrossRef

Sim, S. K., & Duffy, A. H. B. (2004). Evolving a model of learning in design. Research in Engineering Design, 15, 40–61.CrossRef

Spendlove, D. (2003). Gendered perceptions of creativity research and design and technology. In E. Norman, & D. Spendlove (Eds.), DATA international research conference 2003. Wellesbourne: DATA.

Steeg, T. (2007a). PICs, CAD & creativity. In E. W. L. Norman & D. Spendlove (Eds.), Linking learning: The Design and technology association international research conference 2007 (pp. 85–90). Telford: University of Wolverhampton.

Steeg, T. (2007b). Embedded control: Spimes, fabs and the future of designing and making. In D. Barlex (Ed.), Tools for change. London: Nuffield Curriculum Centre.

Suwa, M., & Tversky, B. (1997). What do architects and students perceive in their design sketches? A protocol analysis. Design Studies, 18, 385–403.CrossRef

Trebell, D. (2007). A literature review in search of an appropriate theoretical perspective to frame a study of designerly activity in secondary design and technology. In E. W. L. Norman & D. Spendlove (Eds.), Linking learning: The design and technology association international research conference 2007 (pp. 91–94). Telford: University of Wolverhampton.

Trebell, D. (2008). Focussing on classroom interaction during designerly activity in a secondary design and technology classroom. In E. W. L. Norman & D. Spendlove (Eds.), Designing the curriculum—Making it work: The design and technology association international research conference 2008 (pp. 75–81). Telford: University of Wolverhampton.

Van Someren, M., Barnard, R., & Sandberg, J. (1994). The think aloud method: The practical guide to modelling cognitive processes. London: Academic Press.

Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in Society: The development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. (M. Cole, V. John-Steiner, S. Scribner, & E. Souberman, Trans.).

Vygotsky, L. S. (1981). The genesis of higher mental functions. In J. V. Wertsch (Ed.), The concept of activity in Soviet psychology (pp. 144–188). Armonk, NY: Sharpe.

Vygotsky, L. S. (1986). Thought and language (rev. ed). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Welch, M. (2007). The pupils as designer. In D. Barlex (Ed.), Design and technology for the next generation. Shropshire: Cliffco.

Welch, M., Barlex, D., & O’Donnell, E. (2006). Elementary student’s beliefs about designers and designing. In E. W. L. Norman, D. Spendlove, & G. Owen-Jackson (Eds.), Designing the future: The design and technology association international research conference 2006 (pp. 165–175). Telford: University of Wolverhampton.

Yin, R. K. (1989). Case study research design and methods. Newberry Park: Sage.

Title: Exploring pupils’ beliefs about designers and designing
Author: Donna Trebell
Publication date: 01-02-2011
Publisher: Springer Netherlands
Published in: International Journal of Technology and Design Education / Issue 1/2011
Print ISSN: 0957-7572
Electronic ISSN: 1573-1804
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10798-009-9105-9

Springer Professional

Abstract

Please log in to get access to your license.

Dont have a licence yet? Then find out more about our products and how to get one now:

Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik"

Springer Professional "Technik"

Other articles of this Issue 1/2011

The clock project: gears as visual-tangible representations for mathematical concepts

David Layton 1925–2010

Standardization as emerging content in technology education at all levels of education

Technology in the rear-view mirror: how to better incorporate the history of technology into technology education

“If I was going to design a chair, the last thing I would look at is a chair”: product analysis and the causes of fixation in students’ design work 11–16 years

Help with solving technological problems in project activities

Premium Partner