Knowledge Transfer in Design Education: A Framework of Criteria for Design Exercises
Year: 2012
Editor: Lyndon Buck, Geert Frateur, William Ion, Chris McMahon, Chris Baelus, Guido De Grande, Stijn Verwulgen
Author: Thoring, Katja; Mueller, Roland M.
Series: E&PDE
Institution: 1: Anhalt University of Applied Sciences, Germany; 2: Berlin School of Economics and Law, Germany
Section: Design Methods - People and Knowledge
Page(s): 153-158
ISBN: 978-1-904670-36-0
Abstract
This paper presents suggestions how to frame design educational exercises with the aim to transfer specific types of design knowledge to students, or to generate new design knowledge within students, respectively. For this purpose, the paper refers to a typology of design knowledge that differentiates between four types of design knowledge - Artefact Knowledge, Design Intuition, Design Rational, and Design Theories - as well as three interjacent transitions, in which one type of knowledge transforms to the next. It proposes specific criteria that a design exercise should incorporate, in order to teach that particular type of knowledge to students. Furthermore, it provides criteria for appropriate design exercises for each type of design knowledge. The findings are summarized in a framework. We believe that the work presented in this paper contributes to a better understanding of design knowledge and its transfer mechanisms, and it may serve as a basis for design educators to improve their teaching programs.