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The design process can be regarded as the core-learning
tool of Design and Technology. Pupils start with a design problem,
analyse, research, develop ideas and produce solutions. This process gives
pupils a framework through which they design, manufacture and test their
ideas. It is an intellectual process that gives technology its academic
side. However, there have been recent rumours in education circles that it
is to be replaced with a logbook whereby pupils no longer follow tried and
tested design methodology. It would appear that the design process, the
backbone of design and technology is to removed. Britain can proudly boast
of producing some of the best designers and innovators in the world but
how long will this continue if the design process is no longer central to
design and technology in schools.
The intellectual processes pupils experience as part of the design process
ensures academic standards and stimulates intellectual development. When
pupils follow the design process they start with a design problem and
carry out detailed research, which ensures they consider the needs of
others. The design process can be used to solve problems pupils face in
other subjects and those they may face in the world of work. Very few
subjects can boast that skills learned within the boundaries of their
subject prepare pupils for their futures in this way. A good example of
this is the analysis section of the design process. In this section pupils
carry out a detail analysis of the problem they have to solve. The design
process teaches a logical approach to analysis; the same approach can be
used in the business and industrial world.
Once a class has followed the process for one design/project pupils soon
develop a good understanding of the way it helps them think and develop
ideas. The design process has been broken down into meaningful and
acceptable steps that, if followed, can lead to successful designs and
manufactured items.
For teachers, marking a design project is less subjective if each stage of
the design process can be scrutinised and marked individually. There is
nothing more daunting for a Technology teacher than to mark a number of
projects that do not follow a design frame or thought structure. Marking
soon becomes subjective rather than objective. Furthermore, most pupils
find it very difficult to design effectively if they do not have a
framework to follow. This is probably true in any subject. Imagine writing
an essay in English Language without first planning its outline and
determining lead sentences to paragraphs. The same can be said of Design
and Technology; a framework of study is essential if good design is to be
achieved.
The design process has been developed over several decades and is still
evolving whereas the logbook approach is a non-technologists view of what
is good for Design and Technology. With the logbook approach pupils sketch
out ideas, usually in a random manner, having not considered any real
analysis of the problem they are trying to solve. This approach to design
normally leads to relatively poor solutions to design problems.
Those who proposed vocational courses such as GNVQ have favoured the
logbook approach. Many in the business world consider this type of
qualification as less academic than the more stringent GCSE and A level
route. Some Sixth Form Colleges will not accept Part One GNVQs as been
equivalent to GCSEs when pupils apply for Sixth Form Courses. GNVQ
Manufacturing at Advanced and Part One levels favours the logbook
approach. If this were to replace the design process the academic standing
that Design Technology has achieved over the last two decades would soon
be lost or at least degraded.
I hope that defending the design process will be high on the agenda for
Design and Technology teachers. Britain may have lost much of its
manufacturing industry, we cannot afford to lose our deserved prowess in
design. Britain can still be considered one of the ideas factories of the
world even if the closest we get to manufacturing is assembling imported
components.
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