Reframing Design in Education: Supporting Preservice Teachers in Adopting Designerly Stances Toward Inquiry (Poster 7)

• In Event: Reconceptualizing Designerly Thinking and Participatory Design With Students, Teachers, Administrators, and Community Members

Abstract

Objectives. Jordan (2016) argues that, because most teacher education programs continue to promote an image of teacher as implementer of formal curricula created by external authorities, few empirical models exist to help teacher educators imagine how they might incorporate more human-centered designerly approaches to design in their work with pre-service teachers. Responding to this need, we: (a) propose a framework for conceptualizing a designerly stance towards design for pre-service teachers and (b) examine the shifts of 28 pre-service teachers’ stance towards design in relation to this framework within the context of a five-week design course taken by over 400 pre-service teachers across 18 sections.

Theoretical framework. Insights from design fields suggest that a designerly stance towards design for K12 educators would emphasize four key interrelated themes. First, view of problem space as complex, grounded beyond surface features in the lived experiences shaped by larger sociocultural and historical systems (Schön, 1984; Norman, 2013; Christensen et al., 2016). Second, approach to inquiry recognizing the need for extensive research and intentional inclusion of stakeholders as design partners (Krippendorff, 2004; Bang & Vossoughi, 2016; Luck, 2018; Sanders & Stappers, 2014). Third, attention to framing and frame creation to reposition challenges through differing vantage points, perspectives, and metaphors (Dorst, 2011). Fourth, conceptualization of design process that is deeply iterative and recursive (Norman, 2013; Owen, 2006).

Methods and Data sources. We employed case study research (Stake, 2005; Yin, 2014) to consider how, and the extent to which, pre-service teachers engaged in designerly stance towards design within the context of a mandatory five-week course focussed on a range of educational design processes including perspectives from design fields (Design Council, 2015; Norman, 2013; IDEO, 2012). The team analyzed the work of 28 pre-service teachers across 18 sections. Data were drawn from pre-reflections, post-reflections, and the core collaborative design project that provided the underlying foundation of the course. The full data set was entered into NVivo 12 for thematic data analysis by each member of the team.

Results and Significance. We summarize our results in Table 2 and Figure 1 (after references). The preservice teachers made notable progress in terms of (1) their perspectives on approach to inquiry as grounded in interaction and empathy with stakeholders and (2) their conceptualization of the design process as iterative and organic. Pre-service teachers, however, made little progress in expanding their conception of framing and frame creation to shift away from traditional approaches to education rooted in teacher-centric pedagogies, passive learning, and content coverage. Relatedly, the pre-service teachers' conception of the problem space remained largely technical rational, viewing problems as uncomplicated and stable with the goals to be achieved largely fixed and predetermined (Schön, 1984) without implications in larger macro structures and societal challenges. Overall, the findings and proposed framework provide both a lens for pre-service teachers to reflect on how they engage in design as well as a tool for research, critique, and re-envisioning of pre-service programs that could position teachers as agents of change in service of preferable educational futures.

Authors

• Doug Clark, University of Calgary

• David Michael Scott, University of Calgary

• Sandra Becker, University of Calgary