MANAGING THE ART ROOM
How to Get Started in Teaching Design
Robin Vande Zande
Teacher example of a fashion mood board. For other projects, students have also made boards for interior design, architecture, playspaces, and product design.
According to the National Visual Arts Standards (2014), educators should understand how to teach both art and design education. The National Art Education Association website defines these design categories as “architectural, environmental, and industrial arts such as urban, interior, product, and landscape design.”
Our field does a wonderful job of preparing us to teach art, but because design is relatively new to our profession, there is considerable uncertainty about how it should be taught. As a champion of teaching design, I have developed a course for preservice and graduate students. The following overview of the course objectives will provide teachers with some direction on how to get started.
Design Teaching Benefits
Design outcomes directly shape human experiences (think of the comfort level of the chair you are sitting on), add efficiency and orderliness to life (think of clothing and shoe racks), bridge art and science (think of the style and function of a car), and allow us to display our values and identity (think of the clothes you wear to various events). Design has a utilitarian function to serve, but the aesthetic aspect of design is equally important.
Design teaching/learning is a creative and collaborative project-based approach that promotes social responsibility and supports entrepreneurial skills. This approach:
- involves the design process and analytical thinking,
- focuses on real-world challenges,
- fosters creative thinking and decision-making,
- integrates interdisciplinary strategies,
- uses makerspaces and current technologies and materials,
- engages teamwork that promotes good communication skills, and
- strives to improve life.
The Design Process
Teaching design starts with the design process—a human-centered method that may be applied to solving problems in many areas of life.
First, group students into teams of three or four. When students collaborate, they bring their varied perspectives, experiences, and tools, which leads to the exchange of unique ideas and typically results in more creative problem-solving and innovative solutions. Each team member shares the responsibilities and contributes to each step of the process.
Design teaching is a creative and collaborative project-based approach that promotes social responsibility and supports entrepreneurial skills.
Second, each team identifies an area in need of improvement, then works through the design process to find a feasible solution. Students may look at subjects that are more familiar to them for a design challenge, or they could think more broadly, addressing issues in the community, state, country, or world.
Next, take students through each step of the design process. To prepare, watch this video that shows how a teacher used the design process for a lesson on urban planning.
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