Design Education and Science: Practical Implications

Abstract

When students perform design activities a teacher is faced with a dilemma about how scientific knowledge should be provided and used. When should the students be provided with the necessary science to enable them to carry out the design task? This dilemma, not restricted to scientific knowledge, comes about because the knowledge required in design activities is potentially extensive and unpredictable in nature. The dilemma has implications at three levels: the whole school level, the course level, and the level of an individual project. The article examines these three levels, focusing upon that of the individual project, where the evidence of a number of areas of research is outlined and the implications considered. The article concludes that an effort is needed by science teachers to teach the use of scientific knowledge, and by design educators to recognize the context and domain sensitive nature of cognitive processes such as design.