Teaching design research : experiential strategies

![CDATA[This paper describes an action-theory approach to teaching design research in undergraduate visual communication design studies. Design thinking is presented as a cyclical process system, with reference to theories drawn from experiential learning, and knowledge management. These include Adams, Turns and Atman's 'four learning windows' for engineering design education, and Max Boisot's 'typology of knowledge' which describes knowledge formations as iterative systems of cultural network flows, linking personal with public knowledge. Brian Lawson's model for design thinking is also referenced, as a series of generalized descriptors of the design process. I propose that these models of knowledge development and management provide a useful framework for teaching visual communication design students to manage complex concepts, processes and ways of thinking and evaluating. Using these approaches, students are able to draw on their own experiences to identify and frame their values and perceptions. In this way, students can locate themselves within the practice of configuring and reflecting on, the unknown potentialities and possibilities of their design research projects. In this paper, I argue that curriculum for teaching design research which incorporates and evaluates the import of personal knowledge is valuable and relevant for students, as it provides a means of better understanding design thinking and learning.]]