Can we take a designerly approach to redesigning design and technology? And who should the designers be?

In this keynote I acknowledge the challenges faced by design and technology as a new(ish) curriculum subject. My research has shown that one of the challenges is the lack of consensus about its purpose and value: academic or vocational? For all pupils or only some? Making or designing? Design or technology? I focus on these different values and explore why there might be a lack of consensus.

Using my research and discussions, I then propose how we can move forward as a subject by taking a designerly approach to redesigning design and technology. Rather than taking the usual approach of politicians and civil servants driving a curriculum design, we have drawn on examples from Bauhaus and design education projects to propose that maybe it’s time for teachers and other ground level stakeholders to lead on the subject’s redesign. First I will share some of the design research myself, Eddie Norman and others have done presented in our book Redesigning D&T … Talking … Thinking.  Then, I will describe some of the controversial questions teachers are debating that will inform our product design specification for design and/or technology 2.0. To follow the story of our design project, subscribe to the Talking D&T podcast and listen to me and others talk about our design process.