Locating writing in design education as a pedagogical asset

Abstract

In pursuit of constructivist learning, design education can benefit from various methods, tools and applications that directly influence learners’ design processes. In this sense, writing has become prominent as a learning and teaching tool with the attention of both design teachers and design researchers. However, there is no particular study addressing a comprehensive characterization of writing-related studies in design education within the existing literature. Through this scoping literature review, we sought answers about how writing serves as a pedagogical vehicle in design education. To achieve this, we extracted and identified studies in design education literature with three categories; conceptual and empirical studies, as well as instructional cases. Thematic analysis revealed four major themes with 18 sub-themes in which writing can render the design education discourse. Briefly, through a wide range of writing formats, writing can promote processes, develop skills, utilize tools and deal with issues regarding design.

Keywords:

• design pedagogy
• design education
• writing
• reflection

Acknowledgements

We would like to express our gratitude to the anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments on the first version of this paper. We also thank Pelin Efilti and Onur Yılmaz for their valuable contributions.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Koray Gelmez

Koray Gelmez is currently working as Assistant Professor in the Department of Industrial Design at Istanbul Technical University (ITU), Turkey. He received his B.Sc. from the Department of Industrial Design at Middle East Technical University (METU) in 2008; his M.Sc. and Ph.D. from the Industrial Product Design Programme at ITU. His research interests include design education, design pedagogy, student-centered learning, reflective writing and graphic design.

Tuğçe Ecem Tüfek

Tuğçe Ecem Tüfek holds an MSc. degree in Industrial Product Design from Istanbul Technical University in which she explored the product hacking practices via online DIY communities. She is currently pursuing her doctoral degree in the Industrial Design program at Istanbul Technical University and working as a research assistant in the department of Industrial Design at Istanbul Bilgi University. Her research interests include design education, design pedagogy, and studio culture.