The genesis of design: learning about design, learning through design to learning design in play

Abstract

Learning about design and learning through design have emerged in the literature and important works show heuristics and matrices for design cognition and design processes. However, few studies have been directed to the early development of design. The purpose of this paper is to present the findings of a study that investigated the genesis of design, by following 13 children (3.0–5.8 yrs) as they became oriented to design thinking in contexts of design and technology education in a play-based setting. Different to previous studies that examine children’s drawing of designs for the under five year olds, this study investigated both the motivating conditions and the motive orientation of the children as a process of engagement in design. Theorised from a cultural-historical perspective, the results show how play acts as both a psychological function and as a source of design cognition. The findings are shown through this psychological lens and thereby make visible how imagination in play created the conditions for the psychological development of children as design was meaningfully embodied, visualised, and resourced through expert designers and the storytelling of teachers. Rather than conceptualising design as the cognitive competence of an individual, it is argued that by studying the living actions of play that designerly thinking which is always in a process of change, can be better understood. In line with the existing literature, the study specifically reports on the dialectic between design and designerly thinking for the under fives, thus contributing to filling a gap in understandings about the beginning of the continuum of design cognition.

Appendix: Motivating conditions for design—conceptual PlayWorlds

Motivating practices	Pedagogical characteristic
The story creates motivating and emotionally charged conditions for solving a social problem	Using an engaging story with a social problem that needs to be solved
Teachers create an imaginary engineering situation of Sherwood forest	Designing an imaginary PlayWorld (e.g., outdoor area becomes Sherwood Forest, Fort becomes the castle)
The teacher together with the children change the meaning of the wooden fort in the outdoor area from a climbing frame into a time machine	Planning the entry and exit into the Engineering PlayWorld (e.g., time machine)
The teachers use the children’s interest in getting the treasure to introduce the idea of being an engineer to solve the problem situation (Maid Marion is the head engineer, and she worries about the hungry villagers)	Planning the engineering problem to be encountered and solved inside of the Engineering PlayWorld (e.g., how to get the treasure out of the castle)
Teachers take an active role by being play partners and co-researcher with the children investigating engineering solutions	Planning teacher interactions (being an engineer, being Friar Tuck asking for help)
Children build conceptual knowledge as part of the research process (e.g., plan view perspective, cross sections of castles)	Researching in teams
Children evaluate the outcomes of their research and consciously consider engineering concepts in their models/prototypes/designs (e.g., using arrows to represent Force, testing prototypes—can they lift the treasure box?)	Engineering modelling in teams
Children use their theoretical knowledge in child-initiated play during free play periods in the preschool (e.g., becoming the dragon and climbing the fort to gain a bird’s eye view for planning an escape route),	Developing the engineering play motive of the children