How to Design and How to Teach Designing

Design processes have been formalized into models in several ways, for instance Findeisen and Quade (1985), Woestenek (1999). Cognitive processes that take place in a designer’s mind during a design process are related to these formal models, but are more complex. These cognitive processes can be considered as cyclic processes in which several activities play a role, such as processes of trial and error, discovering new solutions and broadening the scope of possible solutions, as well as evaluating tentative solutions and taking decisions. The process of learning how to design, in turn, is related to the cognitive design processes. A student’s learning process can be considered as based on a — whether or not deliberately composed — mix of ingredients. We can discern self experience — sometimes based on trial and error —, next to experience passed on by others (e.g. the teacher) and knowledge as a result of scientific investigations. To some extent, learning is also based on imitation behaviour. In the paper, these aspects will be worked out into (first steps to) a teaching model as a basis for developing a curriculum and for explication of adequate teacher’s tasks. Starting point is the student’s self-reliant learning process, the aim of which is to educate self-reliant designers. The paper should be considered as a first result of a more extended study that will be undertaken in the next years.