Dear all,
I recall reading Swann's 'Nellie is dead' (1986) some years ago, republished in 2002. I think there
has to be some middle ground in design pedagogies – yes, students enrol in design courses in
universities and are subject to the institutional processes and assessments of universities that seek
specific indications of achievement that vary from those in professional practices, and yes, (some)
students aspire to work in design professionally, so it cannot be a simple either/or kind of
assessment, either for the university or for professional practice. And, as an earlier post graphically
described, tutors/assessors from each domain have different understandings and motivations for
student assessment, in which students actively engage (as described).
I am interested in the idea of 'sustainable assessment' (Boud 2000), a third form of institutional
assessment, in addition to formative (progressive qualitative feedback for the purpose of students'
current learning) and summative assessment (quantitative measures for the purpose of awarding
degrees). This approach focuses on enabling students to develop a capacity to assess their learning
needs/outcomes for the future, and independently of the institution, so that when they leave they
are able to determine what they need to learn, how they learn, and how to negotiate learning, in
professional contexts. The focus is on learning for the future (how one learns [in/for/through/about
design]), rather than explicit practices of design (how one practices design).
cheers, teena
Boud, D. 2000, 'Sustainable assessment: rethinking assessment for the learning society', Studies in
Continuing Education, vol. 22, no. 2, pp. 151–67.
Swann, C (2002) Nellie is Dead, Journal of Art, Design and Communication in Higher Education 1-2
(2002-2003) pp. 50-53, first published in Designer (Journal of the Society of Industrial Artists and
Designers), March 1986
> Wondering if you've found the extensive body of research from the 80s and
> 90s highly critical of apprenticeship in design education and
> characterised by the phrase 'sitting with Nellie'?
>
> Cal Swann, Michael Tovey and others produced detailed criticisms of the
> failure of Design curricula that use this approach.
|