Acting Cybernetically: design practice as participatory learning journey

We present an evolving and structured approach to teaching design theory to 1st year
BA design students. Our intrinsically cybernetic and constructivist approach connects theory and practice in an applied manner, encouraging students to locate problems they observe in their environment, at the university, at home or in town. In this process they learn about both academic and professional design methods and models, how to apply them, how to design and test prototypes, and how to reflect and connect their learning experiences to existing design theory.

Additionally, student feedback is used to redesign our seminar. Step by step they take responsibility for the seminar—moderating, giving feedback, and discovering the intrinsic motivation involved in their own learning process—working together in groups.
To this circular, evolving and open approach, we teachers prescribe a, seemingly counter-
intuitive, formal structure. Within this format, surprisingly, practice and theory converge. We begin with nothing, just curiosity, a structured agenda and 1 1/2 hours a week. From this, structure emerges within the course of the semester and under our guidance, resulting in what the students make from it. In the discussion we suggest that the insights we gained might be transferred to other organizations and perhaps to research in education itself.