From Engagement to Empowerment: Exploring the Potential for Pedagogical Partnerships in Design

Abstract

As the notion of co-creation, or productive partnerships between staff and students, achieves increasingly popularity across disciplinary and institutional contexts, the offshoot idea of students and staff partnering on pedagogical scholarship is gaining traction. In design education contexts, however, where the boundary between pedagogical scholarship and studio-based practice tends to be blurry, this model has yet to take hold. What might pedagogical partnerships in design look like, and what benefits might they offer to all constituent parties? This paper explores this topic, drawing connections between scholarship of design education and several well-established pedagogical partnerships around the world. The prospects of students and educators collaborating on pedagogical inquiry includes more authentic feedback loops for improving educational quality and relevance, as well as deepening students’ agency in shaping their learning and development.