From Problem-Solving Paradigm to Co-Ontogenic Drift: How Do Learning Narratives Self-Generate?

van der Merwe, Johann; Brewis, Julia

It is now an accepted maxim in design theory and practice that real-world problems needing the attention of design practitioners are not neat and well-structured, but ill-structured and "wicked"--part of a larger, complex social situation. For design education, then, to take its lead from contemporary social, political and economic structures, it will have to seriously re-think its problem-solving paradigms. The authors investigate the use of self-generating learning narratives in the classroom and contrast the approach they introduce with the still-too-prevalent notion that knowledge can be transferred from teacher to student. Their methodology draws from ideas formulated by Maturana and Varela on auto-poiesis, specifically the notion of co-ontogenic drift.

DESIGN; ART & society; ART theory; PROBLEM solving; AUTOPOIESIS; ART education

Leonardo, 2011, Vol 44, Issue 2, p133

0024-094X

Academic Journal

10.1162/LEON_a_00117