'Shaping Things': Design Fiction as a catalyst for design in design and technology education

Abstract

Inspired originally by the work of Bruce Sterling, this paper presents narrative accounts from experienced design and technology teachers who were introduced to the notion of “design fiction” during their teacher education programmes. While training to teach as part of their subject study, pre-service teachers were introduced to the concept of design fiction. During their training they were encouraged to embrace the notion and use it as a catalyst to effect innovative pedagogical approaches in their teaching of design and technology. Specifically, to explore the advantages of using this concept as a tool not only on the effectual delivery of design, but in order to support the creation of a high quality conceptual outcome, where learning is concerned with innovation and the development of skill, rather than to produce a fully functional working model or artefact.