Learning-by-watching as concept and as a reason to choose professional higher design education

Abstract

This paper discusses the concept of learning-by-watching, defined as learning through visual observation and critically connected to Dewey’s concept of learning-by-doing. It then presents and discusses learning-by-watching as a reason for choosing professional higher design education based on a questionnaire given to novice university students in their first year at three different Norwegian institutions of design education. The research concludes that watching family and professional designers seems important, but none of the students mention observing design teachers at previous schools as a reason for their choice to pursue professional higher design education. This finding could indicate that design teachers in Norway continue to follow the Forming doctrine, where showing students how to design was nearly forbidden