The new 3Rs in design education: A pedagogical suggestion

Conference: 

Discipline: 

Design Education Strategy

Keywords: 

  • design, education, educational paradigms, innovation, range, repertoire, resilience, technology, professional paradigms

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In this paper, we do three things. First we discuss the concept of the 3Rs in the anglophone world in the 20th century. Second, we briefly view 3Rs in the context of environmental concerns. Third, we elucidate the three Rs in design education and practice, a concept which we have originated without reference to preliminary models other than Reading, Writing and ‘Rithmetic and Reuse, Repurpose and Recycle. We strive to remain a theoretical as we promote the consideration and inclusion of the full range of technologies in our teaching from the simplest to the more complex, plus the ancient to the most recent of materials, tools and processes for designers. Within each range we look to development of the broadest possible material and skills Repertoire for each designer. This means identifying useful materials and acquiring and transmitting as many skills as possible to enable our students to develop Resilience in their design practice and lives. As the innovators of the New 3Rs, we explore and discuss some solutions to teaching the New 3Rs in a digital age cluttered with the internet, the internet of things (IoT), robotics, virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR) and artificial intelligence (AI) as we mine the technologies of our respective cultures and disseminate them to students and the lay public.

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Professional Members in good standing can receive a certificate of membership, but DEFSA cannot provide confirmation or endorsement of skills whatsoever. DEFSA only confirm membership of DEFSA which is a NPO for Design Education in South Africa (https://www.defsa.org.za/imagine).