Trudi Barrow - Design Education

  I support Pearson’s conceptual proposal for ‘future-proofing’ design education. As a teacher of Design and Technology I am a passionate believer that sustainability and climate change education should be at the forefront of what we do, not simply a bolt-on to existing design and make projects currently taught in the majority of schools. D&T is often seen as the ‘problem solving’ subject; surely the most important problem to address is climate change. This should be part of the design education fundamentals, framing the way we teach, and what we teach. Our world is fundamentally under pressure due to climate change; a world which is built on a digital infrastructure and language like never before. The key to the future of our subject is equipping students to think like designers and critical consumers in the current and future world. As design educators we have a responsibility to equip our students with skills for the future. This means encouraging our students to become...