Abstract

Design education insists on the acquisition of a set of skills called “basic design” by first-year students. This set of skills is taught in studio classes and is often based on the fundamental Bauhaus pedagogical approach. However, contemporary issues and accelerated innovations call for the development of new skills and competencies for students and industry. This article explores the implementation of a less familiar cognitive framework in the design studio and presents our reflections regarding its impact on learning experience. Initiators of the postulate of enaction have argued that cognition, and thus knowledge, is fostered and refined according to the learner’s autonomous actions and interactions with the environment. As researchers engaged in teaching, we adapted the five principles of the postulate to the pedagogical strategy of a first-year studio class of industrial design program. We used research through design to study the experience and the impact of an enactive strategy on students’ learning. Among other things, the strategy aimed for improvement of skills through the adoption of an active attitude in a formative assessment process. Interpretation of data gathered through this case study revealed that an enactive strategy seems to have interesting potential in regards to learning benefits and pedagogical experience in the field of design.