Lost in translation

Abstract

Drawing on empirical research done in the early 1980s, Donald Schön developed the theory of ‘reflective practice’, putting forward the idea that the design studio teacher is a ‘coach’ who helps students align with disciplinary norms and start to ‘think like an architect’. Drawing on actor-network theory as a tool of analysis and way of thinking, this article outlines an alternative, ‘performative’ account of design pedagogy which both challenges and adds to Schön’s explanations of design teaching and learning. Close examination of teachers and students in action shows the teacher to be but one of a host of human and non-human actors, all of whom work to assemble what we call a design studio. Learning to ‘think like an architect’ is but one possible outcome of this assembling process.