Exploring the potential of feedback within the creative processes of a design and technology classroom

Abstract

Design feedback has the potential to either benefit or impede pupils’ creative design processes and the output they produce. When used effectively, critical comments and questions can support pupils’ creative thinking processes by encouraging both generative and evaluative thinking abilities. Despite the apparent benefits that feedback practices can bring to the creative processes in design and technology classrooms, it is not always easy to create valuable and constructive feedback exchanges. Difficulties have been observed, with the giver in constructing feedback and the receiver in handling and utilising this feedback. Furthermore, the pupils using the design feedback rarely happens without guidance; therefore, it is particularly important to develop the feedback capabilities of both the feedback giver and the feedback receiver. There has been little research focusing on generating practical pedagogical guidance on how to implement effective design feedback practices. The general feedback literature provides insights that are often not directly translatable to creative contexts and studies on design feedback practices at a university level often do not focus on its pedagogical guidance. In this chapter, the author therefore discusses how both teachers and pupils can be supported to foster effective feedback practices in design and technology classrooms.