ENVISIONING LARGE-SCALE EFFECTS OF TEACHING VALUES IN DESIGN

Abstract

In teaching, there is an increased awareness about the role that values play in design. In this paper, we envision potential large-scale effects of teaching values in design in higher education. In doing so, we practice what we preach, as we ourselves perform the envisioning method we normally teach our students. By applying this method to our teaching, we are scaling up the definition of “learning outcomes” from classroom-level results to societal outcomes. Specifically, we envision these potential outcomes by creating value scenarios on the basis of four topics – stakeholders, time, values, and pervasiveness. The contribution of this paper is twofold. On the one hand, it demonstrates the potential large-scale effects on people and society of teaching about values in design in higher education. On the other hand, it demonstrates the advantages of using value scenarios as a method to understand the effects of your own teaching.