Lost in translation: Reconsidering reflective practice and design studio pedagogy

Drawing on empirical research done in the early 1980s, Donald Scho¨n 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 Scho¨ n¿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.