ABSTRACT
This introduction presents some key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book outlines the recent research into design teaching which has focused on its signature pedagogies, those elements which are particularly characteristic of the disciplines. Much of the most productive work has been based on core design theory, although this has often been enlivened by philosophies and approaches imported to the area. The Centres for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL) initiative represented the funding council's largest single funding initiative in pedagogy. The number of centres which had a direct location in design schools was much smaller, and two of them covered work which focused directly on the development of practice-based education as a preparation for entry to the design profession. They were the Creative Learning in Practice (CLIP) CETL at the University of the Arts London, and the Centre of Excellence for Product and Automotive Design (CEPAD) CETL at Coventry University.
