Introduction The Lecturer Michael Pearson School of Design at Curtin University of Technology. I teach design process in the School of Design and have a particular interest in creative thinking and problem solving within the context of design. In 1996 I was a member of a team participating in a pilot programme run by my colleague Peter Efford within the School of Design at Curtin University. The Context Peter Efford coined the phrase 'background of relatedness' to describe the result of participating in the programme, whose aim was to make students from diverse backgrounds feel comfortable and supportive towards each other regardless of their background. A consequence of relatedness is being comfortable about dialogue.
Dialogue drives communication and communication is crucial in the business of learning.
When I first began I followed the lesson plan of the pilot programme having faith in the good teaching judgement of my colleague. There was of course no blinding revelation - there was more a peeling away of the barriers. My participation means that I now know what these barriers are and I believe that the result of my development of the initial project are equal to the pilot programme. The difference is that I have restated the problem within my own understanding. I no longer need the faith in my colleagues insightful practice.