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Send me a message. This week I'm digging into curriculum consultations — specifically the one currently open for Northern Ireland's Technology and Design curriculum, which I helped draft and which closes on 30 September. Before getting into the detail, I wanted to clear up something that keeps coming up in conversations, including one I had only today: what a national curriculum document actually does. In England and Northern Ireland, these documents say what should be taught and why — not how to teach it. The how belongs to teachers, drawing on their professional knowledge of pedagogy and how design and technology capability develops over time. That distinction matters when you're deciding what to say in a consultation response. I also share an insight from the international comparative research project I'm currently leading across fourteen countries: unlike England's three-page document, several other countries' policies go much further, setting out assessment, teaching time, and even pedagogical guidance. It's a reminder that "national curriculum" means very different things in different places. Then I walk through the five questions in the Northern Ireland consultation one by one, explaining what each is really asking and how to use the optional comment boxes to make your response count — whether you teach in Northern Ireland or you're watching from elsewhere to see how a consultation like this works. If you're in Northern Ireland, please do respond before 30 September — and talk it through with your department first. What would you want a new curriculum document to protect, and what would you happily see change? I'd love to hear your answer. Why national curriculum debates feel so personalConsultation on the Northern Ireland Curriculum 2028Technology and design: Draft curriculum framework for Public Consultation Subscribe on your podcast app, share this with your D&T team, and if it helped, leave a review so more teachers can find it. Support the show If you like the podcast, you can always buy me a coffee to say 'thanks!' Please offer your feedback about the show or ideas for future episodes and topics by connecting with me on Threads @hardy_alison or by emailing me. If you listen to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, please take a moment to rate and/or review the show. If you want to support me by becoming a Patron click here.  If you are not able to support me financially, please consider leaving a review on Apple Podcasts or sharing a link to my work on social media. Thank you!

Send me a message. I’ve been away for a while, and coming back means being honest about why: an Achilles rupture that never healed properly, surgery at the end of July, and six weeks in a boot that has forced me to slow down. Recovery has been “pretty alright” and also a bit rubbish, but the bigger story is what that pause has done for my headspace. Stepping back from the constant churn of design and technology education has given me room to think about what matters, what helps, and what the D&T community needs next. Before the operation, I managed a brilliant trip to Norrköping, Sweden with Sarah Davies for the PATT conference, one of the key international design and technology education research gatherings. I share what it was like to reconnect with colleagues, present two papers, and swap ideas that actually shift practice. You’ll also hear where my research is heading, including an international comparative study of D&T education and our ongoing conceptual work around authentic learning in design and technology, grounded in a literature review and shaped by real conversations with researchers and teachers. There’s practical news too: the fifth edition of Learn to Teach D&T is out, and it’s been a major overhaul. On top of that, I’ve been leading curriculum drafting work for Technology and Design in Northern Ireland, with consultation open until 30 September, and I’m also leading on the drafting of the England National Curriculum for D&T. Whether you love these drafts or hate them, I explain why responding to the consultation matters, what to look for, and how your voice adds weight. If you found this helpful, subscribe on your podcast app, share it with your D&T department, and consider leaving a review. What do you want to know next about the consultations or my research ? Support the show If you like the podcast, you can always buy me a coffee to say 'thanks!' Please offer your feedback about the show or ideas for future episodes and topics by connecting with me on Threads @hardy_alison or by emailing me. If you listen to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, please take a moment to rate and/or review the show. If you want to support me by becoming a Patron click here.  If you are not able to support me financially, please consider leaving a review on Apple Podcasts or sharing a link to my work on social media. Thank you!

Send me a message. I recently attended an event at Nottingham Trent University that wasn't really aimed at me — but it got me thinking in ways I wasn't expecting. Industry designers were talking to final-year product design students about what it takes to succeed in the profession, and I found myself scribbling notes and asking: what does any of this mean for D&T classrooms? In this episode, I share my reflections on that event and dig into some of the ideas that stuck with me. We're talking about concepts like problem framing, vision, taste and judgment — the kinds of things that experienced designers do almost instinctively. But here's the thing: when knowledge becomes tacit, when you just know how to judge a good design without being able to explain how you got there, it becomes really difficult to teach. This is something I think matters enormously for D&T teachers, particularly those who've come into teaching through a design or industry route. The professional knowledge you've built up is genuinely valuable — but your role in the classroom is to recontextualise it. To select, simplify, and make it visible for your pupils. That's not straightforward, and I don't think we talk about it enough. I also reflect on how easily professional language — taste, creativity, empathy — can become the very clichés we're trying to avoid, if we don't stop to unpick what we actually mean. So here's my challenge to you: what's the tacit knowledge you have that you've never fully examined? And how might unpicking it change what you do in the classroom? Developing “Taste” in D&T: Reflections from an NTU EventSupport the show If you like the podcast, you can always buy me a coffee to say 'thanks!' Please offer your feedback about the show or ideas for future episodes and topics by connecting with me on Threads @hardy_alison or by emailing me. If you listen to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, please take a moment to rate and/or review the show. If you want to support me by becoming a Patron click here.  If you are not able to support me financially, please consider leaving a review on Apple Podcasts or sharing a link to my work on social media. Thank you!

Send me a message. A curriculum can look tidy on paper while the teacher behind it is quietly thinking, “Am I getting this right?” We sit with that reality and treat it seriously, because design and technology education is full of high-frequency decisions that rarely come with neat, usable evidence attached. When you are choosing content, planning projects, or defending DT to senior leaders, guesswork is a poor tool, yet it is often what we are left with. This week I unpack some of the specific decision problems D&T teachers keep reporting to me: how to know whether pupils are stretched enough, what to do when learning falls flat, how to judge what is stable knowledge versus what needs updating for new technologies, and how to balance breadth and depth. We also dig into sequencing, whether to teach skills, practices, or underpinning ideas first, and how often concepts need revisiting before they become embedded as deeper, tacit understanding. Looking beyond D&T, I explore what happens when progression is unclear and teachers reach for proxies like Bloom’s taxonomy, generic assessment, or ever-more “impressive” projects. I share why that drift is understandable, how it can weaken subject clarity, and why the most useful next step is to collect and name the decisions themselves so we can find evidence that actually fits the discipline of design and technology. If you have a curriculum decision you keep revisiting, I want to hear it. Subscribe, share the podcast with your D&T community, and leave a review so more teachers can join the conversation. Share your curriculum decision problems here: D&T Curriculum Decision Evidence – Identifying Priority Decision Problems Support the show If you like the podcast, you can always buy me a coffee to say 'thanks!' Please offer your feedback about the show or ideas for future episodes and topics by connecting with me on Threads @hardy_alison or by emailing me. If you listen to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, please take a moment to rate and/or review the show. If you want to support me by becoming a Patron click here.  If you are not able to support me financially, please consider leaving a review on Apple Podcasts or sharing a link to my work on social media. Thank you!

Send me a message. D&T curriculum leadership often feels like making consequential calls with half a map. When time is squeezed, pupils disengage, policies shift, and senior leaders want clear rationales, it is easy to end up relying on instinct or borrowed evidence from other subjects. I wanted to pause on a simple but uncomfortable question for primary and secondary Design and Technology subject leads across England, the UK, and beyond: what decisions are you making right now where you genuinely do not have the research evidence you would want to guide you? I explore what “evidence” means in a research sense, and why D&T can be “rich in practice but thin in evidence” when it comes to demonstrating impact on pupil progress. I share how research summaries, including work shared through the Archer Exchange Network, can clarify what has been studied, while also revealing the mismatch between published studies and the problems teachers are actually trying to solve in schools. That gap matters, because it affects curriculum design, pedagogy choices, and the conversations we have with senior leaders. Using Key Stage 3 as an example, I look at concerns that the national programmes of study feel underspecified and how unclear progression across Key Stages makes sequencing difficult. If D&T capability depends on deliberate development of knowledge and decision-making over time, then sequencing cannot be left to chance or to a string of projects. I also dig into a crucial distinction: is your issue a one-off local challenge, or a recurring structural problem that should shape the next wave of design and technology education research? If you want to help move D&T forward, finish this sentence and share it via the survey or online:  “One curriculum decision I regularly have to make in design and technology without strong evidence to guide me is…”  If you want to go further, then tell me some more via this form: D&T Curriculum Decision Evidence – Identifying Priority Decision Problems – Fill in form Subscribe, share with your D&T community, and leave a review so more teachers can join the conversation. Support the show If you like the podcast, you can always buy me a coffee to say 'thanks!' Please offer your feedback about the show or ideas for future episodes and topics by connecting with me on Threads @hardy_alison or by emailing me. If you listen to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, please take a moment to rate and/or review the show. If you want to support me by becoming a Patron click here.  If you are not able to support me financially, please consider leaving a review on Apple Podcasts or sharing a link to my work on social media. Thank you!

Send me a message. The best support in Design and Technology rarely looks dramatic. It looks like a calm voice re-reading instructions, a bigger print-out placed quietly on a bench, a checklist that turns panic into progress, and a student realising they can finish what they started. I’m joined by Sarah, a Learning Support Assistant working closely with a D&T department, to explain what inclusion actually requires when lessons move between food tech, textiles, workshop making, and CAD. We talk about why being attached to a department (rather than trailing a single pupil all day) builds confidence, consistency, and trust. Sarah breaks down key SEND and EHCP basics in plain language, then shares practical classroom strategies: sensory support such as ear defenders, problem-solving around smell in food rooms, and targeted scaffolding that still protects independence. We explore adaptive equipment for coordination and mobility needs, and how pupils can achieve the same outcomes through different routes, including smart alternatives during GCSE and NEA practical work. A big takeaway is processing time. We unpack ways to reduce cognitive overload in demonstrations, use step-by-step photos and tangible models, and structure tasks so pupils can start, sustain effort, and feel the satisfaction of completion. Sarah also shares a research-informed task planner approach (influenced by the Education Endowment Foundation) that helps with time management, keywords, and motivation. Subscribe, share with your DT community, and leave a review so more teachers and support staff can find the ideas and use them in real classrooms. Support the show If you like the podcast, you can always buy me a coffee to say 'thanks!' Please offer your feedback about the show or ideas for future episodes and topics by connecting with me on Threads @hardy_alison or by emailing me. If you listen to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, please take a moment to rate and/or review the show. If you want to support me by becoming a Patron click here.  If you are not able to support me financially, please consider leaving a review on Apple Podcasts or sharing a link to my work on social media. Thank you!

Send me a message. I’ve been quiet on the podcast, and I wanted to be honest about why. The short version is not drama, it’s the reality of design and technology education work right now: drafting curriculum, managing confidentiality, and trying to protect enough headspace to do any of it well. A big part of my time has been taken up with national curriculum work. I’m involved in drafting the new national curriculum for England, which comes with an NDA, so I’m careful about what I say and how it could be interpreted. Alongside that, I’ve been leading the writing of the technology and design curriculum for Northern Ireland, working with brilliant teachers and learning a lot about how different jurisdictions frame D&T, rigour, accessibility, and purpose. I also talk through something more personal but very common in education and academia: the tension between public-facing work and institutional recognition. After applying for promotion, I had to reflect on whether an independently produced podcast can count as evidence, and what that means when I also believe D&T needs stronger status and leadership, including professorial voices in design and technology education across the UK. You’ll also hear updates on the newsletter (Mailchimp limits and a possible move), editing the next edition of Learning to Teach Design and Technology in the Secondary School, and an international curriculum comparison project. If you’re in England, keep an eye out for the national curriculum consultation later in the year, and please get involved when it opens. If you find this useful, subscribe, share it with your D&T department, and leave a review so more teachers can find the show. What topic would you like me to pick up next? Support the show If you like the podcast, you can always buy me a coffee to say 'thanks!' Please offer your feedback about the show or ideas for future episodes and topics by connecting with me on Threads @hardy_alison or by emailing me. If you listen to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, please take a moment to rate and/or review the show. If you want to support me by becoming a Patron click here.  If you are not able to support me financially, please consider leaving a review on Apple Podcasts or sharing a link to my work on social media. Thank you!

Send me a message. What happens when a senior leader who grew up in the workshop helps design three SEMH schools from the ground up? In this episoode, I sit down with Paul Quinn to unpack a bold, practical vision for Design and Technology that prioritises access, safety and pride in making. Instead of chasing every shiny gadget, Paul explains why reliable hand tools and a hard-working laser cutter deliver outsized gains for learners who need quick wins, clear routines and visible success they can take home. We talk about Paul’s journey from mainstream D&T to leadership, exploring how accountability pressures squeezed creative subjects and why specialist provision offered a chance to redefine success. He shares the realities of equipping new workshops, including what paid off, what didn’t, and how the team kept the focus on learning rather than kit. Expect straight talking on 3D printers, the value of repetitive processes for regulation, and why textiles—introduced with careful safety planning—unlocked confidence for many students. Throughout, we return to the simple truths that make D&T transformative in SEMH settings: short, well-structured lessons; culturally relevant projects; heavy scaffolding with teacher prep; and outcomes that look and feel good. When students are welcomed into spaces they were once excluded from, behaviour shifts, confidence grows and qualifications follow. This is practical pedagogy you can apply tomorrow—design for success, choose tools that fit your learners, and keep the relationship at the centre. Subscribe for more conversations at the intersection of D&T, inclusion and real-world making, and share this episode with a colleague who’s rethinking their workshop. Leave a review to help others find the show, and tell us: what tool would you buy, and what would you skip? Support the show If you like the podcast, you can always buy me a coffee to say 'thanks!' Please offer your feedback about the show or ideas for future episodes and topics by connecting with me on Threads @hardy_alison or by emailing me. If you listen to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, please take a moment to rate and/or review the show. If you want to support me by becoming a Patron click here.  If you are not able to support me financially, please consider leaving a review on Apple Podcasts or sharing a link to my work on social media. Thank you!

Send me a message. A noisy workshop can feel like a storm, but what if the path to learning starts with rhythm, not rush? We sit down with D&T teacher Ailis Brown from a specialist SEMH school in Leeds to unpack how safety, trust, and regulation turn short lessons into meaningful progress. From clocks and board games to careful joinery, Ailis shows how a flexible bank of projects meets pupils where they are and gently moves them forward. We compare mainstream pressures with the reality of SEMH: small classes that still stretch a teacher’s attention, 40-minute slots that yield 15–20 minutes of true learning, and the need to plan projects that run in parallel because attendance and readiness vary. You’ll hear how TAs act as experts on the child while the subject teacher guards the craft, and why writing individual objectives on the board can become a quiet briefing that keeps everyone aligned. The standout insight is rhythm: repetitive tasks like sanding and filing act as regulation tools, helping students steady their breathing, settle their senses, and rejoin cognitive work without confrontation. Ailis is candid about shifting aims—from grade targets to life readiness—and honest about the moral weight of results-driven systems. We explore practical strategies for mainstream teachers supporting students with SEMH needs: build calm routines, reduce waiting, prepare fallback tasks that still feel purposeful, and remember the mantra, “you can’t fight chaos with chaos.” Expect takeaways you can try tomorrow, along with a renewed sense that design and technology isn’t just about products; it’s about giving young people a safe place to practise patience, precision, and pride. If this conversation helped you rethink your workshop or classroom, subscribe, share it with a colleague, and leave a review so others can find it. Have thoughts or a story to add? Send a voice memo via Speakpipe or email us—links in the show notes. Support the show If you like the podcast, you can always buy me a coffee to say 'thanks!' Please offer your feedback about the show or ideas for future episodes and topics by connecting with me on Threads @hardy_alison or by emailing me. If you listen to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, please take a moment to rate and/or review the show. If you want to support me by becoming a Patron click here.  If you are not able to support me financially, please consider leaving a review on Apple Podcasts or sharing a link to my work on social media. Thank you!

Send me a message. Nicola Brown shares her experience teaching design and technology at Springwell Leeds North, an SEMH school catering to students aged 7-16 with social, emotional, and mental health needs. She discusses how building relationships, establishing micro-routines, and adapting teaching approaches helps students thrive in a subject that offers unique opportunities for personal development. Working with SEMH students requires understanding dysregulation and supporting emotional regulationKey Stage 2 (ages 7-10) sessions focus on basic skills like using scissors, threading, and completing small projects Key Stage 3 students access a full workshop with power tools, building trust and respectLevel 2 Construction and Arts Award qualifications are offered to Key Stage 4 studentsThe school practices early transitions to reduce anxiety about the new school yearMisconceptions about special schools are challenged - "it's just being in the right place for you at the right time"D&T education creates meaningful progression pathways to further education and employmentSmall class sizes (10 students with 3 adults) and specialized support enable personalised learningSupport the show If you like the podcast, you can always buy me a coffee to say 'thanks!' Please offer your feedback about the show or ideas for future episodes and topics by connecting with me on Threads @hardy_alison or by emailing me. If you listen to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, please take a moment to rate and/or review the show. If you want to support me by becoming a Patron click here.  If you are not able to support me financially, please consider leaving a review on Apple Podcasts or sharing a link to my work on social media. Thank you!

Send me a message. A museum floor changed underfoot and so did my thinking. After a visit to the V&A’s Design and Disability exhibition, I came home energised and unsettled—in the best way—and unpack how inclusive design moves from a nice‑to‑have to the engine of real innovation and dignity. It caused me to question a stubborn myth: that able‑bodied designers solve problems for others. The stories on display point to something richer—design with, led and instigated by Disabled people, where everyday hacks and tools carry more power than glossy manifestos. I connect those moments to our work in D&T education, including a new chapter by Debi Wynn on inclusion in and inclusion through design and technology. I talk about how accessibility has driven mainstream breakthroughs, like multi‑touch interfaces born from hand pain, and why policies such as the plastic straw ban can miss the mark when they ignore lived reality. Activism enters the frame too—kerb cuts, tactile paving, and accessible transport happened because people organised, pushed, and redesigned the rules. Hopefully my chatter is practical and provocative: co‑design over token empathy, user research that doesn’t "other" people, modular solutions that embrace edge cases, and assessment that treats inclusion as a core quality attribute. I also share what fell short—the exhibition book that couldn’t carry the feelings home. If you care about design that serves everyone, and classrooms that teach students to lead with inclusion, you’ll find ideas here to test tomorrow. Enjoyed the conversation? Subscribe, leave a review to help others find the show, and share it with your D&T community. Got thoughts or a story to add? Send a Speakpipe voice note or email—links in the show notes. Support the show If you like the podcast, you can always buy me a coffee to say 'thanks!' Please offer your feedback about the show or ideas for future episodes and topics by connecting with me on Threads @hardy_alison or by emailing me. If you listen to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, please take a moment to rate and/or review the show. If you want to support me by becoming a Patron click here.  If you are not able to support me financially, please consider leaving a review on Apple Podcasts or sharing a link to my work on social media. Thank you!

Send me a message. Ever been told art and design and technology are basically the same because they share the word “design”? Let’s test that claim with real data and grounded classroom experience. In this episode I unpack how teachers and stakeholders describe the value of D&T and the value of art and design, then draw a clear map of where they overlap, where they diverge, and what leaders risk when they blur them into one. First, I outline five widely reported value themes for D&T: transferable skills, careers and the economy, the human–technology relationship, making and creating, and creative and critical thinking. These insights come from a larger, validated body of research and speak to the discipline’s focus on users, systems, materials and evidence through iterative making. Then we contrast early qualitative findings for art and design: career preparation, societal impact, skills for life, and creativity and expression. Here, empathy, cultural awareness and personal voice take centre stage, with a strong link to creative industries, innovation and sustainability. The conversation surfaces a simple truth: both subjects champion creativity and problem solving, yet each serves a distinct purpose that deserves protection. I share practical ways to collaborate without erasing identity: agree non‑negotiables for cross-teaching, and design joint projects where D&T’s functional rigour and art’s expressive depth enrich each other rather than compete. This is a toolkit for faculties, middle leaders and senior teams who want the benefits of a shared banner without collapsing two powerful traditions into one bland compromise. If your timetable or staffing model pushes subjects together, this guide helps you hold the line—respectfully, clearly and with evidence. Got thoughts or examples from your school? Add your voice to the ongoing survey, share the episode with your faculty, and help us build a richer, more rigorous picture of what these subjects offer. If you find value here, subscribe, leave a review, and pass it on to colleagues who care about getting design and the arts right for young people. Link to the survey: https://bit.ly/Valueofdesigned  Support the show If you like the podcast, you can always buy me a coffee to say 'thanks!' Please offer your feedback about the show or ideas for future episodes and topics by connecting with me on Threads @hardy_alison or by emailing me. If you listen to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, please take a moment to rate and/or review the show. If you want to support me by becoming a Patron click here.  If you are not able to support me financially, please consider leaving a review on Apple Podcasts or sharing a link to my work on social media. Thank you!

Send me a message. In this episode, I'm excited to share three brilliant opportunities for you to get involved in research that's shaping the future of design and technology education. First, I'll tell you about the Redesigning Design and Technology project I'm co-leading with Ciaran, Andrew, and Amanda. We've identified 18 contentious questions that divide our community and created a survey where you can share your views on these crucial debates. This research feels particularly timely with England's curriculum and assessment review underway, and I believe teacher voices need to be heard loud and clear in policy discussions. I'll also discuss the evaluation I'm leading of the Design and Technology Association's Inspired by Industry resources. Working alongside Kay Stables and my colleagues at Nottingham Trent, we're examining how these resources impact pupils' progress in D&T. It's a fantastic opportunity for participating schools to gather rich data about their own practice whilst contributing to sector-wide understanding. Finally, I'm launching an urgent call for contributors to a new podcast series addressing special educational needs and disabilities in D&T. This is such an under-researched area, yet absolutely vital to our practice. Whether you're facing challenges or have developed innovative approaches, I want to hear from you. Each of these projects represents a chance to contribute to evidence-based practice in our subject. They're about empowering teachers to shape research rather than simply consuming it. The insights we gather will benefit the entire D&T community. What conversations about D&T practice do you think we need to be having more openly in our schools and professional networks? Take part in the Redesigning D&T survey: https://bit.ly/ReDandT_Phase3 Join the evaluation of the Inspired by Industry projects: https://bit.ly/IBIinterest Support the show If you like the podcast, you can always buy me a coffee to say 'thanks!' Please offer your feedback about the show or ideas for future episodes and topics by connecting with me on Threads @hardy_alison or by emailing me. If you listen to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, please take a moment to rate and/or review the show. If you want to support me by becoming a Patron click here.  If you are not able to support me financially, please consider leaving a review on Apple Podcasts or sharing a link to my work on social media. Thank you!

Send me a message. Reconnecting with purpose is essential when facing professional challenges. In this  reflective episode, I share my experience of an unsuccessful professorial application and how it prompted me to rediscover why I'm passionate about design and technology education in the first place. The start of a new academic term offers the perfect opportunity to step back from the excitement and apprehension of returning to teaching and consider our fundamental values: What drives us to teach design and technology?Why do we advocate for this subject?These questions matter because when we lose sight of our purpose, we risk becoming mechanical rather than inspirational in our practice. Through conversations with colleagues working on the "Learning to Teach Design and Technology in Secondary School" book and planning a primary D&T podcast series, I've reconnected with what  motivates me – developing children's ability to make design decisions that shape their world and fostering critical engagement with the made environment. This renewed clarity came unexpectedly from various sources, including a chance conversation with my young cousin who simply chose to study subjects she loves. I challenge you to reflect on your own D&T values as you begin this academic year. Perhaps create a mind map, discuss with colleagues, or identify your "word of the year" for teaching design and technology. Where do you find refreshment and challenge that keeps you passionate about the subject?  Have you considered what values drive your teaching practice? Share your thoughts, subscribe to the podcast, and if you're using Inspired by Industry resources in your teaching this year, consider participating in our evaluation research project. Your voice matters in shaping the future of design and technology education. Support the show If you like the podcast, you can always buy me a coffee to say 'thanks!' Please offer your feedback about the show or ideas for future episodes and topics by connecting with me on Threads @hardy_alison or by emailing me. If you listen to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, please take a moment to rate and/or review the show. If you want to support me by becoming a Patron click here.  If you are not able to support me financially, please consider leaving a review on Apple Podcasts or sharing a link to my work on social media. Thank you!

Send me a message. Recommended read:  Studio Properties: A field guide to design education (edited by Derek Jones ,  Elizabeth Boling,  James Benedict Brown ,  James Corazzo,  Colin M. Gray,  Nicole Lotz) Derek Jones and Alice Hellard explore the concept of design studio as a transformative educational approach that extends beyond physical space to encompass social dynamics, extended cognition, and embodied knowledge. • Design studio is not just a physical space but a collection of practices involving social interaction, extended cognition, and listening in • Virtual design studios reveal important insights about how students learn through observation and "legitimate peripheral learning"  • The process of enculturation into design practices requires students to develop confidence in the language and methods of design • Studio practice allows students to externalize thinking through models and drawings as part of the cognitive process • Current assessment frameworks often fail to recognize or value the types of knowledge central to design practice • Implementing aspects of studio practice in secondary schools faces challenges but offers opportunities for more authentic design education • Students need opportunities to design without predetermined outcomes, though this creates tensions with traditional assessment models If you want to support the podcast financially, you can become a patron. Links to SpeakPipe, Patreon and my website are in the show notes. Support the show If you like the podcast, you can always buy me a coffee to say 'thanks!' Please offer your feedback about the show or ideas for future episodes and topics by connecting with me on Threads @hardy_alison or by emailing me. If you listen to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, please take a moment to rate and/or review the show. If you want to support me by becoming a Patron click here.  If you are not able to support me financially, please consider leaving a review on Apple Podcasts or sharing a link to my work on social media. Thank you!