Design Education for Grades 7 and 8 in a CISCE School in India — An Action Research During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The purpose of the research study is to apply the educational theories to improve professional practice through action research and identify the potential issues in the practice of teaching ‘Design’ as a subject to Grades 7 and 8. The authors have reviewed Bloom’s taxonomy, Bruner’s ‘spiral curriculum,’ Maslow’s motivation theory, Vygotsky’s theory of creativity, Gal’perin’s learning‑psychological theory and Kolb’s Experiential Learning Theory, and have mapped conceptual models based on these educational theories. The conceptual models are examined in the practice of teaching design to Grades 7 and 8 in the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) curriculum in India. During these classes, the authors have collected data by direct observation, participant observation and through participatory visual research. The authors have discerned information on the pedagogy and resources for the practical implementation of the conceptual framework in conducting online classes over the zoom platform. The systematic and elaborate models presented in the paper can be adapted and examined through further research and practice, both in physical and offline classes. The findings and the field work presented in the paper must be understood as theoretical and practical guidance that can be adopted and operationalised in educational practice.