Linking design and theory: Using conjecture maps to focus the design research process in art education

This chapter focuses on the process of orienting oneself within the early stage of a design research project. It shows how using conjecture mapping helped to align educational theory and design in art education. In particular, conjecture mapping was used to construct a more focused line of theoretical reasoning and to improve the design. The main problem Nathalie faced in the development of the research project was to link design ideas with theoretical considerations. Moreover, the formulation of design and theoretical conjectures allows scientific verification and falsification. Conjecture mapping helped Nathalie to find the gaps in her design and figure out where theoretical backup was missing, and to organize the design in order to make it more coherent and comprehensible for others. Explicating the high-level conjecture, the concrete embodiment, the mediating process, the anticipated outcomes, and formulating the connections between them also assisted her in the process of creating a design.