The teaching and assessment of computer aided design -a competence based or theory based approach?

The role of CAD within an overall Product Design teaching framework, at Higher Education level, is explored and reviewed. This is considered from three perspectives: Student- their expectations in terms of theoretical knowledge and competence. Academic- theory based requirements for successful achievement of learning outcomes. Employer- vocational competence requirements for Product Design graduates. With emphasis on the experiences of undergraduate and graduate Product Design students at the University of Derby, and prospective or actual graduate employers, the unique expectations and requirements within each category are considered. The overall means of resolving these, often conflicting, requirements into the CAD teaching framework of a Product Design degree, operating within a modular scheme, are then explored. The implications of these demands on teaching and assessment strategies with the subsequent resource issues are also reviewed. A teaching strategy with a well linked combination of both theory and competence with, where possible, cross-modular innovative assessment strategies is considered to be an effective approach.