Why draw anyway? The role of drawing in the child’s design tool box

This paper addresses a series of questions that might well be asked about drawing for designing - Why draw? Why model by drawing? When is drawing appropriate to a design & make task? Why plan on paper anyway? What is involved in using drawing as a tool for designing? Adults do not always draw out what they are going to make, so why should it be seen as important to teach this to children? To what extent can children utilise their drawings as a tool in pursuit or exercise of the skills of designing? Is there an essential skill which they need to have mastered in order to do this effectively, and if so, what is it? In order to answer these questions I have applied them to the work of some of our youngest pupils in order to un-pack some assumptions underlying the process of design drawing. However, this is not a paper about Primary School design and technology - it is an exploration of the use of drawing for designing as highlighted by the difficulties encountered by small children.