Beyond 'draw one and make it' - developing better strategies for the use of drawing for design in Key Stages 1 and 2

There appears to be a mis-match between how real designers use drawing and how design drawing is used by young children in school. Real designers use drawing as an interactive design tool. Many researchers have reported on the inability of young children to see the connection between what they draw and what they are going to make. From my own observations of teaching 5–9 year olds, it became clear that by age of eight, many children were using their drawings to develop ideas. My key question became ‘Why?’ What is it that an 8-year-old understands about the process of modelling by drawing that a 6-year-old does not? This paper summarises my observations and thoughts so far and draws on the insights of those who research communication through language as well as those who research design. My proposition is the centrality of analogy in modelling for design.