Reflective Pedagogical Strategies for Addressing Age-Related Biases in Design Education: Assumption Dumps and Time Capsule Letters
Date
Authors
Hwang, Eujeen
McCarthy, Gillian
Sutherland, Kathryn
Szabó, Ágnes
Supervisor
Item type
Journal Article
Degree name
Journal Title
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Volume Title
Publisher
Informa UK Limited
Abstract
This statement of practice explores the use of reflective pedagogical strategies to address age-related biases among design students, focusing on two key exercises: assumption dumps and time capsule letters. Rather than addressing ageism solely through user-centered approaches, the two pedagogical strategies introduced in this paper encourage design students to critically examine their own assumptions and to imagine their future selves. These exercises were applied across a range of design cohorts in higher education and continuing learning contexts, including undergraduate design students, recent design graduates, and professional designers. Participants engaged in structured reflection and introspective writing, designed to make aging a personally relevant concept and to surface unconscious biases. Results indicate that these strategies fostered greater empathy, heightened awareness of age-related bias, and, in some cases, ongoing critical reflection. By positioning introspection as an entry point into age-inclusive design thinking, we suggest a flexible and scalable strategy for embedding age-related issues into design curricula.Description
Keywords
ageism, age-inclusive design, age-related bias, assumption dumps, design education, intergenerational digital divide, reflective pedagogy, time capsule letters
Source
Design and Culture, ISSN: 1754-7075 (Print); 1754-7083 (Online), Informa UK Limited, 1-10. doi: 10.1080/17547075.2026.2635817
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Rights statement
This is the Author's Accepted Manuscript of an article published in Design and Culture: The Journal of the Design Studies Forum by Taylor & Francis. The Version of Record can be found at DOI: 10.1080/17547075.2026.2635817