BENEFITS OF DESIGN EDUCATION Design education: Provides learners with creative problem solving skills that promote interactive learning through research, investigation, production and continual evaluation. Explores the quality and aesthetics of designed materials while considering the very process of creating designs: to meet the needs of users from creative inspiration to a successfully realized project. For the learner, design education: Allows for the development of more critical and creative thinking by experiencing the very nature of the design process. Accommodates varied interests and abilities by providing experiences that challenge and support personal initiative. Encourages the creation of lifelong learners by framing learning experiences within the context of their own lives. Promotes cooperation, socialization and humanistic values through collaboration on group projects. For the educator, design education: Provides a holistic approach to teaching that incorporates problem solving skills into all areas of the curriculum. Creates links between core subjects by highlighting multidisciplinary aspects of the design process. Allows for instruction that guides rather than directs, that poses questions rather than provides answers.