Abstract
Interior design educators must stay informed about new developments in design practice. Although informal visits to design firms are important, the quality of information gained could be improved through more formal and structured visits. The goal of this project was to develop a method for interior design educators to systematically collect information about current design practice while observing activities, processes, and service outcomes in design firms to inform their knowledge of entry–level practice. Based on observation and interviews with a representative group of Minnesota interior design firms, the Design Practice Update Manual was written to provide educators with a link to practice that uses their research skills and knowledge, updates their information about practice, and integrates practice information into their design curriculums. The Manual provides a systematic observation method and data collection instrument to enable interior design educators to observe practitioners in their daily activities, documenting the tasks and knowledge used in current entry–level practice. Using the Manual can provide evidence for decisions concerning curriculum revisions so that educators can continue to address the profession's future needs by preparing today's interior design practitioners for current practice tasks.
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