Talking about team framing: Using argumentation to analyse and support experiential learning in early design episodes

To address the problem framing which takes place during the conceptual stages of design notions about individual reflective practice need to be extended to account for team designing. Our research is concerned with formulating an argumentative approach to understanding the process of frame negotiation among the team. Hence we pay attention to designers' interactions, in particular how frame shifts are effected, in the hope of clarifying the phenomenon of frames and their establishment in design teams. This approach is explained on a theoretical level and illustrated with examples drawn from design transcripts. Frame shifts are detected by focusing on rhetorical schemes as markers of reality construction. Transcripts are structured into episodes that show the negotiation of terms. Finally, we discuss support for reflection on the design process