The Australian Curriculum formally recognises design thinking as a core concept of the Technologies KLA, central to learning in Design and Technologies. Despite being mandated for Australian F–10 students now for over a decade, there is very little research on how design thinking is understood, valued, and implemented in schools. Research at the Queensland University of Technology, examining perceptions of Design and Technologies within initial teacher education, suggests that while interest in the subject is high, the planning and enactment of design thinking often remains superficial or procedural.

Analysis of pre-service teacher assessment tasks revealed recurring patterns in how design thinking was interpreted and translated into planned learning. Drawing on design theory, signature pedagogies of design, and Age-Appropriate Pedagogies, these patterns informed the development of the Pedagogical Enactments of Design and Technologies (PEDAT) Framework, a practical heuristic that aims to bridge the gap between curriculum structure and classroom practice.

PEDAT describes 19 observable ways design thinking can be enacted in classrooms. Rather than presenting design thinking as a linear model, it aligns with the five Process and Production Skills of the Australian Design and Technologies curriculum, providing a clear, curriculum-aligned structure for planning and reflection. Although developed in a primary initial teacher education context, the framework is applicable across primary and secondary settings, and valuable for teacher education.

This presentation introduces PEDAT as a practical, research-informed heuristic for teachers, curriculum leaders, and teacher educators, inviting dialogue about its potential to support confident and authentic enactment of design thinking.