Technology Education considering children’s needs: Evidence-based development of Inclusive materials for learning with robots at primary level

The developmental task inclusion effects the design of teaching and learning regarding technology education at primary level. National studies have addressed the issue and have devoted efforts to theory-based development of conditions for inclusive education and their empirical substantiation (Schröer & Tenberge 2022). In German primary schools the subject ‘Sachunterricht’ includes among other domains technology education. An essential field of research is shaping the developmental task inclusion in the context of technology education. However, narrowing down the concept of inclusive education for the multiperspective school subject ‘Sachunterricht’ is complex (Seitz 2018). The use of potentials and consideration of individual needs is one distinguishable context when conceptualizing inclusive education in ‘Sachunterricht’. The consideration of needs in classrooms can be substantiated based on the theory of basic needs (Krapp 2005). Research demonstrates that problemsolving activities with varying degrees of self-direction take different needs into account (Tenberge 2002; Beinbrech 2003). However, the design and substantiation of learning settings, that regard to pupils needs, have so far been largely omitted by research. This justifies the idea of the presented research project. Based on the theory of basic needs, rooted in developmental psychology (Ryan & Deci 2018), a set of problems and tasks for problemsolving with the learning robot Bluebot™ was developed. Learning settings were tested in classrooms and evaluated in a first cycle to adapt them based on evidence. Preliminary findings of pre-post comparisons show effects on problemsolving skills and self-efficacy. The present article falls into four sections of which the first one will define the fundamental concepts addressed. After substantiating the requirements of inclusive technology education, section two will introduce the adaptive set of tasks for technological problemsolving at primary level. Based on the methodical framework in section three, preliminary findings from the first cycle of a design-based-research project are presented and discussed

Problematising and unpacking the uncertainty of design within technology education

Technology education is a growing field internationally where developments are being made to conform to new agendas and goals of today’s society. The role of technology education is to improve the quality of human life through making meaningful advancements to our lives and the world we live in, which is underpinned by an innate ability that all humans possess, the ability to design. Developing designerly members of society that have strong design capability is identified as being of upmost importance, particularly within education. Fostering designerly students effectively and successfully is a complex domain and is evident within a large literature base, where researchers are trying to understand design, what it should look like in practice, and how it can be successfully developed and fostered within education. Design is a key component within technology education curricula, where teachers and students are required to engage in design tasks and activities in an attempt to foster an ability to design.  Design is highly complex in nature and with ambiguity within the literature surrounding the construct of design ability, what defines the design process and what cognitive processes are necessary to design, leaves educators and students in an area of unknown.   In this paper, a theoretical model is presented and utilised to problematise and unpack the uncertainty of design within technology education.  The unknown of designing is worse than the problems themselves, which is why this paper offers an initial attempt at identifying these problems through the lens of understanding, teaching and learning designing. Results offer insight into the problems and challenges associated with designing in technology education with the aim and objective to identify future research areas. Key words: Design, Designing, Technology Education, Problematisin

Exploring the Use of Peer and Self-Assessment as a Pedagogical Tool in UK Secondary Design Education.

In this case study, a collaborative and social-constructivist approach to secondary Design and Technology teaching is explored. Self and peer-assessment interventions are employed as a pedagogical tool for increasing student attainment, knowledge gain and self-efficacy. Within schools, students learn by interacting with their peers; they help each other identify their strengths, address their weaknesses, and develop metacognitive skills. As a construct for aiding knowledge sharing, peer assessment can be significantly beneficial as it allows students to evaluate the work of their peers and provide constructive feedback within a supported environment. This research presents student perceptions on strategies designed to facilitate self-assessment, and peer-assessment as a pedagogical tool and investigates the order these strategies are employed within the classroom. Eighteen, year 11 design students aged 15-16 from across two classes took part in four ‘peer-learning’ sessions containing both self and peer-assessments. These sessions were spread across different stages of the student’s design process: research, iteration, design development and testing and evaluation. The project began at the start of the 2022-23 academic year and concluded at the end of the second term. Each session approaches these assessment exercises with different methods and finishes with a questionnaire to enable comparison. The results gathered show an increase in student attainment, self-efficacy, and a greater understanding of the assessment criteria when students complete their design coursework. A sequence of activities for employing self and peer-assessment within design education is established and presented. This research aims to share evidence of self and peer-assessment as a pedagogical tool when students are completing their design coursework. In presenting the benefits and barriers of this method, teachers will be able to use and adapt it within their own classe

Developing a teaching chatbot for learning tools and equipment in technology classrooms

Using and applying tools and equipment for designing and building projects has always been indispensable in living technology classrooms. However, students must be aware of their proper use to avoid mistakes and safety concerns. In recent years, chatbots have been widely used in various fields, offering instant, interactive responses, and their application in educational contexts has also increased rapidly. Therefore, this study developed a chatbot for LINE, a popular messaging app in Asia, for teaching standard hand tools and equipment in living technology classrooms at secondary schools. This chatbot covered (1) measuring tools, (2) hand tools, (3) power tools and equipment, and others. A total of 49 tools and pieces of equipment were included. The instructional content for each consisted of (1) instructions, (2) operating procedures and skills, and (3) troubleshooting and maintenance. The user interface adopted point-and-click forms and graphical menus to quickly guide users searching for specific information. In addition, users can enter relevant keywords and the chatbot will answer the corresponding content. The chatbot is expected to solve student questions more efficiently and assist teachers, improving the effectiveness and convenience of these hands-on lessons

“The main thing is practical work” – Teachers’ beliefs supporting the intellectual development of technology education

Although technology shapes our world comprehensively, technical education has hardly been discussed in Germany in the special context on mental development. Even though technical education is anchored in the curriculum, it is not yet known which beliefs teachers at special schools have about technical education. Teachers\u27 beliefs play an important role in teachers\u27 attitudes towards student thinking and how lesson content should be selected and taught. These beliefs were assessed in the present study via a qualitative research design involving teachers from special schools in Germany (N:9). The results indicate that technical education is strongly practice-oriented and is mainly used to teach manual skills and work-related soft skills. The production task plays a special role here, as it proves to be a consistently important method in teachers\u27 estimation. In the production process, teachers provide various forms of material and personal support. The aim is for pupils to achieve a successful and finished product and in the process experience themselves as successful. This production process requires a high degree of flexibility on the part of teachers regarding both the competence levels of the pupils and the technical requirements. Important suggestions can be derived for the conceptual design of inclusive technical education, paying greater attention to pupils’ individual needs. At the same time, however, the results point to a need for qualification, since teachers predominantly focus on only one specific area of technical competence. The goal of technical literacy intended for technical education programmes does not yet seem to be sufficiently achieved in the context on mental development

Primary school students’ perception of technology

Research on students’ perceptions and understanding of technology has shown that students have a narrow view of technology: for example, technology is often manifested in students’ descriptions as artefacts or objects. This paper aims at investigating how students develop understanding of how technology is manifested during classroom activities in technology. The study was conducted at a compulsory primary school with eight-year-old students. The data (video and audio recordings) were collected in small-group interactions and whole-class discussions. In the interactions, the students utilised self-taken photographs to visualise their understanding and perception of technology. The analysing process is grounded in Mitcham’s (1994) manifestations of technology: object, activity, volition, and knowledge. Based on the students’ prior knowledge, they perceived technology as contemporary electrical artefacts. The findings indicate that students achieve a more nuanced perception and understanding of technology as objects during classroom activities in technology

A New Framework of Technology and Engineering Education Proposed by the Japan Society of Technology Education

The Japan Society of Technology Education (JSTE), an academic society for leading technology education research in Japan, has proposed a new framework of technology and engineering education in 2021 to impact the next revision of the Japan\u27s national curriculum. The proposal includes a triple-loop model of the engineering design process and a model of the problem-solving process in line with learners\u27 developmental stages. It also proposes to incorporate the connections between physical and cyber technologies, and between technology and other disciplines in the scope of technology education. However, this proposal was written in Japanese only, is not translated in other language. In this report, we will report of the result of survey conducted in this project, and introduce the contents of the proposal with some practical examples

Technological and Engineering Design Based Learning: Promoting Upper Elementary Graphical Device Comprehension

The research presented is an investigation into the use of technological and engineering design based learning (T/E DBL) as an instructional strategy to facilitate student comprehension of nonfiction/informational text inclusive of graphical devices. The research design followed a mixed method exploratory embedded case study. Six 5th grade participants were examined as both a whole group and as reading level dyads (below, on, and above grade level) as they progressed through three T/E DBL challenges designed to intentionally support graphical device comprehension (GDC) instruction. Data were collected from a variety of instruments used to assess participant prior knowledge, comprehension of graphical devices, and resultant reading comprehension of both familiar and unfamiliar texts. Analysis of data generated detailed descriptions of the reading comprehension levels for each participant throughout the study. Findings indicate that T/E DBL increased text interactions and graphical device usage across all participants, promoted their development of general GDC for diagrams and tables, improved their comprehension of unfamiliar science texts, and proved to be of particular benefit to below grade level readers. These results demonstrate the viability of T/E DBL as a valuable component of elementary level reading instruction for improving student use and comprehension of graphical devices, and for improving their overall comprehension of unfamiliar science and engineering texts where embedded graphical devices present new content in a visual information genre

Developing technology students’ hierarchical thinking during iterative processes of designing through sketching activities

The development of students\u27 hierarchical thinking during iterative processes of designing through sketching activities is a crucial part of design education as it supports the connection between students’ design intentions and its material embodiment. To this end, this paper discusses how different types of sketching activities can facilitate the development of hierarchical thinking in design activities. In this paper, we define hierarchical thinking as the ability to move between abstract and concrete representations through varying levels of specificity as well as the journey from global to specific representations. Doing this, we explore how using different sketching activities can allow students to explore a range of design intentions and physical embodiments at different levels of abstraction and detail. The paper also discusses how the idea of hierarchical thinking can support design educators to teach students to engage with their design processes more productively on a need-to-know basis. By teaching students to move between different levels of abstraction and detail effectively, teachers can support students to develop a more nuanced and comprehensive understanding of their designerly processes. Overall, this article highlights the importance of modelling through sketching and hierarchical thinking in design education and practice