Experiences in pedagogy of Design : Design teachers frame of reference about the concept of \u27model”

The core of the Dutch Technasium secondary school course Research and Design curriculum (R&D is in Dutch called Onderzoeken en Ontwerpen O&O) is to involve students in real-life design (or research) problems with a problem owner at a company or organisation. Students explore the nature of the design problem, establish a design brief, explore possible solutions and work out one option into a design, a prototype or a product depending on the level of complexity. Students work and learn in teams coached by Technasium teachers. Some secondary school teachers are qualified to teach at Technasium if they obtain a certificate from the Technasium foundation through a number of short training courses. They are originally teachers in various subjects like mathematics, physics, physical exercise, language and so on. The other part of the teachers have a teaching degree in R&D next to a degree in engineering. Thanks to different backgrounds the teachers offer a variety of angles and know-how in different fields of expertise needed during a R&D activities. Such a composition is enriching and STEM supporting at the level of knowledge transfer. It is clear that some R&D teachers have no design pre-knowledge. A pilot survey of R&D students and teachers on the concept of model within design activities unexpectedly showed similar doses of confusion about the concept of model among students and teachers. Therefore when asked to teach a concept of model in design related activities teachers provided a different definition of concept. Often a physically built scale model or prototype is the form of model they recognize in designing. The danger of such an approach is that the students obtain very different, incomplete or incorrect knowledge about the concept of model in relation to design. Therefore the set of values and norms within the group of Technasium STEM teachers is needed, to establish a design related frame of reference. Keywords; STEM, Subject Research and Design (R&D), Concept, Model, Pedagogy of Desig

Insights from the implementation of the course “Development of an interdisciplinary STEM project via PBL approach” in an \u27Integrative STEM Education\u27 M.Ed. program

The paper explores the implementation of the problem-based learning (PBL) pedagogical approach in an academic course titled "Development of an Interdisciplinary STEM Project via PBL Approach." This course is one of the key courses in the master\u27s in education (M.Ed.) degree on integrative Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education running at Beit Berl College, Israel. The M.Ed. program aimed to train educators to design and implement interdisciplinary STEM curricula in schools and other educational settings. The program\u27s main goals are to expand and enrich the teachers\u27 understanding of the different STEM-based fields, to introduce them to new integrative fields implemented in industry and academia, and to provide them with the necessary foundations for implementing integrative STEM education using cutting-edge teaching and learning methods. The course is 6 ECTS credits and runs for two semesters. The course objective is to provide students with hands-on experience in the development of a STEM project within the incubator environment of the curriculum. In the course, the students work in a multidisciplinary team, and identify a problem relevant to society with awareness of sustainability, for which they develop a solution as a product. The students plan their path to solving the problem, investigate and find information to support the process, plan their timetable, and determine the criteria for assessing the product and their learning process. The course is co-taught by three lecturers from three different disciplines: environmental sciences, computer science, and technology. Each lecturer contributes to the learning process from her specific field of knowledge, from their different educational backgrounds, and their vast academic experience. The paper analyses the course implementation through the lens of PBL via student and faculty reflections, aiming to evaluate the learning process and address the challenges to improve the course

Situating spatial ability development in the Craft and Technology curricula of Swedish compulsory education

Spatial ability has been shown to have a causal relationship with students’ success in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) subjects. While an abundance of research has investigated how spatial ability development is and could be integrated to science, engineering, and mathematics curricula, little attempt has been made to date to situate where spatial ability manifests in technology curricula. This paper uses document analysis strategy to examine the locations of spatial ability related learning outcomes within the craft and technology curricula in Swedish compulsory education. This paper employs a qualitative inductive approach to analyse the policy document from the Swedish National Agency for Education. We argue that spatial ability development manifests in the Swedish craft and technology subject curricula along two dimensions. First, the curricula are underpinned by visual components, which are graphical, pictorial, and manufactured components. Second, along with the visual components, the curricula are delivered with the aim of constructing students’ conceptual and procedural knowledge. While technology curriculum dominantly cultivates students’ conceptual and procedural knowledge by interacting with the graphical and manufactured components such as sketches and objects, the craft curriculum is taught in a more diverse way where students are not only required to deal with graphical and manufactured components but also to involve in various pictorial components that convey cultural and historical meanings by craft products. &nbsp

AUTHENTIC TEACHING IN STEM EDUCATION - factors for success

Teaching for authentic learning is described in literature as motivating. Therefore, some schools in Sweden profile their education as authentic and some teachers strive for such teaching. During 2022, in a case study, we followed teachers and students in grade three with an age of 17-18 years, in a technology programme at a secondary school with aim to explore specific patterns in characteristics in teaching for authentic learning.  The result shows that teaching in a technology programme in an upper secondary school can be done with characteristics related to theories. Some patterns are appearing as enabler of authentic teaching. Firstly, it seems to be important to start early with authentic activities when the students begin their first year. Secondly, the teachers must let the planning, teaching "go out of control", likewise the assessment. The teachers have the role as engaging coworkers and the authentic teaching is highly explained by the school leadership and their contacts, competence, acceptance, and safety. During 2023 we make a follow up study with a broader participation. Data is collected during interviews with six teachers in different schools, both primary and  secondary schools. All teachers have participated in specific courses and are involved in projects dealing with teaching about space in STEM, with an authentic approach. The interviews will be analysed both related to a category system based on theories about authentic learning and more thematic, with aim to explore what pattern appears as enabler of authentic teaching. In this follow up study we have even more focus on what makes it possible to teach for authentic learning

The Impact of Teacher Preferences in Learning by Evaluating

Peer review and the evaluation of samples are common tools used in education and our research has shown positive impacts on student learning through the intentional evaluation of samples as a priming exercise—an experience we have termed “Learning by Evaluating (LbE).” While previous work in design and technology (D&T) classrooms with LbE has demonstrated positive student learning gains, we have not yet investigated the impact of the classroom teacher on the effectiveness of LbE and student learning.  Therefore, our research sought to analyse the impact of a classroom teacher on student learning within a LbE experience situated in a D&T classroom. To better understand the impact the teacher has during LbE, multiple D&T classrooms engaged in LbE sessions were enrolled in this study. Each D&T classroom followed a similar protocol which had students engaged in an open-ended design problem who used LbE to evaluate samples of related work as part of their designing process. Specifically, we collected data from student LbE decisions to explore if students in different D&T classes valued different elements of the samples (e.g. did students in one class focus on aesthetics while students in another emphasized brevity in explanations). An online software platform (RMCompare) was used to engage students in LbE and collect both the quantitative data associated with the ranked preferences of the students and the qualitative data from their justifications for their selections. All students were enrolled in the same course, provided the same prompt to base their selections, and presented with the same samples.  Key findings—both similarities and differences—between classes will be shared in alignment with implications for design and technology classrooms

Unveiling Biases: An Exploration of ChatGPT-3.5-generated ‘Technology Stories’

A technology that is increasingly affecting our daily lives is artificial intelligence (AI). An example of such a technology is ChatGPT-3.5, which has received a lot of attention recently. ChatGPT-3.5 is a text generator that is developed on a large number of existing texts. Currently, there is a debate about negative consequences in education, for example, if students let the chatbot write texts for them. In this study, however, our point of departure is on how ChatGPT-3.5 and storytelling can be used as a tool in teacher education to develop students’ critical thinking in relation to technology. A main objective of technology as a school subject is to prepare pupils to act in a technology-intensive world, which includes critical thinking about technology and its impact on individuals, society, and nature. However, a critical aspect of technology education is that it easily becomes an unreflective doing without a meaningful context. A way to circumventing this problem is to use storytelling in technology teaching. This is a pre-study for a coming project aiming to let teacher students create stories using ChatGPT-3.5 and then critically analyse the technological content in the stories. In this pre-study, we gave ChatGPT-3.5 the instruction to generate ten shorter stories for children with a focus on technology. A qualitative content analysis shows that there are several dominant themes within the stories, and that the chatbot presents a view of technology that is mainly positive and without any critical reflection on its effects on individuals, nature and society. Furthermore, in the stories, high-tech male coded technology is a dominating theme. The pre-study highlights the importance of critical thinking and reflections when using AI tools in technology teacher education. It also indicates that stories generated by a chatbot can be a steppingstone to visualise technology bias and contribute to developing teacher students’ critical gaze

Fostering Creativity through Design and Technology Education

The challenges faced by contemporary societies, together with the on-going change characterizing these societies, reveal the need for citizens who are able to think differently and adapt what is already known to new, unknown situations (Cropley, A., 2011).  This ensures that change is pro-actively managed.  Education plays an important role in supporting active citizenship (Apple, 2013), where a methodology that promotes creativity ensures the effectiveness of pluralism in democratic societies. Teachers, however, are faced with dilemmas, having to compromise between the requirements for creativity and the demands of education systems (Atkinson, 2000; Runco, 2014a).  Design and Technology Education has a potential role in addressing these dilemmas, due to the authenticity afforded and the potential of design practice to foster the metacognition required for creativity (Christiaans & Venselaar, 2005a).  This paper presents the research conducted to build a toolkit for secondary school Design and Technology Educators, intended to capitalize on this potential. It was developed following an exploration process aimed at identifying a pedagogy that facilitates the fostering of creative mindsets through the subject.  This process consisted of interviews with Design and Technology teachers to understand creativity in the local classroom, in addition to a literature review. The toolkit was then evaluated through interviews with other Design and Technology teachers.  The underlying philosophy of the toolkit is based on the 4P framework (Rhodes, 1961) – Person, Process, Product, and Press – to address creativity holistically, with the creative Person as its long-term goal. This is embodied through the design process at the core of the toolkit, facilitated using the spiral curriculum (Bruner, 1977) and specific design tools. The evaluation of the toolkit shows that it can support high-level thinking required for creativity, confirming the role of Design and Technology Education in preparing present and future generations for the society they design and live in

Transferring knowledge from one context to another

This current case study examines the knowledge expressed by students in grade 9 (14-15 years old) when they have been taught about a specific technical system, the wastwater system, and are then asked to describe another optional technical system. They have been taught about the wastwater system through activities such as drawing their own system model and receiving specific guiding questions. In the case study, three students were interviewed after being taught about the wastwater system, and during the interview, they were asked to describe another optional technical system. They drew a system model and described the chosen system. The students\u27 descriptions and their drawn models constitute the data in the case study. The data has been analyzed with transfer theory, and the results are discussed in relation to previous research on certain interpretations of transfer. The results show that the students describe structure and flow. A linear thinking is transferred to the students\u27 descriptions of the new technical system, which may indicate that the relatively linear structure of the wastwater system is transferred to the new system, which, however, has a more circular structure. In conclusion, this study highlights the importance of equipping students with effective learning strategies for comprehending and describing various technical systems. The findings emphasize the need for additional guidance to facilitate the generalization of system knowledge, particularly when transferring knowledge between systems with different structural characteristics

What Attracts Children to Computer Science?

Significant effort is being committed internationally to promote computer science (CS) learning in K12 classrooms. Career & Technical Education and Design & Technology courses are two of the most common targets for increased CS instruction. “Hour of Code” (HoC) is one example of the tasks technology teachers are asked to implement, devoting one hour annually to complete pre-developed CS activities with their students. Researchers collected data from students before and after engaging with an HoC activity and investigated students’ motivation, or lack thereof, around coding.  Specifically, all students were asked why they would or would not like to learn more about coding following their participation in the HoC activity. Several key findings emerged from the analysis of the student comments. These findings, as well as practical classroom implications, will be shared with an emphasis on trends in student’s preconceptions and future interest in CS. Additionally, our examination of students’ interest in coding as it relates “to “fun” and “job prospects” will be explored, as well as students\u27 associated concerns. The role of K12 education as it relates to career preparation is one that can provide greater insight for all technology teachers as they approach CS but also subjects like engineering and design. These trends are aligned with the integration and implementation of the HoC activities in classrooms. Thus, this research has practical significance and can inform future efforts aimed at increasing student interest

Girls\u27 technological knowledge

This study investigates technological knowledge among 13-14-year-old girls at a technology-focused summer camp using a Science and Technology Studies (STS) lens. As they are already interested in technology, they attend the camp out of genuine interest instead of ones to become interested. The girls\u27 expressions of technological knowledge are aligned with societal norms associating technology with hands-on engagement and activities, solidifying their self as belonging in technology. While the camp introduced certain gendered assumptions through "girlified" tasks, the girls wished to transcend these stereotypical activities. They wanted to broaden their technological interests beyond the confines of gendered expectations. Actor networks and external recognition influence their technological knowledge, often motivating their engagement in technology. During an interview, the girls voiced dissatisfaction with existing technology education, mentioning uninspiring teaching methods, outdated materials, and a focus on theory. The girls were critical of the technology education they encountered and emphasised the value of practical learning and a longing for real-life applicable skills. Despite some finding technology classes engaging, low self-confidence in comparison to boys emerged, possibly due to teacher expectations. Their inclination towards practical experiences highlights the importance of a well-rounded learning approach. Implications for school technology education curricula underscore the significance of blending theory with practical application to keep technical girls engaged. By embracing girls\u27 perspectives, educators can craft initiatives that resonate with their interests, rejecting the need for gender-specific content. These insights challenge the stereotype that technical knowledge is gender-bound, recognising that girls\u27 genuine interest is an asset