Unsolved on Purpose: Reflections on the Rubik’s Cube and the Curriculum and Assessment Review for D&T

This reflection explores the evolving pedagogical and curricular landscape of Design and Technology (D&T) education in England, drawing on recent dialogues with the Department for Education and collaborative academic work. It challenges conventional, linear interpretations of designing, making, and evaluating by proposing alternative frameworks (ideating, realising, and critiquing) alongside key processes such as communicating, researching, and satisficing. Using the Rubik’s Cube as a metaphor, it argues for a curriculum that embraces complexity, ambiguity, and interdependence, resisting the urge for uniformity and predictability. The article advocates for intentional diversity in teaching approaches, encouraging educators to foster creativity, autonomy, and critical thinking in learners. Ultimately, it calls for a shift from a “solved” curriculum model to one that remains productively “unsolved,” reflecting the dynamic and iterative nature of real-world design

Three levels in culturally oriented product design: a participatory approach to cultural inspiration in design education

Culturally oriented product design relies on inspiration from the local cultural heritage in the creation of unique products with specific local features. An authentic experience of cultural design inspiration can facilitate novel design outcomes. However, only a few studies have investigated the acquisition of cultural inspiration from a participatory perspective in the field. To narrow this gap, a design workshop was organized with local government in China. Design students were asked to combine local cultural characteristics in everyday products and to generate new concepts that reflect cultural diversity and support local tourism development. We collected students’ visual representations, text notes and recorded verbal explanations of the concepts behind the created product designs. The entire data was analysed following the method of holistic coding to identify the types of cultural inspiration and cultural levels. Data-driven analysis included two rounds of categorising. Using the product metaphorical mapping tool, we specified three cultural levels and the cultural elements related to them. The analytical method helped reveal students’ design intentions in applying both tangible and intangible cultural elements The results demonstrated that design educators can support young designers to apply the participatory approach in bringing ethical cultural transformations regarding visual, behavioural and philosophical design features

The teacher\u27s guide\u27s way of communicating with the teacher – within the subject of technology

The materials and artefacts utilized by teachers and students play a crucial role in education. In a subject like technology, where many teachers feel they do not have sufficient competence, curriculum materials such as textbooks and teacher guides provide important support for teachers.  Teacher guides, in particular, have the potential to support teachers in different ways. The guidance provided in a teacher\u27s guide can be either directive and talk through the teacher, i.e. telling the teacher what to do, or educative and talk to the teacher, i.e. telling the teacher how to do it and why to do it this way, thereby providing the teacher with knowledge to better understand the teaching of the subject. In this study, we analyze a teacher\u27s guide for grades 7-9 to find out what kind of support it provides the teacher. An adapted framework for the design principles of educative curriculum materials was used. The analysis shows that this particular teacher\u27s guide mostly talks through the teacher, giving the teacher directives on how to teach but without explaining why or suggesting other possible ways. The few educative features found are short and not very detailed. The support an educative teacher\u27s guide could provide would give the teacher agency over their teaching and a better possibility to adapt teaching to situations and students. However, we see little of that kind of guidance in the teacher\u27s guide analyzed in this study and conclude by outlining the possible consequences for technology education

Reflecting on the Implications of the 2025 Curriculum and Assessment Review for Design and Technology in England

This reflection critically examines the implications of the 2025 Curriculum and Assessment Review (CAR) for Design and Technology (D&T) education in England. Drawing on our role as expert advisors to the Department for Education (DfE), we explore the Review’s recommendations for clarifying the subject’s purpose, refining curriculum content, and embedding sustainability, social responsibility, and inclusivity. We argue that while the Review articulates a progressive vision for D&T, significant challenges remain in addressing systemic barriers such as declining participation, inequitable access, and assessment practices. The discussion highlights opportunities for strengthening applied knowledge areas (digital literacy, oracy, and climate education) while cautioning against structural constraints that risk further marginalising the subject. We conclude that realising the Review’s ambitions requires targeted investment in teacher development, infrastructure, and inclusive curriculum design, alongside assessment reform. Without these measures, D&T’s potential as a vital bridge between creativity, technology, and societal needs may remain unrealised

A repurposed geometric reasoning model for Engineering Graphics and Design: a conceptual paper

Engineering Graphics and Design is a South African school subject which is foundational to fields such as mechanical, electrical, and civil engineering. However, persistent shortcomings in this subject’s instruction have been documented in the South African National Senior Certificate examiners\u27 reports over the past decade. These issues stem primarily from ineffective instructional strategies and a lack of structured reasoning development. These methodological deficiencies may influence the development of learners’ visuospatial reasoning skills and conceptual understanding. The situation is exacerbated by the fact that no model for developing such conceptual understanding and reasoning currently exists in the Engineering Graphics and Design field. The need for such a model prompted our search for a suitable model for the structured development of visuospatial reasoning skills, culminating in this conceptual paper. We address the gap by demonstrating how the van Hiele model of geometric reasoning can be particularised to suit the needs for the development of visuospatial reasoning skills in this subject. Our methodology involved the extraction of nine cognitive descriptors from the relevant literature dealing with the van Hiele model. We explain how these descriptors align with Engineering Graphics and Design reasoning requirements. The proposed model offers both diagnostic capabilities for assessing student reasoning levels and instructional guidance for systematic skill development. It is recommended that empirical studies be conducted to test the usability of this repurposed model both in teaching and in the evaluation of the levels of reasoning in assessment

Crafting Humorous Soft Toys: Incorporating Humour to a Holistic Craft Process in Early Years Education

This study explores humour’s role in a holistic craft process when 7–8-year-olds design personalised soft toys. Humour enhances learning environments by fostering joy, belonging and a positive atmosphere, acting as a motivational tool in experiential and arts-based learning. The study aims to answer the following questions: (1) What are the humorous characteristics of the soft toys created by the pupils? (2) How does the crafting of humorous soft toys proceed? Employing an educational design research methodology, the project involved 36 first-grade pupils from an urban Finnish school over a 10-day intervention. The study examines how humour, when integrated into a holistic craft process, supports the making and designing of soft toys. In the study, the pupils created humorous soft toys, often anthropomorphised with exaggerated or contradictory traits. Challenges emerged in translating 2D drawings into 3D soft toys, particularly with sewing and fabric painting. Nevertheless, the final products were unique and evoked positive emotions. The findings suggest that incorporating familiar elements, such as humour and soft toys, into the holistic craft process in early years education can enhance motivation and learning outcomes, thus supporting the integration of humour into educational contexts to foster creativity and emotional expression

Reclaiming Relevance: Positioning Design and Technology at the Heart of a Whole-School Creativity Framework

Design and Technology (D&T) in the UK is approaching a crisis point, with declining enrolment, staffing shortages and increasing marginalisation in the curriculum. However, this paper argues that D&T is not a problem to be solved. Rather, it is a solution to be scaled. Positioned at the intersection of material practice, iteration, and design thinking, D&T is uniquely placed to lead a whole-school strategy for embedding creativity, not as an abstract ideal, but as a set of teachable, observable competencies. This paper introduces a structured Creative Competency Framework, drawing on cognitive science, classroom research and cross-curricular theory. It outlines 15 core and meta-competencies, from divergent thinking and sequencing to translational and meta-cognitive awareness. Moreover, the paper demonstrates how creative competencies can be mapped onto existing D&T projects to reveal and develop their creative potential. Using a bespoke AI-powered tool, the paper presents trial analyses of two contrasting projects to show how creative depth can be made visible, measurable and actionable. Ultimately, the paper proposes a new standard for assessing creativity that is not merely based on outcomes. In contrast, it is rooted in the thinking processes embedded in a task. Finally, the paper issues a call to practitioners to contribute to the refinement of this tool, with the aim of developing a bank of high-performing, creativity-rich D&T projects for shared use. The result is both a defence and a reinvention of the subject, repositioning D&T as foundational to a future-facing, creative curriculum