Continually increasing demands are being placed on the educational system to prepare students with technical skills due to the exponential implementation of information, technology and automation in the workforce. Students should work with design, problemsolving and computational methods and tools early on in their school lives in basic education…

Finnish fifth-graders (n=20) and sixth-graders (n=23) worked in teams in a Lego/Logo-Control Lab to complete Lego design activities. Observations showed that they became familiar with automation technology but their skills were not always up to their ideas. Activities based on real-life situations gave them ownership and engaged them in learning.…

Finnish eighth graders used computer control software to find creative solutions to technological problems. The learning environment encouraged problem-centered and creative approaches. More systematic teaching of programming skills before problem solving was recommended. (Contains 32 references.) (SK)