In design technology education, educators value student outcomes centered on concrete design ideas and a comprehensive understanding of prototyping. However, technology education must consider not only the general technology design process and quality but also human-technology interactions. Inevitably, designs for people are enmeshed in complex…

Technology subjects are a relatively recent addition to the discipline offerings at postprimary level, and have a short but interesting history in terms of associated educational research. In this paper, an overview of the evolving research agendas that emerged in response to the nature of practice, from the perspectives of the Technology…

Design and technology (D&T) emerged from a very different education context than it finds itself in today. D&T was to be included in the National Curriculum for England because it was perceived that what children learnt from design and technological activity could not be learnt in another way (DES/WO, 1988). Furthermore, it connected a…

In many of our universities and colleges there is a long established approach to teaching design through practice. For most students their end goal is to achieve a level of capability to function as designers in the professional world. Their education helps them construct a passport to enter this community of professional practice. Part of the…

The economic importance of design, and design engineers to the success of a company has led to the exponential growth in the demand for qualified design engineers. To fill this demand, colleges and universities provide the best training available so that, after graduation these engineers will provide significant input from the first day of work.…

In recent years Bournemouth University (BU) has witnessed a growth in undergraduate projects aimed at resolving problems in low-resource communities, with an emphasis on sustainability through the use of locally-available resources and production methods. BU academics have also been involved in helping the Royal National Lifeboat Institute (RNLI)…

Can design education have a positive impact on primary school education beyond merely preparing designers? As designers, we know almost intuitively that design education is "good education", and most designers would affirm that it would be beneficial to expose children to design education, because of the benefits of the signature…

Critique in design education is redefining itself, but its primary aim still focuses on offering and receiving feedback on workshop projects. The global pandemic has forced teachers to adapt their methods for online workshops. The following paper questions how design critique has changed teaching and learning experiences, focusing on the…

Education in the 21st century demands a model for understanding a new culture of learning in the face of rapid change, open access data and geographical diversity. Teachers no longer need to provide the latest information because students themselves are taking an active role in peer collectives to help create it. This paper examines, through an…

The internal design thinking behaviour of designers in the concept development has been an important issue of cognitive psychology. In this study, the design thinking process designers have in applying digital media and traditional paper in the early concept development stage was explored. Special focus was made on the structure and procedure of…

It has been found that the implementation of Human-centred Design (HCD) methods in the Fuzzy Front-End is not likely to lead to diversification in educational product planning exercises, where time lines are short and executors lack experience. Companies, interested to collaborate with Master-level Industrial Design students on strategic design…

In design studio, sketching or visual thinking is part of processes that assist students to achieve final design solutions. At Queensland University of Technology's (QUT's) First and Third Year industrial design studio classes we engage in a variety of teaching pedagogies from which we identify "Concept Bombs" as instrumental in the…

The paper is in four parts. Part 1 considers the justification for including design and technology in the school curriculum. Part 2 suggests the content for the subject at Key Stage 3. Part 3 describes some of the ways the subject might be taught. Part 4 considers ways in which the curriculum can be devised so that it is irresistible and…

The aim of this article is to contribute to the debate on the nature of technology education. This is especially pertinent at times of curriculum change and uncertainty, such as currently exist in relation to the Primary school curriculum in England and Wales. Two phrases ("technological literacy" and "design capability") have…

This article presents a tentative framing that has emerged out of one person's theorised and reflective professional practice with pre-service primary and secondary Design and Technology teachers as well as with practising teachers, school leadership teams and curriculum policy designers and writers. Over many years, several curricular and…