Engineering design that requires mathematical analysis, scientific understanding, and technology is critical for preparing students for solving engineering problems. In simulated design environments, students are expected to learn about science and engineering through their design. However, there is a lack of understanding concerning linking…

The nature of engineering design thinking needs to change drastically to address the climate crisis, as the technologies and activities that damage the environment are generated by engineering design. Current engineering design practices, as well as engineering design education (EE) pedagogies, are driven by formal knowledge structures, such as…

Effective scientific communication is crucial for effective science education, as it allows for the sharing of ideas and research findings. This study investigates the impact of the Engineering Design Process (EDP) on pupils' scientific communication skills. A mixed-methods approach was used, combining both quantitative and qualitative data to…

Background: Implementing maker education in schools is on the rise, fuelled by its potential to move formal education towards a creative, technology-driven 21st century learning culture. In maker education, collaborative learning takes place through and around various digital and traditional technologies, which provide the means for students'…

In this paper, we have combined a pragmatic and a sociocultural perspective on how artifacts are used in technical problem-solving. With these perspectives we explore how three mechanical engineering students build a plastic spider together, using instructions they found on the internet. Ten hours of video recordings were selected for a detailed…

Children's picturebooks have long been understood as a powerful medium for exploring aspects of children's lives, experiences, and identities serving as mirrors which allow children to see themselves reflected, as windows through which they can gain insight into the experiences of others, and as sliding glass doors when children are connected to…

Background: There is a growing emphasis on integrating engineering design into K-12 science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. Prior studies have primarily examined the impact of engineering design on student learning outcomes or employed frequency-based static statistical analyses, rather than focusing on student learning…

In 2013, the Next Generation Science Standards tasked science teachers to include more engineering processes in their instruction. Design thinking is one way this has been accomplished over the last decade, but other engineering characteristics might have an influence on how learners thinking through the design process. Using a pretest-posttest,…

There have been multiple uses of the term educational engineer. Some define an educational engineer as an educator who teaches engineering exclusively. Others define an educational engineer as a someone who works outside the classroom altogether, doing research and making decisions about curricula (Anderson, 1961; Charters, 1945; Rudinskiy et al.,…

Research shows a positive association between skilled migration and innovation. Related literature however is largely limited to the use of proxies such as patents, and publications. There is also a lack of attention to how innovation is accomplished in practices. This paper addresses these gaps with an examination of the innovative contributions…

In this paper, we explore measurements of design creativity through metrics related to the processes used in designing and relate them to the metrics used in psychology for idea creativity, ie, novelty and fluency. Our goal was to test the reliability of psychometric measures of creativity to assess creativity in team design. We studied 19 teams…

Background: Engineers must learn to document their process to communicate effectively in teams--a skill that calls for knowing "how" and "when" to capture information, as well as the self-regulation to continually engage in this practice. Motivation to self-regulate requires that students be motivated to complete a goal and see…

Iteration and improvement are important attributes of design, tacitly indicating that failure is also a part of the process. There are different conceptions of failure in engineering contexts than in other academic settings. Therefore, for beginning designers, these failure experiences may be perceived as mishaps, lowering confidence or interest.…

This study aims to examine the engineering and design-supported STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) experiences of students who participated in the "Design and Innovation Workshop" organized at the Science and Art Center (SAC) during the semester break. The experiences and perceptions of 17 students (10 males and 7…

Background: Understanding the nature of engineering is important for shaping engineering education, especially precollege education. While much research has established the pedagogical benefits of teaching engineering in kindergarten through 12th grade (K-12), the philosophical foundations of engineering remain under-examined. Purpose: This…