As a consequence of fruitful discussions about joining theory and practice both in design research and educational design programmes, this article aims to explore phenomenological parameters in the framework of an exercise for Engineer-architecture students from the University of Leuven in Belgium. Relying upon the arguments of recognised…

The purpose of the study reported here was to investigate the effectiveness of a conceptual design unit as part of the Design and Technology curriculum for 14 years old pupils in England. One research question drove this study: What sort of designing do pupils do when they design without having to make what they have designed? Data consisted of…

The power of 3D printing technology has grown exponentially in just the past few years--people around the world are using 3D printers to prepare food, create tailored clothing, build cars and homes, and advance the medical field in ways that never seemed possible. In classrooms across the nation, 3D printers have become increasingly common because…

This study examined the impact of teaching creativity in the form of associative thinking strategies within a metacognitive framework. A representative sample of 30 university design students was selected from a larger section (N = 122) to participate in a 16-week supplemental course. Each week a new creative thinking strategy was integrated with…

The Finnish curriculum for crafts emphasises the creative problem-solving skills of the student, the completion of different design tasks and the implementation of designs, while seeking to nurture the student's self-esteem. Furthermore, students should draw up the designs for their artefacts, plan their work, and also develop designs when needed.…

At a presentation from the Maley "Spirit of Excellence" Breakfast in Columbus, OH, March 2013, the author shares comments about craftsmanship and leadership as they relate to technology and engineering education. Students need more experience getting their hands dirty troubleshooting, researching and developing, inventing and innovating,…

Librarians often become de facto graphic designers for their libraries, taking responsibility for designing signage, handouts, brochures, web pages, and many other promotional, instructional, and wayfinding documents. However, the majority of librarians with graphic design responsibilities are not trained as graphic designers. This exploratory…

Just imagine: you live in a time before electricity. There are no sewing machines, no light bulbs, and certainly no television shows to keep you entertained. You spend six days a week working 12-hours each day inside your small home with four teenage girls and your elderly mother. This was the life of Mary Pickersgill, the woman who sewed the…

In the Puerto Rican Carnivale, a traditional figure seen in many parades is the "vejigante," a clown-like character who wears a colorful mask. The author's kindergarteners were learning about Carnivale in Spanish class, so making vejigante masks of their own in art class was a great idea--and an opportunity to teach them papier-mache…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to focus on the professional activity development of prop makers. These professionals are responsible for creating a huge variety of objects for the stage, ranging from furniture and soft furnishings to weapons, statues, jewelry and animated models. A feature of the work is to create objects that are new…

Integrating different science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) areas can help students learn and leverage both the equipment and expertise at a single school. In comparing graphic communications classes with classes that involve rapid prototyping (RP) technologies like 3D printing, there are sufficient similarities between goals,…

During a recent summer, the author participated in a Hands Across the Water Teacher Exchange Program to New Zealand. This experience gave her the opportunity to see how people in a different country live on a day-to-day basis. For her, one of the more interesting aspects of New Zealand was its indigenous culture, the Maori. In this activity, the…

If you want to get the attention of a group of eighth grade math students, tell them they are going to build a life-size cardboard boat. To increase interest, follow up this statement by telling them that two to four of them will actually be rowing this boat across a small pond. Eighth grade math students at Oasis Charter Middle School in…

Telling art students to do anything they want can be dangerous. It's not something teachers often do, but this is a project where anything goes. In this article, the author describes how her students created a Mardi Gras type mask, then incorporated it into a mixed-media composition.

At the University of Canberra, Australia, the design and architecture faculty are trialling a range of approaches to incorporating learning technologies in the first year foundation studio to improve student learning outcomes. For this study researchers collected information on students' access to their assignment information and feedback from the…