The integration of robots into classroom settings has a long-established presence in both general and vocational education. With the developments in Industry 4.0, the importance of robotics in schools has also increased, which has become clear through various funding programmes. Especially in general education, there is often a focus on utilising…

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…

Learning to reason in the design process is enclosed in the process of learning to design. Hence, in this study, we explore teacher-student interactions with the aim of describing teachers' support strategies in relation to enacted reasoning in the design process in secondary school technology education in Sweden. The study deploys social cultural…

Humanity's entrance into the Anthropocene forces us to question the role of technology because of its impacts on the environment. The stake is the viability of the Earth system for humans. Engineers producing a large part of these impacting techniques are not trained in sustainable issues (environmental, social and economic ones - in a systemic…

This study aims to investigate affordances of models and modelling in design projects in technology education. To learn more about affordances when working with models and modelling, four Swedish technology teachers were interviewed using a narrative approach. Despite a small number of informants data were rich, containing detailed descriptions of…

The design and technology curriculum in England has gone through various policy changes since its introduction in the Education Reform Act of 1988. The 2014 policy revised the content to make it slimmer and outlining the essential core knowledge for Key Stage 1 to 3. Schools need to consider wider aspects of design and technology not included in…

The approaches of learning by doing and making have always been inherent components of Finnish craft and technology education. Craft is a practical subject that involves many hands-on activities during which students actively practice experimentation, investigation, invention, problem-solving and designing skills. The same ideology is utilised in…

HCI and Industrial Design are both disciplines that are currently experiencing radical transformation in terms of their identity and scope. HCI has moved beyond its origins in human factors and cognitive psychology towards the proactive and generative design of experience. Industrial Design has similarly evolved from a concern with physical form…

Co-invention projects in elementary school engage pupils in complex, open-ended design tasks in a practical, hands-on way. Physical materials are an intrinsic part of design, involving trasformation of conceptual ideas into material forms, such as prototypes. These tangible objects mediate embodied thinking and act as material-social mediators of…

According to UNESCO (2012) pedagogies associated with Educations for Sustainable Development (ESD) should spur and inspire students to think critically, ask questions and reflect. The assumption is, that pedagogies are moving towards student-centred participatory learning. Still, the educator is at the core of the transition towards developing…

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD, 2013) defines its views on necessary skills for 21st century citizenship and life-long learning, advocating a generic skillset of literacy, numeracy, and problem-solving in technology-rich environments. Other sources also include critical thinking as a vital 21st Century skill.…

In this study, an educational development approach is investigated aiming at improving reading comprehension outcomes in primary education through inquiry and design-based Science & Technology teaching. The context is societal pressure to increase the likelihood that more students, later in their life, will aspire for careers in…

Design activities form an extensive part of design and technology education with a link being posited within the pertinent literature between the cognitive activity of learning and the cognitive activity of design. It is therefore critical that design educators' understand the effects that design constraints can have on the learning process. This…

What enduring knowledge and understanding from tertiary education study will learners remember most that will contribute to their on-going performance and understanding for effective teaching? This paper is based on research undertaken to identify what third-year initial teacher education students in a course including Technology Education…

The use of makerspaces in Norwegian compulsory education is growing. However, using maker-centred learning to support creativity has yet to be examined extensively in the Norwegian context. Consequently, the aim of this research is to explore Norwegian makerspace teachers' conceptions of the use of maker-centred learning to augment creative…