Green is a question with varying answers and sometimes no answer at all. It is a question of location, resources, people, environment, and money. As green really has no end point, a teacher's goal should be to teach students to question and consider green. In this article, the author provides several useful metrics to help technology teachers…

Over the past three years, the authors have conducted research in middle and high school classrooms in an effort to improve the effectiveness of robotics to teach science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education--their focus has been on math. The authors have found that subtle changes in the design and setup of the lesson make a…

Sophomore year is an intense introduction into the theories and skills germane to the profession of Industrial Design. Design projects will address one to three design elements at a time to promote understanding and manipulation of concepts, such as: (a) theories of two and three dimensional form development are practiced and presented; (b)…

This feature article has two goals. The first is to muse about the role of style and styling in the world of design and designing. The second is to present a project with which to engage students in several aspects of industrial design. This brief has been developed to use it either solely as a research activity or as a combined research and…

Teacher and student roles continue to change as computers continue to influence the design curriculum (Kaplan, 1997). Educators and administrators continue to grapple with the best ways to teach, implement, and maintain current technology. Few technology teachers would argue that computers, software, and hardware found in technology laboratories…

In the classroom, it is often challenging to find new ways to approach and present complex material. This is particularly true in design education, where innovation is highly valued and often required. A student developing a design for a new product has to successfully resolve multiple variables simultaneously while refining his/her own…

This article addresses how to help students develop an aptitude for seeing relationships between elements and puzzling out new forms in doing so. Four different approaches are presented. Each illustrates a way that industrial designers work in considering the form of a product. A classroom activity is included.

Teaching design involves more than instruction on manipulative skills of using tools and making drawings. It involves teaching students to use their minds and hands to solve problems. Teacher preparation and a change in student attitudes are required. (Contains 22 references.) (JOW)

Hibbard describes the process used by students at Millersville University to build a human-powered submarine for entry in an international submarine competition. Edwards discusses the Design Technology Exhibit held at Lu Sutton Elementary School, the purpose of which was to challenge students to design a useful structure and provide them with the…

A fun design challenge that can be used in the classroom and across the grades is presented in this article. No special tools, hardware, or supplies are needed, only imagination and teamwork. It is a fun exercise that illustrates technology education principles. This design challenge is a mirror on the world, very similar to how projects are…

Many problem-solving activities include mathematical principles but students do not use them during the design and experimentation phases before creating a prototype or product. Restricting the amount and/or type of materials available to students will require them to calculate and requisition the materials needed. (JOW)

Technology educators are constantly in search of new tools and methods to enhance the education of their students. This article is an excerpt from a longer article published in "The Technology Teacher" that introduced the technology education community to a research- and knowledge-based methodology for design--invention and innovation. This…

"Structures Around the World" is an eighth-grade activity that places special emphasis on creativity and the aspects of design. This lesson interrelates across a variety of curriculums. Due to its diversity, this activity brings validity to technology education and how ideas are conceptualized. In this activity, students explore various…

Describes an engineering design course that is taught at the postsecondary level but can be adapted for secondary education. It presents the steps in the design process and illustrates, using a matrix, the tradeoffs necessary in design. (JOW)

Discusses suggestions, possibilities, and models for designing instructional activities evolving from the Task Force for a Conceptual Framework for Technology Education. Explores the power of these models and approaches for making changes in the nature of schooling and learning. (JOW)