This article investigates recent literature in the area of classroom conversation and dialogue with the aim of gaining a better understanding of the role that classroom conversation and dialogue plays in learning. It also investigates literature on the constructivist, collaborative nature of technology education and suggests that to enhance our…

This paper aims to identify what actually takes place when policy directives bring together Technology Education, Enterprise Education, and the wider Community Partnerships. Since the introduction of a national technology curriculum to New Zealand schools in 1999 there has been little critique as to the intentions of the curriculum. In late 2005…

Children often experience the influence of technology around them, but there is little emphasis placed on technology within a scientific education in Grundschule (primary schools) in Germany. One of the reasons for this could be a lack of research projects that ascertain young learners' conceptions of technical issues. So there is no basis for…

The use of mobile technologies has been proposed for increasing access and designing innovative educational activities. Unfortunately, there is limited data on the current uses of cellular phones amongst low-income African American youth. In particular, there is little known about how this population may design on the rapidly adapting technology,…

This paper explores how representations of technological concepts may be designed to help students with visual learning styles achieve successful comprehension in the field of electronics. The work accepts a wide definition of what is understood by the visualisation of a model in that it can take different external forms, but also include an…

This study aimed at exploring how high school students deal with designing an information system, for example, for a small business or a medical clinic, the extent to which students develop as independent learners while working on their projects, and the factors that help or hinder fostering students' design skills. The three-phase dual-loop…

Instead of limiting the introduction and stimulus for new concept creation to lists of specifications, industrial design students seem to prefer to be encouraged by ideas in context. A new method that specifically tackles human activity to foster the creation of user centered concepts of new products was developed and is presented in this article.…

Design for sustainable behaviour is an emerging activity under the banner of sustainable design which aims to reduce the environmental and social impacts of products by moderating users' interaction with them. The intended outcome of design for sustainable behaviour is to reduce negative environmental and societal impacts. However, designers'…

This paper discusses design and design education in the context of four major social and environmental concerns identified by Bruce Archer in 1973: overpopulation; pollution; depletion of natural resources; control. It argues for the social and economic importance of design education in primary and secondary schools. It identifies "designerly…

In this article, the author discusses the challenge of the "transient" and the "timeless" problems of educational assessment and describes how to survive a lifetime of policy and practice in assessment. He first presents a personal retrospective from 1960s to 2000. Then he talks about assessment in transition and conflicting philosophies. Next, he…

This paper presents qualitative research recently undertaken by the Head of Learning at the Design Museum. The research explores how learning in the museum's workshop programme for schools is conceptualised by the museum educators who devise and teach on the programme. The study is framed by an epistemological stance of social constructionism, in…

This research focused on the masters degree programme in industrial design (ID), which is research and practice oriented in the light of current themes and design principles. It argued that a masters degree in industrial design would help graduates specialise in the related field and improve their skills. Therefore, institutional and academic…

How can young pupils get "An effective introduction" to technology and design at the primary level in the Norwegian context? This question is highlighted with examples based on case studies at five classes in two schools doing their first technology and design project at grades 1 or 2 (age 6-8 years). The project was about air rockets. The…

Research (Fish, 2004) suggests that everybody should be taught how to freehand sketch and utilise it as a tool for supporting the visualising instinct. A fundamental shift in philosophy of the technology education system in Ireland towards design driven subjects brought with it a need to develop practising teacher's technological capabilities.…

The purpose of the study reported here was to investigate the iterative design development of an Academy for 11-18 year olds focusing on the following research question: "What are the features of the multi-disciplinary interactions and associated modelling techniques, which lead to the development of an Academy proposal which meets its Education…