Design-based learning (DBL) is an educational approach grounded in the processes of inquiry and reasoning towards generating innovative artifacts, systems and solutions. The approach is well characterized in the context of learning natural sciences in secondary education. Less is known, however, of its characteristics in the context of higher…

Children's fiction in school libraries have played and still play a role in mediating representations of technology and attitudes towards technology to schoolchildren. In early 20th century Sweden, elementary education, including textbooks and literature that were used in teaching, accounted for the main mediation of technological knowledge…

This paper is a review of the literature related to teaching science through designing technology. The premise of this method is that designing technology presents the students with the context through which they can apply the science concepts they learned and thus enhancing their understanding of these concepts. Despite the promise of this…

The nature of progression in technology is still a matter of debate in technology education. While there is a growing research-based literature exploring the elements of technological literacy that might be appropriate measures of progression, little has been written about the factors that may influence both group and individual development of…

Examines the discipline of technology; discusses technology education; and proposes multidisciplinary technology education, inspired through efforts in art education, as a middle path between the technology mono-discipline and design and technology curriculum. Comparative curriculum and the organization of knowledge in multidisciplinary technology…

Mainstream practice in industrial arts is a study of skills needed to perform a trade, rather than a study of the relationship of industry to society. This article provides an overview industrial arts curricula (1870-present) and a review of contemporary research, highlighting positivism, resistance to change, constructivism, curriculum…

Reviews the standing of value judgments in design and technology education in Scotland; predicts the impact of implementing the National Guidelines for 5-14 Environmental Studies Technology framework on student learning; highlights consequences for teacher education: developing critical awareness, acquiring and assessing information, and…