Swedish technology teachers' views of technological knowledge are examined through a written survey and a series of interviews. The study indicates that technology teachers' understandings of what constitutes technological knowledge and how it is justified vary considerably. The philosophical discussions on the topic are unknown to them.…

The aim of this study is to explore critical design issues for educational robotics training camps and to describe how these factors should be implemented in the development of such camps. For this purpose, two robotics training camps were organized for elementary school students. The first camp had 30 children attendees, and the second had 22. As…

The purpose of this study is to investigate student designers' attitude and choices towards the use of computers and paper sketches when involved in a graphic design process. 65 computer graphic technology undergraduates participated in this research. A mixed method study with survey and in-depth interviews was applied to answer the research…

The present study explored young 5-6-year old children's design-based learning of science through building working physical systems and examined their evolving conceptions of water flow. Fifteen children in an experimental group individually built water-pipe systems during four sessions that included end-of-session interviews. In addition,…

This article examines the effect of scientific detective video as a vehicle to support the design of technology activities by technology teachers. Ten graduate students, including current and future technology teachers, participated in a required technology graduate course that used scientific detective videos as a pedagogical tool to motivate…

The purpose of the study was to explore that using creative problem solving can promote students' performance of concept mapping (CMPING). Students were encouraged to use creative problem solving (CPS) in constructing nanometer knowledge structure, and then to promote the performance of CMPING. The knowledge structure was visualized through…

This paper describes an exploratory study of an aspect of the technological knowledge of two groups of five-year-old students in their first year at school. Their emerging understandings of the steps required to develop a new product were investigated through a series of interviews. A theoretical framework linking technological knowledge to "funds…

This paper describes an action research, school situated project conducted with partnership funding from Learning and Teaching Scotland, Scottish Qualifications Authority and Becta, the UK government's agency for communications technology in education. Based on "e-scape" (e-solutions for creative assessment in portfolio environments), developed by…

The design of this study was a multiple case study conducted to examine the knowledge, pedagogical principles, and challenges involved in providing engineering-oriented professional development for teachers at the secondary school level. A set of criteria was used to identify five representative projects for analysis in the US. A variety of tools…

An investigation of the epistemological beliefs of apprentices in the commercial engineering sector is of interest for vocational training, both from the point of view of optimising vocational didactic processes as well as in terms of communicating suitable knowledge based beliefs about principles and performance in the commercial engineering…

This paper reports on research investigating six middle school teachers without engineering degrees as they taught an engineering unit on the engineering design process. Videotaped classroom sessions and teacher interviews were analyzed to understand the subject matter and pedagogical content knowledge the teachers used and developed as they…

In a contest featuring hands-on projects, college students were required to design a simple crawling worm using planning, self-monitoring and self-evaluation processes to solve contradictive problems. To enhance the efficiency of problem solving, one needs to practice meta-cognition based on an application of related scientific concepts. The…

Hong Kong's transformation from a manufacturing to a knowledge-based economy has prompted the local government to promote the city as a regional design center. The 2008 Policy Address delivered by Hong Kong's Chief Executive calls for the creation of a large pool of creative and knowledgeable talent. The government recognizes that, in addition to…

In 2007, the Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering of the Delft University of Technology introduced a new bachelor program. Based on theories of learning and instruction three design principles were used to develop an approach that aims to make it easier for students to bridge the gap between theoretical design engineering courses and practical…

The purpose of this study was to determine the elements motivating comprehensive school students to study technology education. In addition, we tried to discover how students' motivation towards technology education developed over the period leading up to their school experience and the effect this might have on their future involvement with…