Every year, around 35% of engineering graduates (mainly female and ethnic minority graduates) in the UK choose roles outside engineering. Given that engineering disciplines struggle to attract recruits, this represents a significant loss of qualified talent the profession can ill afford. A possible reason why engineers choose not to practise after…

Experiential learning, which may include hands-on learning paired with observation and reflection, has been applied in several industries; however, the impact of experiential learning in design education is not well known. We investigated how the type of simulation-based learning could affect the acquisition of knowledge and the ability to…

This paper analyzes the introduction of fundamental physics in design education as a pedagogical method that trains designers to create with the un-known. It studies how three workshops offered design students to work on: superconductivity in 2011, quantum physics in 2013 and light and optics in 2014. The authors observe that introducing physics…

Research frequently reports student dissatisfaction with feedback in higher education. Large class sizes and modularization challenge teachers in providing useful feedback. Most of these studies have investigated student perceptions of written feedback in coursework, and few attempts have been made considering feedback in face-to-face contexts…

The authors investigated primary school pupils' experiences using an electronic portfolio in their craft education for a three year period, from the 3rd grade until the end of the 5th grade. This article emphasizes the functions and the benefits of the ePortfolio method and outlines general user experiences based on pupil interviews (N = 38),…

Some who read and research about Design & Technology (D&T) would say that the concept of value is key to understanding and defining D&T. Closer inspection reveals though that there are two ways in which values are defined in D&T: how values are taught and learnt about in D&T to use them to make judgments in D&T lessons, and…

This article introduces a project in a Finnish secondary school where mathematics education was combined with crafts instruction. The idea was to provide the students with an interdisciplinary real-world learning context in which they worked collaboratively on an open-ended design task. The approach was problem-based and student-centred in a way…

Increasing complexity is one of the most pertinent issues when discussing the role and future of design, designers and their education. The evolving nature of digital media technology has resulted in a profession in a state of flux with increasingly complex communication and design problems. The ability to collaborate and interact with other…

A wide range of design literature discusses the role of the studio and its related pedagogy in the development of design thinking. Scholars in a variety of design disciplines pose a number of factors that potentially affect this development process, but a full understanding of these factors as experienced from a critical pedagogy or student…

A common perception of designing is that it represents a highly complex activity that is manageable by only a few. However it has also been argued that all individuals are innately capable of designing. Taking up this latter view, we explored the processes behind student designing in the context of Design and Technology (D&T), a subject taught…

Lack of resources has resulted in declining students' enrolment in design and technology in Botswana junior secondary schools by up to 6% per year over 10 years, despite positive encouragement by the government. Based on the PATT (pupils' attitude towards technology) theoretical framework this study indicated how a lack of resources in Botswana…

For those studying for the Post Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE), the teaching practice placement can be a daunting experience. Trainee teachers have to adjust into a new workplace and a complicated professional role which can be stressful; this can result in teachers leaving the profession in their early years if they do not equip…

At the heart of learning and teaching in studio based design subjects lies the engagement by students and tutors in activities which are based on practical work simulating design professionals' work. We report here on a research project which explored the student/tutor relationship in design pedagogies across a range of academic levels and…

This paper discusses ongoing research into the role of design and technology education in emerging post industrial economies. Previous work (Hughes et al., 2010) focused on the changing characteristics of textiles technology in modern times and discussed how this could inform a design and technology curriculum related to the needs of a modern…

This paper discusses the establishment of a framework for researching children's decision-making skills in design and technology education through taking a grounded theory approach. Three data sources were used: (1) analysis of available literature; (2) curriculum analysis and interviews with teachers concerning their practice in relation to their…