The International Technology and Engineering Educators Association's (ITEEA's) "Standards for Technological and Engineering Literacy" ("STEL") describes design thinking as an approach that allows students and educators to integrate other content areas by considering relevant contextual information to guide design and making…

While the physical exercise of playing golf and the sheer enjoyment of the sport are both positive benefits, there are subtler opportunities for golf to be used in conjunction with other ideas for learning in K-12 education; the mechanics and details behind the sport, as well as the variety of clubs, courses, and swings are all potential…

As U.S. public schools continue to diversify, it is necessary for educators to find ways to meet all students' needs in the classroom. By beginning small, with some of the teaching ideas presented within this article such as learning about and supporting your students' cultural competencies and integrating students' backgrounds and interests into…

Educators who engage in best practices utilize a variety of instructional delivery methods to assist all learners in achieving success in concept mastery. Best practices help educators set expectations for completing activities/lessons/projects/units, differentiate instruction, integrate curricula, and provide active learning opportunities for…

Whether you teach elementary school students, secondary school students, or college students, you can include upcycling activities in your class to promote both design skills and an environmental ethic. This article shares how a teacher at one school is doing just this, providing suggestions for those who have different material processing…

All technology educators have favorite lessons and projects that they most desire to teach. Many teachers might ask why teach robotics when there are many other concepts to cover with the students? The answer to this question is to engage students in science, technology, engineering, and math (commonly referred to as STEM) concepts. In order for…

The average American produces around 1,600 pounds of garbage every year, and it is estimated that 50 percent of that waste is material that could be composted (Clean Air Council, 2012). Instead, most is sent to landfills and incinerators. In technology and engineering education, a great deal of time is spent in talking, teaching, and thinking…

The changing landscape of digital media and software development has immense impact on society, not only through consumer use of the products, but also in the way these technologies are developed. Modern software and media-development companies are using collaborative methods to develop innovative and useful products. Technology and engineering…

Learning about intellectual property can help students understand the process it takes to bring ideas to fruition. It is very important for technology and engineering students to learn early that technology is not just concrete processes and physical artifacts. Creativity is closely linked to technology and is vital in helping us address perceived…

Exposing students to the application of math and science through a design-based activity can make them more technologically literate and teach integration between the STEM disciplines at an early age. This article discusses an activity that originated as a portion of a green residential house project conducted by the authors with their high school…

As technology education continues to consider a move toward an engineering design focus as proposed by various leaders in technology education, it will be necessary to employ new pedagogical approaches. Hill (2006) provided some new perspectives regarding pedagogical approaches for technology education with an engineering design focus. One…