Design Based Concept Learning In Science And Technology Education

Design-Based Concept Learning in Science and Technology Education brings together contributions from researchers that have investigated what conditions need to be fulfilled to make design-based education work.

This Handbook presents the latest thinking and current examples of design research in education. Design-based research involves introducing innovations into real-world practices (as opposed to constrained laboratory contexts) and examining the impact of those designs on the learning process. Designed prototype applications (e.g., instructional methods, software or materials) and the research findings are then cycled back into the next iteration of the design innovation in order to build evidence of the particular theories being researched, and to positively impact practice and the diffusion of the innovation. The Handbook of Design Research Methods in Education-- the defining book for the field -- fills a need in how to conduct design research by those doing so right now. The chapters represent a broad array of interpretations and examples of how today’s design researchers conceptualize this emergent methodology across areas as diverse as educational leadership, diffusion of innovations, complexity theory, and curriculum research. This volume is designed as a guide for doctoral students, early career researchers and cross-over researchers from fields outside of education interested in supporting innovation in educational settings through conducting design research.

We live in an era defined by a wealth of open and readily available information, and the accelerated evolution of social, mobile and creative technologies. The provision of knowledge, once a primary role of educators, is now devolved to an immense web of free and readily accessible sources. Consequently, educators need to redefine their role not just “from sage on the stage to guide on the side” but, as more and more voices insist, as “designers for learning”. The call for such a repositioning of educators is heard from leaders in the field of technology-enhanced learning (TEL) and resonates well with the growing culture of design-based research in Education. However, it is still struggling to find a foothold in educational practice. We contend that the root causes of this discrepancy are the lack of articulation of design practices and methods, along with a shortage of tools and representations to support such practices, a lack of a culture of teacher-as-designer among practitioners, and insufficient theoretical development. The Art and Science of Learning Design (ASLD) explores the frameworks, methods, and tools available for teachers, technologists and researchers interested in designing for learning Learning Design theories arising from findings of research are explored, drawing upon research and practitioner experiences. It then surveys current trends in the practices, methods, and methodologies of Learning Design. Highlighting the translation of theory into practice, this book showcases some of the latest tools that support the learning design process itself.

Teaching is changing. It is no longer simply about passing on knowledge to the next generation. Teachers in the twenty-first century, in all educational sectors, have to cope with an ever-changing cultural and technological environment. Teaching is now a design science. Like other design professionals – architects, engineers, programmers – teachers have to work out creative and evidence-based ways of improving what they do. Yet teaching is not treated as a design profession. Every day, teachers design and test new ways of teaching, using learning technology to help their students. Sadly, their discoveries often remain local. By representing and communicating their best ideas as structured pedagogical patterns, teachers could develop this vital professional knowledge collectively. Teacher professional development has not embedded in the teacher’s everyday role the idea that they could discover something worth communicating to other teachers, or build on each others’ ideas. Could the culture change? From this unique perspective on the nature of teaching, Diana Laurillard argues that a twenty-first century education system needs teachers who work collaboratively to design effective and innovative teaching.

The Bloomsbury Handbook of Technology Education draws together international perspectives on contemporary praxis in technology education from philosophy to empirical research. Through carefully commissioned chapters, leading authors explore the fundamentals of technology education, curriculum and pedagogy. Chapters discuss technology education as it can be experienced by children and young people, inside and outside of the classroom, across the world, as well as the importance of technology and the history and philosophical origins of technology education. Carefully curated, this is an innovative and exciting volume for students, teachers, teacher educators, researchers, lecturers and professors in technology education.

This book brings together significant international research in technology education through a focus on contemporary Ph.D. theses. It highlights the conceptual underpinnings and methodology of each research project and elaborates on how the findings are relevant for practitioners. This book addresses the common disjunction between research conducted and an awareness of that research by practitioners. It examines the extent to which the research aligns with different justifications for teaching technology in schools in economic, utilitarian, democratic, cultural, and other such contexts.

The product of ongoing research projects in design and technology teaching, this book summarizes the lessons learned. The book focuses on the design activity, on learning, teaching and assessment, and, more widely, on what can be learnt about the research process itself. The authors aim to answer questions such as how active, concrete learning enables cognitive and emotional growth? Researching such questions, the authors integrate the conceptual, the practical and the pedagogic.