“But, it’s just a really good idea!”: Investigating the guidance of design feedback processes to mitigate pupils' fixation and stimulate their creative thinking

Development of a teaching-learning sequence for scientific inquiry through argumentation in secondary physics education

Enabling students to engage in independent scientific inquiry is a highly valued but seemingly elusive goal of (secondary school) science education. Therefore, this study aims to determine and understand how to effectively develop inquiry knowledge in students. The chosen approach to enable students to plan, carry out and evaluate a physics...

Measurement and Practice of Transversal Competencies in Engineering Education: Evaluation of Perceptions and Stimulation of Reflections of industry, lecturers and students

The engineering industry has changed in the last decades with the increasing complexity of technology, the global mobility of the engineering profession, the concern with sustainability and social responsibility, and the need for innovation and creativity. This shift has caused employability issues that include both the lack of engineering...

Matters of Attention: Gaining insight in student learning in the complexity of design-based chemistry education

Engaging students in design has great potential for promoting learning in science education, and design practices have been gaining emphasis in national science curricula in recent years. In the actual success of this type of instruction, teachers play a key role. Many recommended teaching practices for design-based science education hinge on...

Analogical Reasoning in Biomimicry Design Education

“Teaching is both an art and a science” (Harrison & Coll, 2008 p.1). Good teaching excites students and cultivates their curiosity to learn more than they are asked. But what if students’ blank faces tell you that the teaching did not land, what can you do? Using an analogy or metaphor to explain the principle helps students visualize and...

Enhancing Engagement for All Pupils in Design & Technology Education: Structured Autonomy Activates Creativity

This thesis is searching for ways to engage all pupils in class in an ongoing way during primary Design & Technology lessons, so that all pupils are able to profit from the lessons. The aim of Design & Technology education is that pupils acquire knowledge, skills and attitudes related to technology as they encounter it in daily life and...

Successful transfer of algebraic skills from mathematics into physics in senior pre-university education

Science teachers have the experience that students in secondary and higher education face difficulties with applying mathematics into science class, leaving less time for their core business of teaching science. This may be frustrating and time-consuming, overshadowing the science content that needs to be taught. In addition, in a large number...

Educating Future Engineers and the Image of Technology: Applying the Philosophy of Technology to Engineering Education

This thesis deals with the matter of making reforms in engineering education, and it highlights the significance of delivering a more comprehensive image of technology and its different aspects in the course of training students about technology and engineering. The innovative contribution of the thesis lies in its approach of taking advantage...

Teaching and learning science through design activities: A revision of design-based learning

Hydrosystems as Multipractice Phenomena: A Normative Approach to Analysing Governance System Failures

Given the water governance regime, how potent is the normative practice idea in the case of hydrosystems management? How can the normative practice framework explain the failure of the water governance of the Zayandehrud, and how can this explanation improve water governance both in thsi case and more generally?<br/>Can the govervance of the...

Connecting Knowledge Domains: An Approach to Concept Learning in Primary Science and Technology Education

In order to understand our dependency on technology and the possible loss of control that comes with it, it is necessary for people to understand the nature of technology as well as its roots in science. Learning basic science and technology concepts should be a part of primary education since it gives children the first understanding of the...