A comparative (pre and post) analysis of pre-service STEM educators' perceptions of designing activity to inform educational practice (research to practice - Strand: Other)

The role of design based STEM education is to foster and develop a range of transferable skills, values and knowledge which will be appropriate in solving problems1. Conventionally, these skills are promoted through design based learning tasks where students conceive, create and communicate their solutions to the problems posed2. Promoting a linear approach to a task which is dynamic and fluid stifles the creative ingenuity of students and presents unauthentic evidence of the design process3. In developing higher order thinking skills, through the design task, students are encouraged to record their design evolution primarily for the purpose of assessment. A stratified sample (n= 15) was taken from a cohort of first year undergraduate students enrolled on a four year initial technology teacher education programme. The study investigates the beliefs and values held by the students regarding the value they place on learning through design and the value they place on the stages of the design process. Students created their own personal conception of a theoretical framework that captured the stages and functions of their personal design journey. The frameworks were modelled by students, based on their beliefs pre and post their engagement in a semi-open design based task. The results presented highlight a shift in the value placed on the process of learning through design from students' initial understanding and their experience of designing following their engagement in the design task.