During a relatively short period of time, programming has been implemented in the national curriculum of the compulsory school in Sweden. Since 2018, programming is a new content in the technology subject and the research field has discussed some of the challenges teachers and students, who generally have little experiences of programming, face when programming is introduced in teaching. In this study, we have explored what strategies lower secondary school students (ages 13–15) use when they are programming a robot to follow a curved line in technology education class. Data consists of screen recorded films when students are pair programming a robot. Student talks were transcribed verbatim and analysed using Practical Epistemological Analysis. The analysis revealed three different strategies that the students used when programming the robot: (1) sensor—follow the line, searching for a code that automatically would make the robot to follow the route, (2) sensor—wheels, using codes to create a feedback system between sensor and wheels, and (3) rotations—degrees–wheels, using the position of the robot to stepwise fine tune the movement of the wheels. In line with previous research, the students in our study spent much time discussing, testing, and debugging their code, and our findings contribute by showing how these discussions were aligned with the strategy used. Depending on the strategy, students actively looked for and tested codes affecting different aspects of the sensor-wheel system, such as for example sensor input, power, rotations or turning. Implications for teaching is discussed.

Within the field of technology education, evaluating technical solutions is considered as an important topic. Research indicates that pupils have difficulties in evaluating technical solutions in terms of fitness for purpose, i.e. how effective a technical solution supports its intended function. By using the learning study, which is an iterative and collaborative research approach, the study explores the capability to evaluate technical solutions in terms of fitness for purpose, what it takes to know it and how to best enhance its learning in the primary technology classroom. Audio and video recorded interviews, teachers' meetings and lessons are the base data for the study. A contribution of the study is the understanding of this specific knowing, and what is critical for learning and thus to an improvement of technology teaching practice.

Today, technology education in Sweden is both a high-status and a low-status phenomenon. Positive values such as economic growth, global competitiveness and the sustainability of the welfare state are often coupled with higher engineering education and sometimes even upper secondary education. Negative values, on the other hand, are often associated with primary and lower secondary education in this subject. Within the realm of technology education at such lower levels of schooling in Sweden, different actors have often called for reformed curricula or better teacher training, owing to the allegedly poor state of technology education in schools. Recurring demands for a change in technology education are nothing unique from an historical point of view, however. In fact, the urge to influence teaching and learning in technology is much older than the school subject itself. The aim of this article is to describe and analyse some key patterns in technology education in Swedish elementary and compulsory schools from 1842 to 2010. This study thus deals with how technological content has developed over time in these school forms as well as how different actors in and outside the school have dealt with the broader societal view of what is considered as important knowledge in technology as well as what kind of technology has particular significance. The long period of investigation from 1842 to 2010 as well as a double focus on technology as scattered educational content and a subject called Technology make it possible to identify recurring patterns, which we have divided into three overarching themes: Technological literacy and the democratic potential of technological knowledge, The relationship between school technology and higher forms of technology education and The relationship between technology and science.

This review aims to synthesize the current knowledge on the conventional design studio context. This is a narrative literature review based on articles published within the last ten years, while 60 articles were selected for the literature review following a rigorous filtration process. The final articles were selected by applying inclusion and exclusion criteria to the initially selected articles. This review has synthesized the current knowledge on design studio contexts and will review the conventional design studio context, design studio practices that take place within design studios and use of digital tools. The main aim of this study is to broaden the understanding of design studio contexts and to comprehend the types of design studio contexts available in architectural studies. Furthermore, it discusses the digital tools used in design studio practices in the last 10 years. A thematic analysis was conducted in reviewing the articles. It is to be noted that no research has been carried out except one on generating design studio context outside the conventional design studio set-up. This study aims to identify the potential research possibilities of context generated design studios to engage in design studies.

The architectural design process is a unique process that has its inherent phases with specific activities within. Exploring and identifying the real design process which occurs within the conventional design studio is the key focus of this study. This study was carried out by adopting systematic literature review methodology. The most relevant articles for the review were identified by applying an inclusion and exclusion criteria based on a rubric developed to find answers to the research questions developed. For the literature review, 50 articles were selected by eliminating the non-related and non-suitable articles based on the rubric developed. The data was analysed by the content analysis based on the Grounded Theory. Grounded Theory was applied to generate a theory based on the data or findings. The results have given data to draw a Design Process model which is specific for architectural design studio practice. It is evident that the lack of integrating the intended user in the design process has impacted the solutions. Furthermore, many scholars have discussed the architectural design process, but there is a significant gap in discussing the involvement of users and context during the design process. 

Interaction design is usually described as being concerned with interactions with and through artifacts but independent of a specific implementation. Design work has been characterized as a conversation between the designer and the situation and this conversation poses a particular challenge for interaction design as interactions can be elusive and difficult to describe. Moreover, current trends in interaction design introduce physical materials to a higher degree resulting in even more complex design situations. There is a lack of knowledge about how interaction designers, and especially students, address the very phenomenon of interaction. This study contributes by describing how interaction design students attempt to address aspects of interaction and by presenting an in-depth analysis in the context of an interactionary-type design exercise. The quantitative and qualitative findings showed that (1) the design students brought up aspects of interactivity and dynamics through talk and gestures but (2) a comprehensive design idea about interaction did not guide the design work and they were to a little degree engaged in planning sequences of interactions or interaction on a longer time scale, (3) using physical materials disrupted interaction design, and, (4) there was a lack of continuity when addressing interaction compared to how proposals about artifacts were pursued. As interaction is the core of interaction design, the findings are discussed in terms of how the immaterial design materials may “talk back” to designers. Practical strategies for how the observed phenomena could be constructively addressed within interaction design education are suggested.

Computing and computers are introduced in school as important examples of technology, sometimes as a subject matter of their own, and sometimes they are used as tools for other subjects, but in principle, learning about computers is part of learning about technology. Lately, the programming is being implemented in curricula to explain society’s dependence on programming knowledge and code. However, there are some issues related to teaching programming, as the questions of what and how to teach become urgent in the rapid change of technology. In this present study the subject related focus characterizing phenomenography and variation theory is shifted to teacher related matters. This aim to explore the connection or possible gap between subject and subject representatives (teachers) raises the need for an expansion of the existing conceptual apparatus. To deepen our understanding of teachers’ teaching, von Wright’s theoretical model of logic of events is introduced as a complementary analytical tool. In the article the two theoretical approaches (phenomenography and logic of events) are briefly presented. The two theoretical approaches are then deployed upon one teacher’s case. Findings reveal that teachers’ intentions (reflected in their actions) include an emphasis (of teachers' side) regarding the importance of balancing theory and practice, using different learning strategies, encouraging learning by trial-and-error and fostering collaboration between students for a deeper understanding of concepts. In conclusion, logic of events interpretations prove to be useful as a complementary tool to the phenomenographic conceptual apparatus.