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A meta-synthesis of primary and secondary student design cognition research

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International Journal of Technology and Design Education
Authors:
Greg J. Strimel at Purdue University West Lafayette
Greg J. Strimel
Eunhye Kim at Purdue University West Lafayette
Eunhye Kim
Michael Grubbs at Baltimore County Public Schools
Michael Grubbs
  • Baltimore County Public Schools
Tanner J Huffman at College of New Jersey
Tanner J Huffman
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Abstract and Figures

Design within primary and secondary schools has been increasingly emphasized over the past decade. As a response to this increased interest, qualitative research examining students’ cognitive processes involved in the practices of design has been on the rise. These studies have commonly employed the concurrent think-aloud research methodology to examine and describe an individual’s or group’s thought processes while engaged in a design task. However, the variety of coding schemes used to code and describe the collected think-aloud data has limited the synthesis of findings across design cognition studies, which can be a concern as the synthesis of qualitative studies can potentially lead to the development of more formal and possibly more generalizable theories (Glaser and Strauss in Status passage, Aldine, Chicago, 1971). Nevertheless, a study conducted by Grubbs, Strimel, and Kim (2018) examined the different coding schemes used in analyzing the design cognition of primary and secondary students that were published between 1995 and 2016. Their investigation led to the identification of three distinct themes for the foundation and intent of the various design cognition coding schemes and provided a basis for a more informed meta-synthesis of design cognition research. Therefore, this study examined the design cognition studies identified by Grubbs et al. (2018) and synthesized both the findings and discussions of each, according to the three coding scheme themes. The results of this investigation can provide deeper insights into primary and secondary students’ design thinking and can help inform design pedagogy.
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Vol.:(0123456789)
International Journal of Technology and Design Education (2020) 30:243–274
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10798-019-09505-9
1 3
A meta‑synthesis ofprimary andsecondary student design
cognition research
GregJ.Strimel1 · EunhyeKim2· MichaelE.Grubbs3· TannerJ.Human4
Accepted: 6 February 2019 / Published online: 12 February 2019
© Springer Nature B.V. 2019
Abstract
Design within primary and secondary schools has been increasingly emphasized over the
past decade. As a response to this increased interest, qualitative research examining stu-
dents’ cognitive processes involved in the practices of design has been on the rise. These
studies have commonly employed the concurrent think-aloud research methodology to
examine and describe an individual’s or group’s thought processes while engaged in a
design task. However, the variety of coding schemes used to code and describe the col-
lected think-aloud data has limited the synthesis of findings across design cognition stud-
ies, which can be a concern as the synthesis of qualitative studies can potentially lead to the
development of more formal and possibly more generalizable theories (Glaser and Strauss
in Status passage, Aldine, Chicago, 1971). Nevertheless, a study conducted by Grubbs,
Strimel, and Kim (2018) examined the different coding schemes used in analyzing the
design cognition of primary and secondary students that were published between 1995 and
2016. Their investigation led to the identification of three distinct themes for the foundation
and intent of the various design cognition coding schemes and provided a basis for a more
informed meta-synthesis of design cognition research. Therefore, this study examined the
design cognition studies identified by Grubbs etal. (2018) and synthesized both the find-
ings and discussions of each, according to the three coding scheme themes. The results of
this investigation can provide deeper insights into primary and secondary students’ design
thinking and can help inform design pedagogy.
Keywords Design· Design cognition· Think-aloud protocols· Engineering education·
Technology education
* Greg J. Strimel
gstrimel@purdue.edu
1 Department ofTechnology Leadership andInnovation, Purdue University, WestLafayette, IN,
USA
2 School ofEngineering Education, Purdue University, WestLafayette, IN, USA
3 Career andTechnology Education, Baltimore County Public Schools, Towson, MD, USA
4 Department ofIntegrative STEM Education, The College ofNew Jersey, EwingTownship, NJ,
USA
Content courtesy of Springer Nature, terms of use apply. Rights reserved.
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