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International Journal of Technology and Design Education

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01-08-2010

Discerning technological systems related to everyday objects: mapping the variation in pupils’ experience

Authors: Maria Svensson, Åke Ingerman

Published in: International Journal of Technology and Design Education | Issue 3/2010

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Abstract

Understanding technology today implies more than being able to use the technological objects present in our everyday lives. Our society is increasingly integrated with technological systems, of which technological objects, and their function, form a part. Technological literacy in that context implies understanding how knowledge is constituted in technology, and in particular how concrete (objects) and abstract levels (systems) are linked. This article has an educational focus concerning systems in technology education. Using a phenomenographic approach, the study explores pupils’ experiences of technological systems as embedded in four everyday objects. We identify five qualitatively different ways of understanding systems, ranging from a focus on using the particular objects, over-focussing on the function of objects, seeing objects as part of a process, and seeing objects as system components, to understanding objects as embedded in systems. As a conclusion, we suggest an educational strategy for teaching about systems in technology education.

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Title: Discerning technological systems related to everyday objects: mapping the variation in pupils’ experience
Authors: Maria Svensson
Åke Ingerman
Publication date: 01-08-2010
Publisher: Springer Netherlands
Published in: International Journal of Technology and Design Education / Issue 3/2010
Print ISSN: 0957-7572
Electronic ISSN: 1573-1804
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10798-009-9084-x

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