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This paper seeks to advance the understanding of the complementarity between action learning and lean. Today, this is an underexplored research area, despite the high degree of similarities and syngeneic possibilities between these two research streams. The paper describes an action learning intervention at VELUX, a Danish rooftop manufacturer designed to develop its leaders as lean learning facilitators to cope with the increasing velocity of change stemming from growth, sustainability, and digitalisation agendas. The paper locates the complementary between action learning and lean in the extant literature and presents an account of practice from VELUX for extrapolating five promoting factors for developing leaders as lean learning facilitators. The paper concludes that lean complements action learning with a suite of concepts, systems, practices, and methods for institutionalising ongoing action learning and concepts on how to think and act as a leader to foster a lean learning system consisting of empowered and proficient problem-solvers. Furthermore, action learning complements lean with the underlying learning mechanisms of facilitating and sustaining the change towards instituting leaders as lean learning facilitators and adopting a lean learning system.

This article walks through the experience of two instructors from Northeastern State University who helped the College of Business and Technology implement work-based learning. Work-based learning was implemented in response to the changing needs of businesses, however, there were some struggles that had to be worked through in order to make this a successful endeavor. In addition to the instructor's expterience, this article highlights some academic and administrative lessons learned during this process. These lessons learned can be helpful to other universities who might want to implement a similar program.

Higher Education Institutions are introducing Virtual-Reality (VR) development courses and divisions focussing on the development of Virtual Environments which are in high demand. Students without a programming background are not familiar with the processes of developing Virtual Assembly Training Systems (VATS), consequently, they learn through trial and error. To address this challenge the development of two similar VATS was observed to propose a framework detailing the workflow, roles, tasks and deliverables undertaken during development. Both VATS are based on the assembly of a top bracket, an elementary railcar component rendered via the HTC Vive Pro. The first VATS was developed by expert developers and the other through project-based learning with five engineering students. The case study was conducted at the Railcar Learning Factory wherein SolidWorks, Sketchup, Blender and Unreal Game Engine were used for CAD modelling and visual scripting. The encountered challenges and best practices evolved into the proposed framework. Findings suggest that engineers without a programming background can develop VATS when capacitated with a blend of asynchronous and synchronous learning. Importantly, Learning Factory Managers should consider the lifecycle of VR prototypes to ensure their usage in the industry. This approach can contribute to generating industry-relevant research output.

The ability to reason about how things were made is a pervasive aspect of how humans make sense of physical objects. Such reasoning is useful for a range of everyday tasks, from assembling a piece of furniture to making a sandwich and knitting a sweater. What enables people to reason in this way even about novel objects, and how do people draw upon prior experience with an object to continually refine their understanding of how to create it? To explore these questions, we developed a virtual task environment to investigate how people come up with step-by-step procedures for recreating block towers whose composition was not readily apparent, and analyzed how the procedures they used to build them changed across repeated attempts. Specifically, participants (N = 105) viewed 2D silhouettes of eight unique block towers in a virtual environment simulating rigid-body physics, and aimed to reconstruct each one in less than 60 s. We found that people built each tower more accurately and quickly across repeated attempts, and that this improvement reflected both group-level convergence upon a tiny fraction of all possible viable procedures, as well as error-dependent updating across successive attempts by the same individual. Taken together, our study presents a scalable approach to measuring consistency and variation in how people infer solutions to physical assembly problems.

The digital age in which we live requires students to be able to solve problems in technology-rich learning environments; however, this skill needs to be better developed in traditional schools. With the growing popularity of Makerspaces in Canadian schools, young people can develop problem-solving skills while working on digital fabrication projects. Nevertheless, how students solve problems in these environments remains to be seen. While many problem-solving models exist, there is an absence of problem-solving models that address how students solve problems that emerge during digital fabrication. Through two of our previous studies on Makerspaces of five New Brunswick schools, we observed the problem-solving process, which brought forth tinkering as an essential phase of the problem-solving process. The purpose of this article is to clarify how students solve problems that emerge during digital fabrication in schools by using data from our previous studies to create a new problem-solving model that highlights the importance of tinkering.

The purpose of this study was to explore how teachers at a southwestern secondary private charter school utilize the on-campus fabrication lab to promote the implementation of problem-based learning (PBL). Guided by the theory of constructivism, I qualitatively explored the processes teachers engage in when implementing a PBL lesson using a multi-case study design. Five teachers and two fabrication lab directors from various content areas were interviewed and observed. Five overall themes emerged from the data: 1) the differing emphasis on PBL framework components; 2) conflicts, limitations, and constraints perceived with PBL; 3) teachers use of PBL for cognitive development; 4) the role of the environment in PBL; and 5) the role of reflection in the PBL framework. Research recommendations include further exploration into the factors that contribute to a positive environment conducive to PBL, in-depth investigation into the role of each step in the PBL framework, and additional observation periods to elicit the impacts of PBL over time. Recommendations for practice include purposeful teacher reflection, scaffolded planning, strengthening connections between PBL and real-world applications, and strategies for increased student support and encouragement in the classroom.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the approaches to education and training adopted by manufacturing organisations to identify and develop a set of learning principles for the successful transition to Industry 4.0. Design/methodology/approach: A case study of a manufacturing ecosystem in Queensland, Australia was undertaken, that included semi-structured interviews with a total sample of 22 manufacturing industry representatives, an analysis of secondary data including organisational documents and government reports, and embedded cases of two manufacturing organisations. Findings: Manufacturers successfully transitioning to Industry 4.0 are distinguished by a culture which values learning, management development to understand and lead innovation, experimental learning on the job and strong links to education and training providers through internships and upskilling pathways. These four principles inform approaches to creating tailored training solutions that respond to the unique needs of diverse manufacturing organisations. Research limitations/implications: The two case studies describe exemplary high performing companies only and not companies at earlier stages of adopting Industry 4.0. Therefore, future research could include a broader spectrum of companies across the adoption spectrum. Nevertheless, considered as a study of a total manufacturing ecosystem, there is strong alignment of views of government, industry, union and education stakeholders regarding the key factors of transition to Industry 4.0. Practical implications: There is a strong need for leaders of manufacturing organisations to enable a broad strategy of capability development beyond simple acquisition of new technologies. Detailed consideration and resourcing of on-the-job training and experimentation, talent attraction through innovation workplace cultures and strong relationships with education providers are important. Social implications: Given that Industry 4.0 technologies such as robotics and AI are now rapidly diffusing into other industry sectors, the research has broader implications for education and training for the future of work. These technologies could produce stark differences between efficiency versus innovation-oriented adoption strategies. Whilst the former could displace workers, the latter can open pathways for upskilling, product and process innovation and cross sector employment. Originality/value: Through the ecosystem level case approach, multiple stakeholder perspectives provide triangulated insights into advanced manufacturer's education, skills and training strategies, uncovering four learning principles that underpin the approach of manufacturers successfully transitioning to Industry 4.0. The findings have practical implications for policy makers and industry bodies supporting the transition to advanced manufacturing and provide manufacturing managers with insights into successful education and skill strategies that can be adapted to specific organisational needs.

The present qualitative study aimed to investigate the role of Business English as Lingua Franca (BELF) courses in learners' success in communication in an Iranian company. In doing so, 25 adult BELF learners were selected from an automotive parts manufacturing company in Tehran, Iran. They were the employees of a company consisting of men and women in the 30 to 45 age group who worked in different departments as bosses, middle managers, top managers, and directors. Their English proficiency levels were elementary, pre-intermediate, and intermediate. The participants took part in the interviews and answered a 20-item questionnaire. The questionnaire mainly focused on using English in the workplace. The interviews primarily focused on eliciting the respondents' views regarding the benefits of using English at the workplace. The interviews and respondents' answers to the questionnaire showed that BELF courses lead to job performance efficiency, higher self-confidence when communicating, willingness to use more English at the workplace, and fewer misunderstandings. It also could enhance participants' language proficiency level and communication skills. Moreover, participation in BELF courses could facilitate English in the workplace and encourage a professional atmosphere compared to the past.

This paper reports pedagogical experiences and educational techniques in the field of Mechanics of Structures (Mechanical Engineering degree), resorting to computational tools. Several aspects are addressed, covering CAD (Computer-Aided Design) modelling systems to CAE (Computer-Aided Engineering) solutions, in terms of analysis and validation of mechanical resistance calculations. Therefore, structural mechanics fundamental concepts and mechanics of materials are also addressed. Particular focus is given on the development of curricula components related to Computer-Aided Design and Manufacturing. Doing so, three-dimensional structural modelling is applied to study the behaviour in selected simple case-studies where an external load is applied and the corresponding deflections are evaluated. Then, analytical and numerical analyses are performed and compared. During classes, patent aversion to solve analytical problems was clearly observed on the part of the students once calculus knowledge was required. The typical trend in engineering students, skipping the manual analytical methodology to solve a problem in order to go straight to numerical simulations via commercial Finite Element (FE) codes, was observed. The main focus of this work is, therefore, to determine the pedagogical effects of allying the analytical procedures and virtual simulators. It was possible to confirm the beneficial aspects of such methodology, considering that the regular engineering student has already a scientific basis on calculus and analytical process. Such knowledge will support mechanical project decisions, from model development to the analysis, and a sounding background to perform criticism of the results provided by the software.

Accelerated technological innovation induces disruptions in society and education. It results in both threats to and opportunities for the way the society learns and works. This case study examined the phenomenon of learning in a disruptive environment. The chosen typical case of a disruptive learning environment was comprised of multistable technology and multiple cross-disciplinary, stakeholders. To reveal how inexpert stakeholders cope with technological barriers, the study examined design studio education as a research site. There, groups of design students used 3D printing to develop assistive technologies together with patients and therapists. The empirical data collected on site was analyzed through qualitative content analysis and postphenomenological concepts. The study showed how new multistable technologies impose relational, fluid models of learning on site by revealing mediations between technology and humans. This new perspective on learning in disruptive environments informs practical sustainable pedagogical practices and theoretical approach to learning for resilience by expending vocabulary concerning technological education. It also proposes altered priorities for formal education. Instead of solely focusing on the knowledge content or learners' development, formal education should also take into account learners relations with their social and technological environment.

The problem of the research is urgent due to the need to develop a special style of thinking. This type is based on problem cognitive activity, focused on lean production, resource conservation, and supported by an automated system that provides resources for solving socioeconomic problems in the conditions of the fourth industrial revolution and the digital economy formation. The purpose of the research is to theoretically prove and experimentally verify the need to change methods, tools, organizational forms of teaching robotics for the purposeful development of environmental thinking and lean manufacturing as the demanded competencies of future specialists in the context of digital transformation. The research methodology is the analysis of psychological and pedagogical work, development strategies, concepts of education; methods of mathematical statistics, methods of psychodiagnostics and survey. The pedagogical experiment is based on the example of assessing the ecological thinking formation and the energy conservation skill in teaching robotics to train engineering, technical and management specialists. The research results. The study clarifies the concepts "environmental thinking", "lean production", and "environmental competence" in the context of training specialists for the digital economy, in particular, engineering and technology. The study substantiates the didactic potential of a robotics course for the formation of environmental thinking as a demanded skill of future engineers. The authors describe didactic principles, a model for teaching robotics in a personalized environment for the formation of environmental thinking as the basis for the introduction of innovations and the challenges of automation, globalization and competitiveness. The authors conclude that a robotics course with specially organized interdisciplinary design forms of activity supported by appropriate means and training methods is necessary. It will create additional conditions for the formation of environmental thinking and lean production skills as key professional competencies in the training of demanded specialists in the digital economy.

This examination of secondary agricultural education students' performance was used to determine if students could perform up to industry standards. In this study, the industry standard were blueprints created by engineers at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Students had to fabricate a Cost-effective Roll-Over Protective Structure (CROPS) to be placed on a tractor within their community. All the pieces of the CROPS were inspected by an outside consultant with experience with inspecting projects and visual inspection of welds. It was found that students struggled the most with fabricating the axel brackets. The axel brackets required the most drilled holes and cuts of all the pieces therefore creating more areas where mistakes could be made. Students fabricated the vertical support tubes with the most accuracy. According to the DataDriven Decision Model (DDDM), teachers analyzed student work, provided feedback, and need to incorporate this new knowledge into their future instruction to increase the accuracy of their students' fabrication skills. Teacher trainers are recommended to incorporate this performance data into the summer training to better prepare teachers. The inclusion of teaching strategies need to be created for secondary teachers such as peer evaluation of measurements prior to drilling and cutting.

The purpose of this article is to present a design for additive manufacturing assignment focused on creativity rather than functionality and to analyze its results (N = 70) acquired during five years. The assignment teaches the unique advantages of additive manufacturing to engineering students and encourages learning from failure to achieve designs that are possible to manufacture. The students of the course assignment were in their fourth year of studies and pursued master's degrees in mechanical engineering. The article presents the design for additive manufacturing course assignment in enough detail for it to be applied by educators in the sphere of additive manufacturing. The result assessment is performed with a numerical method and a jury method. The statistical significance of the correlation of the numerical approach with the jury approach is evaluated. The study conducts a multi-point creativity assessment on a large sample of parts created by students acquired over five years with the support of 10 jury members. This assessment process gives insight on how creativity in design for additive manufacturing can be quantified and can be readily applied by educators. The data of the jury evaluation are verified with an interrater reliability evaluation. Our results indicate that conducting the course assignment for multiple years increases the quality of the student work. The improvement of the results is theorized to be partly due to students gaining inspiration from an increasing number of high-quality parts from previous years of the assignment. The numerical method of result assessment can be used for evaluation when resources are scarce; however, the jury method should be used if possible.

Science, technology and engineering functional literacy should be developed purposely in the school system -- like any other competence, it does not develop spontaneously. For this purpose, a didactic model, the Metacognitive Model for Developing Science, Technology and Engineering Literacy (McM_T&E), was developed. Apart from acquiring knowledge and skills from the field of technology and engineering, the McM_T&E is equally focused on developing functional literacy in the field of technology and engineering, as well as in the field of science, through the development of students' metacognitive knowledge about reading strategies for reading STE explicatory texts and for reading manufacturing instructions. The McM_T&E was implemented in a Technology and Technique' (T&T) class, grade six, in Slovenia. Results show that focusing on science, technology and engineering literacy in Technology and Engineering classes by using the McM_T&E model increases the students' science, technology, and engineering functional literacy, which is a fundamental competence in the 21st century.

Given the prevalence and academic impact of technology in mathematics education, increasing attention has been paid to the role of digital artifacts in promoting productive classroom discourse. This study investigates the association between the qualities of mathematics discussion and artifacts generated by individual teachers, individual students, and jointly by multiple students. We also examine the influence of pedagogical moves on artifact mediation and discourse. Drawing on video data from the mathematics classroom of five pre-service teachers, we found that discourse based upon student ideas occurred most frequently with reference to student-generated artifacts, and dialogic discourse occurred almost exclusively with reference to jointly constructed artifacts. With six episodes mediated by three types of artifacts, we provide descriptive empirical evidence to illustrate the complex interplay of artifact construction, student ownership, teacher pedagogical moves, and artifact mediation for mathematical discourse and meaning-making. We also provide an Artifact Mediated Discourse Matrix with examples as a framework for examining artifact-supported discourse in mathematics classrooms. We discuss implications related to teacher pedagogical moves, a classroom culture discourse, and the role of mediation embedded in the digital artifact.

This study examined the use of 3D garment prototyping technology as a remote learning facilitator to create new instructional designs for a product development course. The new instructional designs in a flipped learning approach for the remote, synchronous computer-aided fashion product development course was created, implemented, and evaluated within the Addie framework at one of the largest fashion colleges in the U.S. The students' submitted final semester projects demonstrated that the new instructional designs were effective for the students' synchronous remote learning achievement at a high level. The students had an enormous experiential learning experience from the instructor-student collaborative 3D avatar fashion show promoted on the college website and social media. The outcomes of this research can be used as a toolkit to create a new instructional design using a 3D prototyping technology as a learning facilitation tool in a synchronous remote classroom. More research must be conducted to focus on challenges in helping all students adapt to novel online learning environments. The current study must be further expanded to determine the use of other 3D prototyping technologies in different remote courses across disciplines.

Contribution: This article presents the innovative prototypes used in materials and fabrication technologies in medical devices (MFTIMD) laboratory course, under the curriculum of Biomedical (BME) and Electrical Engineering (EE) undergraduate studies. A special part of the course is devoted to state-of-the-art topics, such as flexible and wearable electronic devices and microfluidic devices. The article contains a brief overview of the laboratory course content as well as an assessment analysis with a satisfactory review and an academic outcomes review. Background: The course should address the properties and the applications of new types of materials used in medical electronics as well as corresponding fabrication technologies and devices. The course content and literature provide a multidisciplinary approach to contemporary engineering problems, specifically in a fast-developing field of biomedical electronics. Intended Outcomes: After successfully completing the MFTIMD course, undergraduate Biomedical (BME) and EE students are trained to independently fabricate and characterized various materials and components for medical devices. They are also capable of creating original ideas and realizing them according to gained knowledge. Application Design: The assessment and evaluation study consist of satisfactory test with positive statements and gradual multiple-choice options for student to rate the statements as well as teachers and the literature. An additional survey of acquired knowledge was conducted before the June exam period and a short prior/post-test focused on main course topics. Findings: The satisfactory survey results indicated a very positive students' attitude toward the course material and the teaching methods. The pass rate was above 85% in first (June) exam period with an average mark of 8.63 (on a scale from 5 to 10). The prior/post test revealed a significant improvement in the overall knowledge of the course subject, while the preparation test before the exam period resulted in 84% of correct test answers.

The high demand for N95 and surgical masks made of nonbiodegradable petroleum-based materials due to SARS-CoV-2 challenges the recycling industry and is proving to be unsustainable. Although woven fabric masks present a longer lifetime, they are less effective in protecting against viral particulates. Here, through an at-home course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE), we demonstrate that alginate and soy-based materials are attractive alternatives for mask fabrication: stacking calcium ion-cross-linked alginate films with soy protein isolate sheets enables electrostatic and size-exclusion filtration. State-of-the-art aerosol testing confirmed this conclusion. Furthermore, because our synthetic and at-home analytical approach relies on cheap, abundant, and food-grade materials, and requires no equipment beyond kitchenware, it has the potential to be broadly adopted for practical and educational purposes.

Product design expertise has mostly been studied in relation to problem-solving and the act of designing. In this paper, we approach the topic from another perspective and explore the differences in product perception of students from different education levels. We conceptualize product perception as a representation of critical thinking towards designed objects and professional assessment/understanding of artifacts. Our aim is to evaluate how students' product perception change over the years of undergraduate product design education. Data was collected through students' written product evaluations of a ball-point pen. 41 first-year, 29 second-year, 33 third-year, and 26 fourth-year undergraduate product design students participated in the study. We analyzed students' product evaluations through initial and focused coding. Our findings indicate a shift from ordinary to professional sense-making between the second- and third-year students. There are three main points that define the professional sense-making of students: a dependence on subjectivity, the significance attributed to users, and better synthetic capabilities that are built around form, material, manufacturing, and detailing relationships.

Continually increasing demands are being placed on the educational system to prepare students with technical skills due to the exponential implementation of information, technology and automation in the workforce. Students should work with design, problemsolving and computational methods and tools early on in their school lives in basic education and across diverse areas of learning. It has been argued that a fundamental understanding of technology requires computational thinking. However, teachers have difficulties integrating technology and programming into students' active learning in crafts. In this systematic literature review, the main aim is to view descriptions of programming through craft science-based concepts of craft labour and, thereafter, to seek examples to enable teaching programming in craft education during basic education. Considering the selection criteria to undertake the analysis, the final data set comprised of 10 articles dealing with programming and craft, and 68 articles describing the possibilities of combining crafting and programming in basic education. According to the results, it seems that contemporary multi-material and design-based holistic craft may encompass different forms of technology and programming such as prototyping, robotics, microcontrollers, 3D modelling, applications for documentation, visualisation, share-out and storytelling via multiple channels. These all help students to learn computational thinking as they start out with design and practical problems and proceed to technology-mediated programming skills. It is hoped that the findings will provide theoretical perspectives for practitioners and policymakers to see the mutual benefit arising from the integration of crafts, technology and computation in basic education.

This research was aimed to explore the demands of the people in the communities in order to develop multimedia and activities to promote products made by state enterprise communities in the Bangmod Project 4.0 through Community-Based Learning among undergraduate students of King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi, to examine the perception and the satisfaction of the local people regarding the multimedia and activities, to evaluate the work and to determine the satisfaction of the students towards Community-Based Learning. The tools in this study consisted of 1) the questionnaire on the demands of the local people regarding the multimedia and activities, 2) the multimedia and activities to promote products made by the state enterprise communities in Bangmod Project 4.0 which included offline and online contents as well as special activities, 3) the quality evaluation forms in terms of contents and media presentation, 4) the perception survey form, 5) the satisfaction questionnaire for the local people, 6) the self-evaluation form for students, and 7) the satisfaction questionnaire for students towards the community-based learning. There were two sampling groups as in 1) 22 local people out of 4 state enterprise communities which participated in Bangmod Project 4.0 and they were purposively chosen for this research, 2) 30 undergraduate students who enrolled in the ETM 358 Marketing Communications course which followed the community-based learning approach and these students were purposively chosen out of those who went to the field at least 4 times. The research results showed that the local people in the state enterprise communities expressed a level of demands on the multimedia and activities to promote their products for online and offline media as well as special activities. They wanted to promote 12 products. The quality of the multimedia and activities as evaluated by the experts in contents showed that the quality was at a very good level ([x-bar] = 4.67, S.D. = 0.20). The quality of the media presentation was at a very good level ([x-bar] = 4.87, S.D. = 0.24). The perception level of the local people about the multimedia and activities was at a high level ([x-bar] = 4.41, S.D. = 0.18) and the local people expressed the highest level of satisfaction towards the multimedia and activities ([x-bar] = 4.80, S.D. = 0.79). The students rated themselves at a very good level (83.72%) and their satisfaction towards the community-based learning was at the highest level ([x-bar] = 4.77, S.D. = 0.24). It can be concluded that the multimedia and activities to promote products made by state enterprise communities in Bangmod Project 4.0 through Community-Based Learning were of good quality and they could be used to promote the products of the local communities.

Dynamics of Machine Elements is a junior-level course in mechanical engineering that covers the kinematics (motion) and kinetics (causes of motion) of machine elements such as linkages, cams, and gear trains. This paper describes the results of adding a Rube Goldberg Machine Contest® project to the course to address student concerns over the lack of interactivity in the previous lecture-only format. The goals of the project were to give students experience designing, analyzing and implementing a variety of machine elements in a hands-on manner. On a post-survey, many students reported that the open-ended nature of the project was very challenging yet did not help them learn the content, but it did help them develop other skills, such as manufacturing and design, and helped them learn to work with new people. Peer evaluation scores on contributing to the team's work, keeping the team on track, and expecting quality improved significantly over the term.

Fashion design education has grown by leaps and bounds across world in recent years. It aims to prepare students with knowledge, skills and attitudes (l{SA) to work in fashion industry and be employable. To empower students with much needed l{SA, fashion design programs have industrial internship as a mandatory requirement that enables students to receive experiential training within the industry for a specific period. Industry internship is an opportunity to gain first-hand experience about various activities and operations conducted in an organization to manufacture products. This research investigates the perceptions of fashion design students regarding their expectations and experiences from an industrial internship using a mixed method approach . Structured questionnaires and semi structured interview schedule is used to gather data. Sample size for questionnaire was 66 and later in-depth interviews were conducted with 16 students. The findings of this research provide rich insight on internship expectations and experiences that can help educational institutions and fashion industry to work collaboratively in order to strengthen the internship program and maximize the benefits.

This article addresses some fundamental issues of concept mapping relevant to discipline-based education. The focus is on manufacturing knowledge representation from the viewpoints of both human and machine learning. The concept of new-generation manufacturing (Industry 4.0, smart manufacturing, and connected factory) necessitates learning factory (human learning) and human-cyber-physical systems (machine learning). Both learning factory and human-cyber-physical systems require semantic web-embedded dynamic knowledge bases, which are subjected to syntax (machine-to-machine communication), semantics (the meaning of the contents), and pragmatics (the preferences of individuals involved). This article argues that knowledge-aware concept mapping is a solution to create and analyze the semantic web-embedded dynamic knowledge bases for both human and machine learning. Accordingly, this article defines five types of knowledge, namely, analytic a priori knowledge, synthetic a priori knowledge, synthetic a posteriori knowledge, meaningful knowledge, and skeptic knowledge. These types of knowledge help find some rules and guidelines to create and analyze concept maps for the purposes human and machine learning. The presence of these types of knowledge is elucidated using a real-life manufacturing knowledge representation case. Their implications in learning manufacturing knowledge are also described. The outcomes of this article help install knowledge-aware concept maps for discipline-based education.

Learning packaging design requires knowledge of the design theory and practice of packaging making that can then be applied in the community. Our packaging design class was first implemented as a regular program for five years and has been a service-learning (S-L) program for 13 years. We observed that the quality of packaging design learning improved after implementing the S-L program. In order to identify an effective program, we examined packaging design learning by comparing classes that use a regular program to classes that implement the S-L program. We collected the data from students' reflections and interviews with them. The study outcomes provide important discussions about S-L programs and how students enhance their learning by moving from passive through active learning to solve real design problems. Through the experiences of dealing with real clients and problems, students develop their sense of civic responsibility and citizenship. Moreover, students have contributed their packaging design to the welfare of urban and rural people in need. Regarding character development, students become more concerned with their attitudes. In addition to the positive outcomes from a S-L program, we also evaluate some challenges related to economic, cultural, and social aspects of S-L. The S-L program helps us to solve real problems in packaging design.

As there is a worldwide adoption of 3D printing (3DP) in many activity areas, formal education becomes mandatory for acquiring theoretical knowledge and hands-on skills for an efficient use, for bringing real contributions to the development of this technology and its applications. Truly digitally natives, Gen Z students are now entering higher forms of education. They are trained by Gen X and early Gen Y professors who should be able to cope not only with students' different set of skills and mind-set, but also, in case of 3D printing, with the media overexposure of this technology and, consequently, with a tendency of fast acquiring shallow knowledge and being auto-sufficient with this. In this context, our research examines the challenges and implications raised by 3DP curriculum aspects, providing a series of considerations and analyses based on literature review and on a long experience of teaching this topic in an engineering environment. Results of a survey aimed to understand Gen Z Romanian students' expectations on learning and teaching 3DP are also presented. We agree the idea that teaching should be adapted to student prior knowledge, not being practical and efficient to customize it to student trait. In the same time, we consider that knowing new generation characteristics, learning habits and preferences, as a group, can definitely support teachers in choosing the right tools and methods so that to improve correct content delivery and to ensure that this content efficiently reaches audience.

Finland has its own version of a "makerspace": craft class. Originally, there was one craft class for boys and one for girls. Later, there were classes for different materials, especially for wood and textiles, which are deep-rooted concepts in the Finnish crafts mindset. To reclaim craft class for pupils, or "makers", we must determine teachers' and pupils' mindsets concerning collaboration, differing interests and sharing. Craft is a compulsory learning-by-doing subject for pupils in grades one through seven, with activities based on craft expression, design and technology (CDT). This research is part of a national endeavour to develop innovative CDT as a basic education subject. The paper explores two pilot case studies in which technical and textile work teachers taught together in a shared learning environment, rather than in traditionally separate learning environments. The aim was to develop criteria for a new kind of learning environment that would promote learning to develop innovations and pupil's innovation competencies. The first study used a mixed methods approach, including systematic observation, inquiry and pair interviews of five co-teaching teams in primary school, to test the new teaching culture. The second study used an experience sampling method in the form of a mobile application to reveal various parts of pupils' design and making processes in a school setting. The key finding is that collaborative teams can support teachers' and pupils' innovative learning activities when the work is supported by shared spaces, practices and new tools. The paper concludes by relating preconditions for implementing makerspaces in the context of formal comprehensive education to learning outcomes, traditional workshops, learner differences and pedagogical innovation processes.

Literacy, in particular functional literacy in various fields and especially in the field of STEM, is becoming an increasing problem in modern-day society. The question arises, can the school system develop the kind of functional literacy in students, which allows them to fulfil, in real life, their personal and professional needs related to the competence of reading and creating written texts from the field of science, technology and engineering? The present research aimed to explore how students in today's schools are trained in functional literacy, especially in the fields of technology and engineering, and what kind of literacies in the field of STEM they are able to (or should be able to) master competently. The present research showed that students achieve relatively poor results in the area of functional literacy, both regarding their science literacy, and especially their technology and engineering literacy, which is a result of a lack of competence on behalf of mother-tongue teachers to develop this kind of functional literacy. Functional literacy should be developed by teachers of individual areas of STEM subjects.

This study examines how the rise in the share of higher education graduates leads to over-qualification, by focusing on the demand-side drivers. We propose that the benefits of investments in higher education depend on the levels of innovation and economic growth in each national economy. We use a configurational method (Fuzzy Set Qualitative Comparative Analysis) to identify combinations of factors that lead to a high incidence of over-qualification in 17 European countries. The results show that over-qualification is greater in countries in which an increase in the number of graduates is accompanied by a failure to transition to a knowledge-based economy and poor economic growth. Furthermore, a low weight of high-tech manufacturing sectors in the GDP is a necessary condition for over-qualification to occur. These arguments explain the more pronounced mismatch in Southern Europe and Austria compared to other European countries. As for policy implications, this study shows that investment in education did not lead to expected benefits in some countries because this investment did not boost competitiveness in high-tech sectors. Thus, alternative policies must be implemented. Besides investment in education, some kind of industrial policy seems necessary in a number of European countries.

Computer-aided design, manufacturing and engineering technologies (CAD/CAM/CAE) are a mainstay in today's industry and therefore they should be an important part in the current training plan of the graduate engineers. However, their implementation in the university environment presents certain barriers that make it difficult. In this work, we study the feasibility of the teaching proposal of the management of this type of tools through a Project-Based Learning method in a distance learning environment. The methodology has been implemented transversally in two Master's degree subjects related to advanced design and manufacturing and has been carried out thanks to the operation of the product lifecycle management platform software by virtual machines. The practice has given very good pedagogical results in the work of skills related to the field of industrial design and manufacturing. The virtual system has demonstrated high efficiency and students have shown a satisfactory evolution in their professional training.

Creating objects can increase our evaluation of them, even when we compare them to physically identical copies (IKEA effect). Here we evaluate the influence of collaboration on the IKEA effect in two societies--the United Kingdom and India. One hundred twenty-eight 5-to-6-year-old children (48% female, 50% British middle class, 50% Indian middle class) assembled toys in pairs. Half of the children collaborated to assemble a single toy and half assembled their own toy. In both societies, children demonstrated an IKEA effect (?2p = .19), valuing their own creation over an identical copy. This was the case regardless of whether children collaborated or worked independently. In summary, it seems that the IKEA effect is a potent bias that is present in diverse societies and is insensitive to others' contributions in a collaborative environment.

Mechanical assembly courses are widely set up for mechanical and vehicle engineering majors. Teaching in these classes is traditionally presented in the form of 2-D lectures, which are ineffective for students to understand complex 3-D information. The study presented in this article aimed to investigate whether augmented reality (AR) could improve students' learning efficacy in a mechanical assembly course. An AR-based assembly instruction app on mobile devices was developed, and a comparative research approach was adopted. A total of 104 junior students from four classes on automotive engineering at Nanjing Forestry University participated in the experiment during their professional skill training course. The control group was provided with handouts as usual, and the experimental group was required to use AR instructions during the assembly processes. Several evaluation indicators, such as assembly quality and speed, were recorded and analyzed at the same time. The results showed that such indicators were significantly improved with the utilization of AR. In addition, a questionnaire was specifically designed and distributed to all the students at the end of the course. It was found that several learning factors, such as learning interest and academic achievements in the experimental group, showed a positive correlation.

Public engagement in medicine has become more important in promoting population health management and literacy. Medicine is a topic of great societal importance, and many public engagement activities have been developed to promote this area. However, they often narrowly focus on patient groups, diseases, a singular pharmaceutical drug or analytical technique. Despite the importance of these activities, general audiences are still heavily reliant on doctors and pharmacists for information about their medicine and lack basic knowledge around medication use and personal safety. Given this, a broader engagement approach is warranted to target health literacy among the wider public. "Medicine Maker" is a hands-on public engagement workshop that provides audiences with the opportunity to "manufacture" and inspect the quality of proxy or "dummy" medicine through guided inquiry. Here, we detail the development of the Medicine Maker workshop from its origins in the teaching of Irish third-level pharmacy students, to its initial application with a variety of lay audiences. Formal and informal feedback from participants indicates that the workshop can help foster a more critical understanding of medicine manufacturing, quality control, and personal health.

Contribution: This article discusses the use of manufacturing simulation games to study collaborative problem-solving skills in engineering students. The simulation represents the mass production paradigm in which large quantities of identical products are produced. Empirical data is collected from the simulation to evaluate the skills engineering students used in solving the problem and their group effectiveness. Background: The use of simulation games to teach problem solving in design and manufacturing is an effective approach to convey concepts to students. Simulation games engage students in experiential and collaborative learning with fun elements. Research Questions: How does hands-on simulation engage students in collaborative problem solving? How does participation in collaborative problem solving affect group effectiveness? Methodology: This work presents a study of 37 university-level engineering students in the United States. Participants worked in groups completing the simulation game and responded to surveys on their various skills used. Findings: Participants utilized analytical, metacognitive, and thinking skills in their engagement, reported that the simulation games enhanced their understanding of manufacturing concepts and active collaboration improved problem-solving effectiveness.

Opportunity youth (OY; i.e., youth ages 16--24 who are neither working nor in school) are a population who is difficult to engage and retain in educational programs, particularly in community college career and technical education (CTE) programs. OY are an important population to community colleges, as CTE programs culminating in industry-recognized credentials and employment constitute an important on-ramp to the workforce for young adults. The Manufacturing Training Program is a vocational training program offered at a local community college in Phoenix, Arizona that was informed by input from youth and service providers to support OY in obtaining the necessary technical skills/credential for entry-level employment in manufacturing. Researchers conducted a qualitative study using in-depth interviews with 32 program stakeholders and beneficiaries (i.e., 14 staff and 18 youth). Data were coded and analyzed using content analysis to identify major themes for each stakeholder and beneficiary group interviewed as well as working hypotheses to guide future CTE program development. Findings suggest that there are both challenges and successes related to recruiting, retaining and employing OY. Recruitment challenges include lack of information about and disinterest in manufacturing, whereas successes include leveraging family members in recruiting youth. Retention challenges include meeting OYs' basic needs, whereas successes include providing quality case management. Employment challenges include limited employer participation whereas successes include developing an effective process to connect employers with trained youth. Findings and lessons learned on recruitment, retention, and employment challenges and successes offer direction for community colleges to develop and strengthen CTE programs for OY.

Building on sociocultural theories of literacy learning, in this article, we think at the intersection of reader response theory and multimodal literacies to examine how 13 preservice teachers in the course Teaching Social Sciences Through the Arts remediated responses to Francisco Jiménez's "The Circuit: Stories From the Life of a Migrant Child" through additive manufacturing (i.e. 3D printing) and arts-integrated making. Through qualitative analyses of participants' in situ processes and product(s), we identified a range of ideological and material supports and constraints during the digital fabrication process. Reading and responding to text--as mediated actions and events--became iterative spaces wherein individual understandings of text transformed into encounters of difference. Suggesting that participants' artifactual responses at times operated as critical literacy texts, our analyses of 3D fabrication and remediated responses led us to consider how modalities of composition yielded unique affordances and constraints to the ways readers encountered texts and expressed and responded to controversial social issues.

The development of intercultural communicative competence (ICC) becomes increasingly important in the world language curriculum and a crucial goal to prepare students for real-life communicative situations outside of the classroom. This article discusses how a simulation exercise based on the contentious construction of the Tesla Gigafactory in Grünheide, Germany, facilitated the growth of students' ability to take perspectives other than their own -- a crucial step toward ICC. Using the controversies about the Tesla Gigafactory as a real-world case study, students participated in a role-play simulation, set up as a town hall meeting, where they had to develop arguments whether Tesla should be given the official construction permit or not. This project-based and student-led exercise was designed to develop critical awareness of the cultural intricacy of the Tesla case by considering authentic dilemmas and conflicting perspectives. The activity was implemented in a virtual study abroad, advanced-level German course. Comparing responses from a student feedback survey with Byram's ICC model (2021) suggests that the exercise helped students increase their factual knowledge, skills of interpreting, relating, discovering, and interacting, and develop differentiated understanding of other perspectives -- important 21st-century ICC skills for a global life and work environment.

In the face of information technology changes, not all students will have access to the means to prepare for this future of work. In addressing this issue, in this study, the authors investigate the impact of a 'Making as Micro-Manufacturing (M[superscript 2])' model in motivating STEM-activity participation and developing self-efficacy among high-schoolers hailing from an underserved community. The approach involved integrating practice-based learning and activities into a high-school class curriculum resulting in the production of small-batch volumes of products in real-world settings for everyday use like instructional kits for elementary school learning. Pre- and post-surveys were administered to ascertain the differences in students' Making and engineering self-efficacy tendencies. Our results saw increases in the students' Making and engineering self-efficacy across multiple dimensions and in-situ during a production process. In addition, our results also quantify and characterize that kinds of helping behaviours that occur in the students' own self-organised production team.