Understanding young students' problem solving pathways: Building a design process model based on sequential analysis

Abstract

Many STEM-related K-12 education standards, such as the Next Generation Science Standards, Standards for Technological Literacy, and Common Core Mathematics Standards, place great emphasis on designing as a way of delivering their core concepts. However, the classroom delivery of the design process has been the focus of very few studies. Particularly, most designbased lessons use a design process model, which poses a challenge for many engineering and technology educators. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the actual process of engineering design using the sequential pattern analysis method. The researchers collected ten Concurrent Think-Aloud (CTA) protocols from fourth grade elementary students. The collected CTA sessions were coded using Halfin's codes, and then analyzed using the sequential pattern analysis method. The study results suggested there exist iterative patterns of design cycles when participant students were more likely to follow specific iterative sequential patterns. To better illustrate these design behaviors, the researchers created a design pattern model based on the sequential analysis.