Browsing by Subject "tutkiva yhteisöllinen suunnittelu"

The aim of this thesis was to study how pupils experienced a design process, part of the Design challenge for Everyday activities. In the project, small groups of pupils brainstormed, planned and built prototypes to solve everyday challenges. The project was based on collaborative knowledge creation and learning through design. The process followed the learning by collaborative design model, in which sharing knowledge and collaboration are key. The interaction between the pupils, as well as the internal co-operation in the groups, was studied in detail. Analysis was also made of the way in which the pupils made design decisions and described their inventions. The study is part of the Co4Lab – research project on phenomenon learning in primary schools. The data for the study was collected from the first design trials at Espoo Koulumestari school during the autumn of 2016. The data comprised the written responses of 42 pupils. The pupils took part in the invention design project during the spring of their fifth school year, and wrote their text responses the next autumn. In the written responses, the pupils were asked to describe their design process and inventions from different aspects. The project continued through the next spring, and diary texts written by the pupils in the spring of 2017 were added to the material. The material was analysed using theory-directed content analysis. The pupils described the learning by collaborative design phases in varied ways. Sharing knowledge and collaboration were especially mentioned as reciprocative taking part, division of tasks, communication and taking others into account. Expert advise and collecting information were not mentioned, even though the visit of a design expert, as well as a museum trip were part of the project. The pupils described their inventions from the versatile perspectives of needs, usage, technology, looks, structure and marketing. They were able to divide their projects into distinct phases, even though they were not taught the learning by collaborative design model. They also were able to describe many aspects of their inventions, as well as give reasoned arguments for their specific design decisions.