What is Technology and Engineering Education?

Technology Education is the area of education that specifically concerns the professional organization, the International Technology Education Association (ITEA), and for which ITEA’s Technology for All Americans Project (TfAAP) developed the set of technological literacy standards contained in Standards for Technological Literacy: Content for the Study of Technology (STL) and Advancing Excellence in Technological Literacy: Student Assessment, Professional Development, and Program Standard (STL). These standards are concerned with preparing students for the technological world. The Standards for Technological Literacy introduced how technology shapes our society over time and what effects it might have. It also highlights the importance of design and its processes. The design processes are a key element in problem-solving. The abilities for a Technological World addresses the use and maintenance of technical systems and students’ ability to assess these systems. The Designed World discusses how the resources we have today, such as materials, tools, machines, people, information, energy, capital and time all contribute to the products and systems that make our world function efficiently and effectively. The seven Designed Worlds are identified as medical, energy and power, transportation, construction, agricultural & bio-related, communication and info systems, and manufacturing technologies.

Design thinking is a process for creative problem solving.

Design thinking has a human-centered core. It encourages organizations to focus on the people they're creating for, which leads to better products, services, and internal processes. When you sit down to create a solution for a business need, the first question should always be what's the human need behind it?

In employing design thinking, you’re pulling together what’s desirable from a human point of view with what is technologically feasible and economically viable. It also allows those who aren't trained as designers to use creative tools to address a vast range of challenges. The process starts with taking action and understanding the right questions. It’s about embracing simple mindset shifts and tackling problems from a new direction.

The design processes is a series of steps taken to come up with a solution to a problem. Many times the solution involves designing a product (like a machine or computer code) that meets certain criteria and/or accomplishes a certain task. There are many different models of the design process that are used across various fields. The design processes is not a linear processes, but a consistent repetitive series of steps. It is common to go back and repeat steps in the design process to optimize your results.

The steps:

1. Identify & Define the Problem
2. Research & Investigation
3. Brainstorm possible solutions
4. Develop a solution
5. Test & Evaluate
6. Redesign & Improvements

Each version of the design process has slight differences in wording but emphasizes the same processes/ approach to problem solving.