No sistema produtivo contemporâneo, o design é uma atividade central, pois responde pelo projeto de bens e serviços. Design não está, todavia, relacionado apenas com as capacidades criativas ou com leituras estéticas do projetista – como faz crer o uso popular da palavra - englobando profissionais dos mais diversos domínios. Um engenheiro eletrônico que projeta circuitos; um engenheiro mecânico que projeta motores; um arquiteto que projeta um edifício; um designer gráfico que projeta uma marca; um analista que projeta um software: todos são designers. Em comum estes profissionais têm o mesmo tipo de problema, e assim o percurso cognitivo destes profissionais é similar. Da mesma forma, espera-se que um designer que projeta um artefato educacional digital também apresente comportamentos semelhantes durante o processo de projeto. Todavia, como é regra para a atividade de design, o projeto de artefato educacionais digitais tem seus desafios. Neste caso específico, o desafio do designer está no fato de que ele não pode projetar sozinho. Até mesmo nas etapas iniciais do projeto - quando se está gerando idéias e explorando conceitos, quando não se tem clara a forma ou mesmo a estrutura do artefato – o designer não pode projetar sozinho. Isto porque, para este tipo de artefato, o conhecimento e as habilidades do designer precisam ser orientadas por educadores e especialistas no domínio. Neste cenário se colocam as questões de pesquisa desta tese, que buscam compreender qual papel o designer tem enquanto membro de uma equipe de desenvolvimento de artefatos digitais educacionais. Como se entende que o designer não pode projetar este tipo de artefato sozinho, os objetivos específicos desta tese relacionam-se à cooperação com outro especialista: o educador. Deseja-se investigar como estes profissionais constroem colaborativamente o espaço do problema; quais estratégias de projeto os designers utilizam; e se há evidências de sobreposição entre os domínios pertinentes ao problema (neste caso, “educação”, “design” e “química”). Utilizando métodos adaptados à análise de atividades de design, investigou-se a atividade de duas duplas – formadas por um designer e por um educador especialista no domínio – buscando regularidades que pudessem responder à tais questões. Os resultados sugerem que a complexidade do tema não é um fator tão marcante para a qualidade do projeto quanto a estratégia utilizada pelo designer. Quando o designer decidiu tentar “brifar” seu colega – a fim de estruturar seu conhecimento sobre o tema para embasar o projeto – o efeito da complexidade do tema se fez sentir. Já quando o designer buscou integrar rapidamente as informações recebidas de seu colega educador ao projeto - sem antes buscar estruturar seu conhecimento sobre o tema – o efeito do tema foi tênue. Nenhuma destas estratégias corresponde à descrição de processos de design reportadas na literatura. Ao utilizar a estratégia de “integrar o mais rápido possível”, o designer deixou claras algumas de suas concepções a respeito dos processos de ensino e aprendizagem; teorias implícitas provavelmente construídas durante sua exposição à educação formal. Ao usar a estratégia “estruturar para depois projetar”, o designer não demonstrou identificar implicações e potenciais estruturais da orientação teórica seguida pelo seu colega. Estes resultados podem fundamentar – em pesquisas futuras - uma discussão a respeito da necessidade da atenção à formação de designers para trabalhar no projeto de artefatos digitais educacionais. / In the contemporary production system, design is a central activity, as it is the mean to provide artifacts and services. Design is not, however, related solely to the creative skills or aesthetic preferences of the designer - as the popular use of the word may seem to - comprising professionals from various fields. An electronic engineer who designs circuits, a mechanical engineer who designs engines, an architect who designs a building, a graphic designer who designs a brand, an analyst who designs software: they are all designers. These professionals have in common the same kind of problem, and thus their cognitive routes are similar. Likewise, it is expected that a designer who designs an educational digital artifact also presents similar behavior during the design process. However, as a rule for the design activity, the design of educational digital artifact has its challenges. In the case of this particular class of problem, the designer's challenge is the fact that he cannot design alone. Even in the early stages of the project – idea generation and concept exploration, when there is no clear shape or structure of the artifact - the designer cannot design alone. This is because, for this type of artifact, the knowledge and skills of the designer need to be guided by educators and specialists in the field. In this scenario, the research questions of this thesis is raised, which seeks to understand what role the designer has as a member of a team of educational development of digital artifacts. How does he build the problem space? What strategies does he use when he has knowledge to design alone? How do the domains of design and education intersect and overlap? Using methods adapted to the analysis of design activities, the activity of two pairs of subjects were recorded – the pairs consisting of a designer and an expert educator in the field - looking for regularities that could answer the questions of the thesis. The results suggest that the complexity of the subject area (chemistry) was not a factor as remarkable for the quality of the project as the strategy used by the designer. When the designer decided to "brief" his colleague - to structure his knowledge on the subject area to support of the project - the effect of the complexity of the issue was felt. But when the designer sought to quickly integrate the information received from his fellow educator within the project - without first seeking to structure his knowledge on the subject - the effect of topic was tenuous. None of these strategies corresponds to the description of design processes reported in the literature. By using the strategy “integrate as soon as possible”, the designer made his perception about the processes of teaching and learning clear: implicit theories probably built during his exposure to formal education. By using the strategy "structure and then design”, the designer did not spot potential structural implications of the theoretical orientation followed by his colleague. These results support a discussion about the need of special education for designers who will work with educational digital artifacts.

Design thinking and decision-making during the design process have been found to be hierarchical, representing a general pattern in which designers consider various types of intentions while conceptualising their particular design idea (Haupt, 2018; Vermaas, 2009). Hierarchical thinking can be observed through the investigation of thought development as evidenced in designers’ external representation strategies. The current CAPS document for the subject Engineering Graphics and Design seems to neglect the preliminary design phase of the design process and the connection with hierarchical thinking and idea transformation. As such, research is required to trace novice designers’ thinking processes and the transformation of their ideas. The purpose of this study is to explore and describe how novice designers’ hierarchical thinking processes support the transformation of ideas during preliminary design. In order to study the hierarchical thinking and idea transformation of designers, I adopted Extended Design Cognition and hierarchical thinking theories as the conceptual framework in this study. A mixed methods design was employed, embedded in a Critical Realist approach. Four third-year Industrial Design student participants from a local University of Technology in Gauteng were purposefully sampled. Verbal and visual data (sketches, 3D models, physical artefacts and gestures) were generated and documented by means of an in-vivo methodology and analysed qualitatively and quantitatively by means of ATLAS.ti. This study found that novice designers’ consideration of particular abstract aspectual intentions guided the way in which they generated and transformed their ideas. This study also found that they experienced a need to find a fit between their functional intentions and physical elements, allowing them to make both lateral and vertical transformations. This study contributes to the knowledge base on novice designers’ design cognition, specifically in terms of designers’ hierarchical thinking and idea transformation. To this end, this study provides pedagogical guidelines for current and future EGD teachers. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2019. / Science, Mathematics and Technology Education / MEd / Unrestricted

The purpose of my study was to describe the manner in which Grade 9 technology learners typically accessed and used information sources during the early phases of their design processes. I did this by using an Extended Cognition framework to study the internal and external information sources that learners typically accessed and used in a technology learning environment. Theoretically, my study aimed to develop the application of the Extended Cognition Theory in an educational context. In this manner, my study adds to the scarce literature on design cognition in technology education. The methodological purpose of this study was to adapt conventional Think Aloud Protocol methods (TAPS) to investigate groups of learners in their natural technology learning environment. This methodology enabled me to understand the link between theoretical and empirical approaches of design cognition. As such, I was able to conceptualise practical guidelines that could be used by technology lecturers and teachers for the effective facilitation of the early phases of design processes. The conceptual framework of my study was adapted from empirical studies of expert designers, and is underpinned by the Information Processing and Embodiment theories. I followed a concurrent mixed methods approach and employed a case study design applying pragmatic assumptions. The target population for this study comprised Grade 9 learners based in a low socio-economic region. Eight female participants were purposefully selected and conveniently clustered into three groups: two groups of three participants, and one group of two participants. Data collection therefore consisted of three separately video recorded protocol studies. I was able to elicit the information access and usage activities of the participants by providing them with a design task that I adapted from a prescribed textbook, as suggested for technology by the Department of Basic Education. During the video recordings of the participants’ design processes, I was able to collect concurrent verbal, visual and temporal data types. I analysed the data according to a five-level framework, also adapted from the empirical investigations of expert designers. During my quantitative data analysis, I identified the occurrences of each group of participants’ cognitive phases, as well as the occurrences of their information access and use activities during each cognitive phase. On the one hand, problem structuring did not occur regularly. However, during their problem structuring activities, the participants mainly accessed and used instructions contained in the design task and pictures. On the other hand, the participants predominantly exhibited problem solving cognitive phases in which they mainly accessed and used external information sources including pictures and sketches. During my qualitative data analysis, I traced how the participants transformed their understanding of the design problem and possible design solutions. During problem structuring, the participants accessed information about the users’ needs, the design context and design objectives by perceiving and recognising useful information in their design task instructions and pictures. Information use during problem structuring was evidenced when the participants transformed information that they accessed to propose design objectives, constraints and requirements. Accessed information was typically transformed when the participants: (1) Read/evaluated information from the design task; (2) Evaluated the problem/context; (3) Evaluated/Elaborated information about the design objective; (4) Justified a design requirement; (5) Proposed/justified a design constraint; (6) Evaluated/Elaborated available resources in the environment; (7) Elaborated on the design context. During problem solving, the participants accessed information about the function, behaviour and structure of possible design solutions by perceiving and recognising useful information, primarily in their sketches, 3D models and pictures. Information use during problem solving was evidenced when the participants transformed accessed information to propose design specifications and limitations. Accessed information was typically transformed when the participants: (1) Evaluated existing solutions; (2) Proposed design limitations; (3) Modified existing solutions; (4) Proposed/evaluated a design idea; (5) Elaborated on a design idea; (6) Justified ideas; (7) Qualified ideas; (8) Modified previous design ideas. From the findings of my study, I could develop practical guidelines for current and future technology teachers. These guidelines should help technology teachers to effectively facilitate information rich design thinking during the early phases of learners’ design processes. I conclude this study by reiterating that the participants’ design cognition was enhanced by the availability of various information sources. This implies that technology teachers play a central role as information providers and mediators. Failure to provide adequate information sources during design tasks might inhibit learners’ development of the proficient design skills intended by the technology Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) document. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2015. / National Research Foundation (NRF) / Science, Mathematics and Technology Education / MEd / Unrestricted

In response to STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) educational reform, pedagogical approaches such as technological/engineering design-based learning (T/E DBL) have received increased emphasis as a means to enrich student learning and develop their higher-order cognitive competencies. Despite students exposure to the T and E of STEM as a means to make connections and improve learning (NAE and NRC, 2009), there still exists minimal evidence such experiences have a positive impact on their cognition and achievement (Honey, Pearson, and Schweingruber, 2014). Additionally, although research has well illustrated the design cognition of professional designers, and even students at the collegiate level, few investigations of high school students' cognitive activity during designing has been undertaken (Crismond and Adams, 2012; Hynes, 2012; Lammi and Becker, 2013). Furthermore, as researchers have begun to address this gap, broad coding schemes have been employed, describing students' cognitive efforts in terms of comprehensive categories such as formulation, analysis, and synthesis. However, as previous research has demonstrated nuances among existing categories (Purcell, Gero, Edwards, and McNeill, 1996), what has yet to be done is describe K-12 students' cognitive behaviors in terms of these underlying mechanisms. The purpose of this study was to characterize students' cognitive processes during engineering design at a more distinct level, which can increase understanding and begin to address the minimal attempts to 'connect research findings on how people design with what teachers need to understand and do to help K-16 students improve their design capability and learn through design activities" (Crismond and Adams, 2012, p. 738). The methodology of this study was informed by procedures of cognitive science and verbal protocol analysis. The primary form of data analyzed was audio and video recordings of the design task. The recorded data, in transcript form, was coded using the Purcell, Gero, Edwards, and McNeill (1996) framework. These coded data were then analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Findings from this study revealed that significant differences existed between high school seniors who took pre-engineering courses, and those who did not when engaged in Consulting Information about the Problem (Cp) and in considering System issues, which examined the problem from the point of view of the user. Additionally, Proposing a Solution (Ps), Postponing a Design Action (Pd), and Looking Back (Lb) approached a value of statistical significance in differences between the groups of participants. Findings also characterized how students exert the most and least amount of their cognitive effort in relation to the Problem Domain: Degree of Abstraction and Strategy Classification coding schemes. / Ph. D.

Analogy is ubiquitous in human cognition. One of the important questions related to understanding the situated nature of analogy-making is how people retrieve source analogues via their interactions with external environments. This dissertation studies interactive analogical retrieval in the context of biologically inspired design (BID). BID involves creative use of analogies to biological systems to develop solutions for complex design problems (e.g., designing a device for acquiring water in desert environments based on the analogous fog-harvesting abilities of the Namibian Beetle). Finding the right biological analogues is one of the critical first steps in BID. Designers routinely search online in order to find their biological sources of inspiration. But this task of online bio-inspiration seeking represents an instance of interactive analogical retrieval that is extremely time consuming and challenging to accomplish. This dissertation focuses on understanding and supporting the task of online bio-inspiration seeking. Through a series of field studies, this dissertation uncovered the salient characteristics and challenges of online bio-inspiration seeking. An information-processing model of interactive analogical retrieval was developed in order to explain those challenges and to identify the underlying causes. A set of measures were put forth to ameliorate those challenges by targeting the identified causes. These measures were then implemented in an online information-seeking technology designed to specifically support the task of online bio-inspiration seeking. Finally, the validity of the proposed measures was investigated through a series of experimental studies and a deployment study. The trends are encouraging and suggest that the proposed measures has the potential to change the dynamics of online bio-inspiration seeking in favor of ameliorating the identified challenges of online bio-inspiration seeking.

This thesis explores new ways to integrate manufacturing processes information in to design phases. Through the use of design for manufacturing (DfM) concept, and looking at relations between its potential application in architectural production and its implementation using digital manufacturing technologies, the author implemented a DfM model that varies from previous models by incorporated learning in the process. This process was based on the incremental development and refinement of design heuristics and metrics. The DfM model developed in this research is a process model to be implemented as a framework within educational settings. The proposed model is based in two basic strategies; first a process description in the form of alternative design strategies; and second, the implementation of design heuristics and design metrics. Subsequently, the author tested and refined the model using a sequence of case studies with students. In the final stage, the research evaluated and further developed the DfM model in a component design case study. The general purpose in performing this case studies sequence was to test the proposed DfM model. The second objective was to refine the DfM model by capturing knowledge from the case studies. As a summary, this research conceptualizes from this top-down development approach to create a design for manufacturing model that integrates design and construction in architecture, based on three possible applications fields; DfM teaching approaches development, design processes improvement; and DfM methods development. The final purpose is to provide better foundational constructs for architectural education and to improve teaching approaches that integrate design and manufacturing.

Biologically inspired design (BID) is a widespread and growing movement in modern design, pulled in part by the need for environmentally sustainable design and pushed partly by rapid advances in biology and the desire for creativity and innovation in design. Yet, our current understanding of cognition in BID is limited and at present there are few computational methods or tools available for supporting its practice. In this dissertation, I develop a cognitive model of BID, build computational methods and tools for supporting its practice, and describe results from deploying the methods and the tools in a Georgia Tech BID class. One key and novel finding in my cognitive study of BID is the surprisingly large degree to which biological analogues influence problem formulation and understanding in addition to generation of design solutions. I call the process by which a biological analogue influences the evolution of the problem formulation analogical problem evolution. I use the method of grounded theory to develop a knowledge schema called SR.BID (for structured representations for biologically inspired design) for representing design problem formulations. I show through case study analysis that SR.BID provides a useful analytic framework for understanding the two-way interaction between problems and solutions. I then develop two tools based on the SR.BID schema to scaffold the processes of problem formulation and analogue evaluation in BID. I deployed the two tools, the four-box method of problem specification and the T-chart method of analogical evaluation, in a Georgia Tech BID class. I show that with minimal training, the four-box method was used by students to complete design problem specifications in 2011 and 2012 with 75% of students achieving better than 80% accuracy. Finally I describe a web-based application for interactively supporting BID practice including problem formulation and analogue evaluation. Thus, my dissertation develops a cognitive model of analogical problem evolution in BID, a knowledge schema for representing problem formulations, a computational technique for evaluating biological analogues, and an interactive web-based tool for supporting BID practice. Through a better cognitive understanding of BID and computational methods and tools for supporting its practice, it also contributes to computational creativity.

Em projetos arquitetônicos, lápis e papel continuam sendo os instrumentos mais usados para elaborar desenhos à mão livre para dar suporte às atividades das etapas iniciais de projeto. Ferramentas digitais convencionalmente utilizadas por arquitetos carecem de funcionalidade apropriada e não oferecem interfaces amigáveis para os estágios iniciais de concepção arquitetônica. A solução para estes problemas fundamenta-se em dois apoios tecnológicos: (i) em dispositivos de hardware já disponíveis que podem ajudar projetistas a expressar suas ideias através de sketches à mão livre; e (ii) em princípios de funcionalidade presentes em softwares experimentais os quais, combinados com hardware apropriados, poderiam oferecer interações humano-computador amigáveis e intuitivas nas etapas iniciais de projetos arquitetônicos. Esta pesquisa revisa e sintetiza literatura relevante à esta hipótese, especialmente quanto às formas como projetistas de arquitetura interagem com os computadores, como dispositivos de entrada restringem possíveis interações e como diferentes funcionalidades podem ser exploradas através dessas interações. A revisão do estado da arte dos softwares experimentais de modelagem baseada em sketch para projetos arquitetônicos permitiu descrever em detalhe as funcionalidades oferecidas e argumentar que, se combinadas, essas funcionalidades forneceriam um apoio mais adequado para as etapas iniciais de projeto arquitetônico. Cenários de uso são desenvolvidos para explorar tais combinações e demonstrar possibilidades atuais e futuras das ferramentas digitais durante a fase de concepção do projeto arquitetônico. / In architectural design, pencil and paper remain the most used media to create freehand drawings to support the activities of early designing stages. Digital tools conventionally used by architects lack of appropriated functionality and do not offer friendly interfaces for early stages of architectural designing. The solutions for these problems are twofold: (i) hardware already available can help designers to express their first ideas by freehand sketches; and (ii) functionality principles are present in experimental software and, combined with appropriate hardware, could successfully provide a friendly and intuitive human-computer interaction in the early stages of architectural designing. This research revises and synthesizes literature relevant to this hypothesis, taking special attention to the way architectural designers interact with computers, how input devices constrain possible interactions and how functionalities can be explored through these interactions. The update to the state-of-the-art studies in experimental, sketch-based modeling software for architectural design allowed detailed descriptions of the functionality they offer and allowed to argue that, combined, this functionality would provide a more adequate support for initial stages of architectural designing. Scenarios of use are developed, exploring such combination and demonstrating current and future possibilities for digital tools to use during initial stages of architectural designing.

Em projetos arquitetônicos, lápis e papel continuam sendo os instrumentos mais usados para elaborar desenhos à mão livre para dar suporte às atividades das etapas iniciais de projeto. Ferramentas digitais convencionalmente utilizadas por arquitetos carecem de funcionalidade apropriada e não oferecem interfaces amigáveis para os estágios iniciais de concepção arquitetônica. A solução para estes problemas fundamenta-se em dois apoios tecnológicos: (i) em dispositivos de hardware já disponíveis que podem ajudar projetistas a expressar suas ideias através de sketches à mão livre; e (ii) em princípios de funcionalidade presentes em softwares experimentais os quais, combinados com hardware apropriados, poderiam oferecer interações humano-computador amigáveis e intuitivas nas etapas iniciais de projetos arquitetônicos. Esta pesquisa revisa e sintetiza literatura relevante à esta hipótese, especialmente quanto às formas como projetistas de arquitetura interagem com os computadores, como dispositivos de entrada restringem possíveis interações e como diferentes funcionalidades podem ser exploradas através dessas interações. A revisão do estado da arte dos softwares experimentais de modelagem baseada em sketch para projetos arquitetônicos permitiu descrever em detalhe as funcionalidades oferecidas e argumentar que, se combinadas, essas funcionalidades forneceriam um apoio mais adequado para as etapas iniciais de projeto arquitetônico. Cenários de uso são desenvolvidos para explorar tais combinações e demonstrar possibilidades atuais e futuras das ferramentas digitais durante a fase de concepção do projeto arquitetônico. / In architectural design, pencil and paper remain the most used media to create freehand drawings to support the activities of early designing stages. Digital tools conventionally used by architects lack of appropriated functionality and do not offer friendly interfaces for early stages of architectural designing. The solutions for these problems are twofold: (i) hardware already available can help designers to express their first ideas by freehand sketches; and (ii) functionality principles are present in experimental software and, combined with appropriate hardware, could successfully provide a friendly and intuitive human-computer interaction in the early stages of architectural designing. This research revises and synthesizes literature relevant to this hypothesis, taking special attention to the way architectural designers interact with computers, how input devices constrain possible interactions and how functionalities can be explored through these interactions. The update to the state-of-the-art studies in experimental, sketch-based modeling software for architectural design allowed detailed descriptions of the functionality they offer and allowed to argue that, combined, this functionality would provide a more adequate support for initial stages of architectural designing. Scenarios of use are developed, exploring such combination and demonstrating current and future possibilities for digital tools to use during initial stages of architectural designing.

Em projetos arquitetônicos, lápis e papel continuam sendo os instrumentos mais usados para elaborar desenhos à mão livre para dar suporte às atividades das etapas iniciais de projeto. Ferramentas digitais convencionalmente utilizadas por arquitetos carecem de funcionalidade apropriada e não oferecem interfaces amigáveis para os estágios iniciais de concepção arquitetônica. A solução para estes problemas fundamenta-se em dois apoios tecnológicos: (i) em dispositivos de hardware já disponíveis que podem ajudar projetistas a expressar suas ideias através de sketches à mão livre; e (ii) em princípios de funcionalidade presentes em softwares experimentais os quais, combinados com hardware apropriados, poderiam oferecer interações humano-computador amigáveis e intuitivas nas etapas iniciais de projetos arquitetônicos. Esta pesquisa revisa e sintetiza literatura relevante à esta hipótese, especialmente quanto às formas como projetistas de arquitetura interagem com os computadores, como dispositivos de entrada restringem possíveis interações e como diferentes funcionalidades podem ser exploradas através dessas interações. A revisão do estado da arte dos softwares experimentais de modelagem baseada em sketch para projetos arquitetônicos permitiu descrever em detalhe as funcionalidades oferecidas e argumentar que, se combinadas, essas funcionalidades forneceriam um apoio mais adequado para as etapas iniciais de projeto arquitetônico. Cenários de uso são desenvolvidos para explorar tais combinações e demonstrar possibilidades atuais e futuras das ferramentas digitais durante a fase de concepção do projeto arquitetônico. / In architectural design, pencil and paper remain the most used media to create freehand drawings to support the activities of early designing stages. Digital tools conventionally used by architects lack of appropriated functionality and do not offer friendly interfaces for early stages of architectural designing. The solutions for these problems are twofold: (i) hardware already available can help designers to express their first ideas by freehand sketches; and (ii) functionality principles are present in experimental software and, combined with appropriate hardware, could successfully provide a friendly and intuitive human-computer interaction in the early stages of architectural designing. This research revises and synthesizes literature relevant to this hypothesis, taking special attention to the way architectural designers interact with computers, how input devices constrain possible interactions and how functionalities can be explored through these interactions. The update to the state-of-the-art studies in experimental, sketch-based modeling software for architectural design allowed detailed descriptions of the functionality they offer and allowed to argue that, combined, this functionality would provide a more adequate support for initial stages of architectural designing. Scenarios of use are developed, exploring such combination and demonstrating current and future possibilities for digital tools to use during initial stages of architectural designing.