The effect of alternative approaches to design instruction (structural or functional) on students’ mental models of technological design processes

The study aimed to examine the relationship between alternative approaches towards problem solving/design teaching (structural or functional), students’ mental modeling of the design process, and the quality of their solutions to design tasks. The structural approach emphasizes the need for an ordered and systematic learning of the design process stages, while the functional approach emphasizes the teaching and study of design functions (rather than stages). Participants were 80 seventh graders, divided into two groups, who were taught a unit on technological problem solving by either approach in the course of 14 classes (21 h) during a semester. Before, during and after the design process of a technological solution the students represented their perception of the design process. The results for both groups were analyzed in terms of: (a) types of models generated; (b) changes in type of models along the learning/design process; (c) defining characteristics of the design process models. Significant differences between the groups’ models were found for most variables examined. The functional approach was more effective than the traditional structural approach for supporting the construction of holistic, flexible, and effective mental models of the design process of technological solutions.