Digital design tools as computer aided design (CAD) are commonly used when teaching about design and product development in Swedish lower secondary school technology education. From a previous phenomenographical study (Brink et al., 2021), it is known that teachers are experiencing teaching with CAD to be complex, challenging and include several learning outcomes. Teaching with CAD thus enables differentiated teaching and it is important to learn more about this teaching, especially regarding gifted students.  

The aim of this ongoing study is to describe gifted students’ needs in technology education and identifying important features in technology education regarding gifted students’ needs. The study also aims to develop knowledge about teaching with digital design tools as CAD in inclusive and differentiated settings and describe from a teacher perspective, if and how teaching with digital design tools can stimulate and challenge gifted students in lower secondary school.

The first part of this study is planned as a scoping review and a content analysis of policy document and available resources for Swedish technology education. This will result in a theoretical framework for use in the second part of the study. The second part is planned as an intervention study where researcher and teachers together develop, analyze and document a CAD activity through three different workshops (3 – 5 teachers at each workshop), for use in lower secondary school technology education. Data will be collected through observations, documents from the workshops and from semi-structured interviews with the participating teachers after the workshops. The qualitative data will be analyzed with the theoretical framework from the first part of the study. It is expected that the result of the study can be used to guide teachers in technology to better include and challenge gifted students in learning. The results are also expected to increase the knowledge base of differentiated technology education in inclusive settings, with relevance for Nordic educational research with interests in technology education and gifted education. The results can also be important for technology teachers and teacher educators. 

Brink, H., Kilbrink, N., & Gericke, N. (2021). Teaching digital models: Secondary technology teachers’ experiences. International Journal of Technology and Design Education. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10798-021-09659-5