ABSTRACT
Design as a vehicle for applying and extending content knowledge is central to engineering education. In nearly all disciplines, from mechanical to electrical to software engineering, undergraduate seniors undertake complex design challenges to practice using the analytic techniques, tools, and theory that they have studied over 4 years. In recent years, educators and researchers in both elementary and secondary settings have developed an interest in design as well. Rather than seeing it as a vehicle for applying content knowledge, they envision using design experiences to promote discovering and learning content. This is because design has certain characteristic features that make it ideal for the construction of knowledge.
