Background: This study focuses on probing preservice technology teachers’ cognitive structures and how they construct engineering design in technology-learning activities and explores the effects of infusing an engineering design process into science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) project-based learning to develop preservice technology teachers’ cognitive structures for engineering design thinking. Results: The study employed a quasi-experimental design, and twenty-eight preservice technology teachers participated in the teaching experiment. The flow-map method and metalistening technique were utilized to enable preservice technology teachers to create flow maps of engineering design, and a chi-square test was employed to analyze the data. The results suggest that (1) applying the engineering design process to STEM project-based learning is beneficial for developing preservice technology teachers’ schema of design thinking, especially with respect to clarifying the problem, generating ideas, modeling, and feasibility analysis, and (2) it is important to encourage teachers to further explore the systematic concepts of engineering design thinking and expand their abilities by merging the engineering design process into STEM project-based learning. Conclusions: The findings of this study provide initial evidence on the effects of infusing the engineering design process into STEM project-based learning to develop preservice technology teachers’ engineering design thinking. However, further work should focus on exploring how to overcome the weaknesses of preservice technology teachers’ engineering design thinking by adding a few elements of engineering design thinking pedagogy, e.g., designing learning activities that are relevant to real life.

Background: STEM education has become a focus of research and teaching interest in recent years. However, not all scholars agree on the definition and purpose of STEM education. This paper summarizes related past research and suggests that, according to the requirements of Taiwan’s educational environment, STEM education should focus on the cultivation of middle school students’ attitudes toward technology and their ability to engage with technological inquiry. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore the effects of STEM education on attitudes toward technology and technological inquiry abilities of middle school students, this study used the 6E Learning byDeSIGN™ model proposed by the International Technology and Engineering Educators Association in the US to design a 6E-oriented STEM practical activity. Sample: The sample of the study consisted of 139 seventh-grade students from six different classes who participated in a practical activity related to egg protection devices. Design and methods: To achieve this research purpose, a quasi-experimental design was used, with pre-treatment and post-treatment evaluations of each group. Both the experimental and control groups participated in the activity; however, the experimental group students were guided through the activity using a 6E teaching strategy, whereas the control group students were guided using a problem-solving teaching strategy. Results: The results showed that a 6E teaching strategy had a positive effect on middle school students’ attitudes toward technology and technological inquiry abilities, but these effects were not statistically different from the effect on the control group with problem-solving teaching strategy. Conclusions: This study indicates there is no significant advantage in using a 6E process over a problem solving approach. Technology teachers aiming to improve students’ attitudes toward technology and their technological inquiry abilities consider refining the 6E-oriented STEM practical activity process, and students may demonstrate better performance in these two areas.