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The study focuses on examining elementary pupils' (N = 42, 11-13 years old) reflections on collaborative design processes, team collaboration and their co-inventions. Digital and traditional fabrication technologies were used in a 2-year co-invention project containing approximately 16 sessions during year 1 and 11 sessions in year 2. Between the two project periods, the pupils were asked to write a structured essay about their co-invention and design process, and in year 2 they kept journal notes in each team's design-folder. Each pupil's structured essay was analyzed with qualitative content analysis that focused on three main aspects: (1) description of the co-invention, (2) progress of the co-invention process and (3) quality of collaboration. Based on the essay analysis, we constructed a "Co-invention Table" with five categories: user, conceptual design, technical design, appearance, and construction. The nature of the 13 pupil-teams' co-inventions varied greatly, and these coinventions were divided according to three main functions: (1) improving cleanliness, (2) providing reminders or (3) addressing well-being. The essays provided information on how creative ideas were generated and how critical thinking and evaluation of ideas were crucial in improving ideas for further development. The collaboration was dependent on everyone's active and equal participation into work and the importance of an adequate division of the labor was highlighted.

The purpose of the present article was to analyse textile teacher students' collaborative designing of a functional 3D textile puzzle for visually impaired children. The data collection took place across three sessions of collaborative designing: defining design constraints, visualisation and building a mock-up. Twelve first-year university-level students training to become textile teachers participated in the study, and they worked in four teams with three students in each team. We were interested in the nature of their design process and how kernel design ideas were created and transformed during the collaborative design process. The analysis focused on the teams' design activities and content logs of the video data. The video-recorded data were segmented in 2-minute intervals using INTERACT video analysis program. Each segments were classified according to 7 observable design activities. This provided a macro level analysis for all design activities during each design session and data for further analysis of different orientations of teams. The results indicated that all teams engaged in progressive design processes and were able to create unique and practical design solutions. The design processes turned out to be a problem driven in nature for two teams whereas the others engaged in a solution-driven design process.

In this study, we examined maker‐centred learning from an epistemic perspective, highlighting the agentic role of material engagement and artefacts in learning and creativity. The use of physical materials plays a crucial role in maker activities where the socio‐epistemic aspects of knowledge creation entangle with the designing and making of physical artefacts. By taking a case study perspective, we analysed video data from nine design sessions involving a team of students (aged 13 to 14) developing an invention. First, we analysed knowledge that was built during the process. Our analysis revealed how design ideas evolved from preliminary to final stages and, together with the expressed design problems and conversations preceding the ideas, formed an epistemic object pursued by the team. Next, we included non‐human agencies into the analysis to understand the role of materials in the process. Features of materials and human design intentions both constrained and enabled idea improvement and knowledge creation, intermixing meanings and materials. Material making invited the students to not only rely on human rationalisation, but also to think together with the materials.