Loughborough University Library: Open Journals
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Design and technology: two cultures or unitary concept?
Get PDFIn this paper a secondary technology educator from Western Australia argues that design and technology have, in reality, little in common; design being rooted in an 'arts' culture whilst technologists are commonly trained as engineers or scientists. This, he contends, creates tensions in the curriculum when we ask children to 'design and make', activities which are seldom integrated in industry. The converse position is argued by a primary design and technology educator from England, who argues that this essentially educational model can be illustrated with industrial examples. In conclusion, both authors agree that there is indeed a strong educational rationale for the integration of designing and making in furthering pupils' technological capability, but that the purposes of technology curricula must be made explicit before introducing the complexity of the profes
Equality Issues Present in Teaching and Workshop Interaction
Get PDFA major difficulty faced by anyone wishing to research equal opportunities issues associated with National Curriculum design and technology lessons taught in a workshop environment is the paucity of literature available. However, new data from a recent LEA-sponsored initiative (Newley1 LEA 1995-1998) now provides additional material on the range of equality issues present in workshop-based teaching and interaction. The researcher’s role in the Newley Design and Technology Initiative (1995-98) was that of evaluator, and this paper describes the Initiative’s evaluation process and the research findings it produced. In so doing, it aims to inform the ongoing debate regarding gender issues in design and technology. It also provides teachers with practical information on strategies for evaluating aspects of their workshop-based teaching, which hopefully will encourage teacher-initiated research
Soap dishes and smelly socks
Get PDFOver the last few years the Bromley Education Business Partnership has encouraged and supported schools and local businesses to work together to enhance the curriculum. To further these developments in primary schools an EBP residential course was organised and run by Bromley's Education Training and Support Division. Participating schools were encouraged to send small teams of teachers in order that there could be effective project planning both during and after the course.This articledescribes how business links, in their widest sense, can add a unique realism to design and technology activities, and at the same time help meet the requirements of the revised orderoutlines the whole-school approachdescribes a project developed with a Year 4 clas
Gender Aspects Associated with Teaching Design, Make and Appraise in an Early Years Classroom
Get PDFA case study was conducted in an early years classroom in which a Design, Make and Appraise (DMA) program of activities was being implemented. Arising from the study were a number of structural and organisational issues. One issue of significance that emerged was that DMA was seen to have the potential to assist teachers to work towards a more gender-neutral and inclusive curriculum. A brief overview of the literature will first be presented and then this paper will explore a number of gender aspects associated with the DMA program observed. Some of these aspects were concerned with an examination of the children's general level of technological awareness and background. The frequency and gender of teacher-child interactions observed as well as the teacher's handling of the safety issue will also be considered. The paper will conclude with mention of some of the gender implications for teachers who may wish to implement DMA activities in their classrooms
Aspects of effective mentorship in the design and technology classroom
Get PDFThis article reports, in part, on a descriptive research project conducted through 1994/1995, on the perspectives of students and their subject mentors as to the most effective approaches to mentoring in the design and technology classroom. It highlights the students' own views on their subject training needs and the way these impinge on the subject mentor's role and its effectiveness. The article identifies a special relationship that often develops between a student and a 'voluntary subject mentor', a person who offers support to the student in the development of their subject capability as well as in the task of learning to teach. The main findings of the research are presented as a series of concluding statements and lead to five recommendations
Creativity in Crisis
Get PDFThis paper is an edited version of one that formed the basis of my presentation at the Design and Technology International Millennium Conference in April. It has a number of elements
Attitudes of Potential Teachers of Design and Technology
Get PDFTeacher recruitment is problematic for several areas of the curriculum, and for design and technology teaching it is extremely serious. In March 1999, the Department for Education and Employment commissioned the Technology Education Research Unit at Goldsmiths College University of London to undertake a 12 month research project to investigate the attitudes of potential teachers of design and technology in schools. The study focused on final year undergraduates pursuing design/technology related degree courses, and sought to identify their attitudes towards embarking on a career in teaching. The study also enquired into the attitudes of the final year tutors of these students
Paradigm for Junior Secondary Design and Technology in Hong Kong
Get PDFAfter the publication and issue of Information Technology for Learning in a New Era and education reform policy by the Hong Kong Government, the terms “paradigm” and “paradigm shift” can be heard everywhere in the Hong Kong education field. The terms have become increasingly popular, although most teachers do not understand their actual meaning. Technology education has become a highly popular topic here, as in most countries, however, few in Hong Kong seem to be willing to pay attention to an essential element of technology education: design and technology, a compulsory and comparatively expensive subject in Hong Kong junior secondary schools. By studying the historical development of the subject, definition and meaning of paradigm and how paradigm shift occurs, this paper tries to establish a paradigm for the subject in junior secondary education in Hong Kong
Recognising Pupils' Attainment when Using leT
Get PDFThis article deals with two important aspects: assessing pupils' work, and how this might raise new issues when ICT is involved, and reviewing and evaluating the effectiveness of using ICT to achieve learning objectives. Some new techniques will be required to assess pupils' design portfolios and their made products. Designing on screen happens very quickly and little evidence of changes is seen compared with drawing on paper where several copies are kept to show development work. Pupils are able to access designs by others and manipulate them as their own. Teachers have to encourage pupils to develop ways to record their thinking and collect evidence of it. Pupils are also able to make sophisticated products using CAM - the quality of the product looks like one that you might buy in the shop. It is even more important than ever not to assess merely the outcome, but to assess how well this is supported by design thinking
