Australasian Journal of Technology Education
Not a member yet
63 research outputs found
Sort by
The marau Hangarau (Māori-medium Technology curriculum): Why there isn't much research but why there should be!
No full textHangarau is under-researched. Research in this field, from historical case studies to exploration of hangarau practice across a range of educational contexts, is needed. We examine the significant gap by outlining the timelines leading up to the third cycle of curriculum design and implementation of the marau hangarau. The dataset is drawn from a larger project consisting of interviews with tuakana-curriculum designers (Lemon, 2019) and document analysis of material sourced through requests for official information (Ministry of Education, 1999-2003, 1999-2008, 2003-2012, 2007-2009).Hangarau needs to be researched. As a decolonising curriculum, coming from a Māori foundation of thinking and being, it connects future, past and present in a holistic approach to technological practice. Research will inform the next generation of curriculum designers, and strengthen sector understandings of hangarau. This will be reflected in classroom practice, with better uptake and engagement in hangarau–building on our past achievements. How can we plan ahead if we do not know what has been done? We need to value the work done by those who have toiled to develop a new way of learning for our tamariki mokopuna.He marautanga reo Māori tÄ“nei mÄ ngÄ kura reo MÄori. NÅ reira, he tika te whakaputa whakaaro, te rangahau māna ki te reo rangatira. Heoi anÅ, ko tÅ mÄtou hiahia kia tukuna atu tÄ“nei kÅrero ki te tokomaha, nÄ reira te whakamahi i Ä“tahi kupu Māori torutoru noa iho i tÄ“nei wÄ. Hei tÅna wÄ, ka rere pai te reo rangatira ki konei, ki Aotearoa nei, tae atu ki ngÄ tÅpito o te ao. We incorporate te reo MÄori in writing about a MÄori language curriculum taught in classrooms through the medium of the MÄori language. There is a glossary at the end of the article for those readers who do not speak te reo Māori
Implementing digital technology in the New Zealand Curriculum
No full textThis article initially reviews literature that argues for a place for digital technologies in the curriculum. Understanding of and competency in developing digital technologies is becoming an increasingly debated topic around the world. Areas of debate include where and when key components of digital literacy such as computational thinking, computer science, programming, and coding should be learned. This article argues for the inclusion of digital technologies in the curriculum and more specifically within the technology curriculum.A case study of the decision-making process of New Zealand as it moves to include digital technologies into The New Zealand Curriculum in subsequently presented. An account of the processes undertaken by the New Zealand Ministry of Education to include and implement digital technologies in technology education is presented. Finally, it offers a cautionary warning about two potential risks as New Zealand enters the implementation phase of its new digital technologies curriculum
Integrating digital technologies into the New Zealand curriculum: Future-focused and technological ways of thinking
No full textThe ability to function in a technologically mediated world is a global priority. In New Zealand, there has been a recent curriculum revision, which emphasises the role of Digital Technology, and there is an assumption that this will equate to the use of digital technologies for learning. This change highlights a need for students to develop their digital fluency but also engage with learning that encourages them to become creators of digital outcomes. To enable this process, students need to be encouraged to develop their technological and technical ways of thinking. This article reports on qualitative research to describe how one secondary school teacher enacted digital technology aspects of the technology curriculum. Data were collected through observational and self-report methods. The findings indicate that technological ways of thinking are suited to the enactment of technology education, when situated within authentic, personally meaningful, or problem-based contexts for learning
Review of: Re-examining Pedagogical Content Knowledge in Science Education
No full textDe-examining Pedagogical Content Knowledge in Science Educatio
The uncertainty of a future-focused curriculum in New Zealand: The perceptions and practice of six secondary school technology teachers.
No full textNew Zealand education is unique because it has had a technology curriculum since the mid-1990's. In response to the way that technology is evolving, however, the curriculum is currently under revision, to be inclusive of a need to develop students' digital literacy. It appears that for some teachers, there are persisting barriers to their enactment of the curriculum, which is likely to inhibit any further transformation in practice. This article reports findings from research, which sought to explore six teachers understandings of technology education, in two New Zealand secondary schools. The research highlighted constraints upon teachers' practice, which will require transformation to support a future-focused curriculum, and students' developing academic and social learning needs
Initiation of verbal expression in young children in Design and Technology education: a case-study
No full text One of the core activities of Design and Technology Education is designing, which is a thinking activity that benefits greatly from expression. Verbal expression serves interaction. A teacher can induce verbal expression in pupils by inviting them to interact about familiar subjects. This interaction is a stepping stone towards an integration of exploring, creating and thinking, resulting in broad thinking, and to sharing ideas. In order to establish interaction, ideas need to be verbalised into informative expressions that are recognisable as such by the whole class. Teachers can influence the quality of interaction by teaching the rules and means of verbal expression. This teaching needs the golden mean of non-authoritative guidance, oriented towards discovery of the rules and means, and a carefully prepared environment leading to insight in the concept of verbalisation. This kind of teaching will make pupil’s feelings change from curious into smart and competent with regard to verbalisation. The case study focused on enabling pupils to verbally express the features of a cuddly toy. The age of the pupils was of four to six years old and the thinking hats of De Bono were used as a structuring instrument to initiate the activity.  The results show that through this approach the teacher succeeded in teaching the rules and means of verbal expression, without hampering the expressiveness and autonomy of the pupils. As a result class and teacher together managed to create a starting point for further procedural growth about “how to express yourself”. They also set a structure in which other subjects could be discussed in future.Â
Technological education challenge: an European perspective
No full textThis paper is a reflection on Technological education in the light of the changes that this subject has undergone recently. The first part of the paper provides a theoretical presentation of Technological education from a European perspective. Then a more specific exploration is developed focussing on the middle schools in two selected contexts (France and Italy), considered here as examples of curriculum. Finally, the implications of this subject on current society are explored.Â
STEM Education in New Zealand at the Senior Secondary Level: Cross-Curricula Course Design and Assessment for NCEA
No full textThis paper considers the design and assessment of Integrative-STEM courses at senior secondary level in New Zealand. Integrative-STEM education places emphasis on students drawing together knowledge from science, technology, engineering and mathematics, in order to solve design problems. The paper identifies important elements of an integrative-STEM course and whether the current range of NCEA achievement standards provides a suitable fit for assessing students’ STEM learning. The conclusion reached is that a partial fit exists at Levels 2 and 3 of NCEA but a stronger fit exists at Level 1. For comparative purposes, the paper also considers how well the design of NCEA social science achievement standards harmonise with cross-curricula course design. The interpretation is suggested that the subject-by-subject development of NCEA standards provides significant limitations on the validity of assessment of cross-curricula learning. Some of the important learning engendered by cross-curricula design lies outside the assessment covered by NCEA standards.Â
Instructional theories of exploratory production
No full textThis research examines how the instructional theories of the exploratory production model are used in technology education. The data was gathered in the teacher training practice period during master’s level teacher training in technology education. The four most learner-centred instructional theories are described and examples from the teacher practice provided. The empirical descriptions are based on the student teacher portfolios and the supervisor interviews. The cases reveal that the more open the learner-centred instructions the student teacher uses, the more multifaceted the learning is. Also, the learning is more intrinsically motivated and thereby deeper as regards the learners’ own life-world. Varying between the different instructions helps student teachers to organize their classroom techniques and motivate learners through meaningful learning and collaboration. The instructional theories are applicable in differentiating teaching and learning between groups and between the learners within a particular group.Â
Students' conceptions of learning and learning outcomes in Technology Education
No full textThis study sought to explore students’ conceptions of learning and learning outcomes in Technology Education. The background variables facilitated a comparison of the students who had experienced more Learner-Centred or Teacher-Directed Learning Approaches and those who had experienced more Technical or Textile Work.The results reveal that the learning conceptions of students who had experienced more Learner-Centred Learning were significantly more positive, with higher levels of learning outcomes, than those of students who had experienced more Teacher-Directed Learning. The conceptions of learning outcomes in the Technical Approach were also more positive than those in the Textile Approach. The main development targets reflected the students’ weak conceptions of Teacher-Directed Learning and different conceptions of either Technical or Textile Approach learning outcomes. Teacher-Directed learning orientations should be developed more deeply and united with the Techno-Scientific phenomena of natural and engineering sciences