Australasian Journal of Technology Education
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Design of an authentic innovation project in Swedish upper secondary technology education
No full textRecent studies on the Swedish work force show that about half of all jobs demand a high degree of self-governing. In preparing students for the future, the World Economic Forum suggests that schools should also teach social skills, creativity and critical thinking. According to the Swedish upper secondary curriculum, the subject of technology should allow students to develop entrepreneurial skills, defined as supporting curiosity, confidence, creativity and courage, resulting in the ability to act, in innovation and problem solving. This vision is related to the notion of authentic learning. Reeves, Herrington and Oliver define authenticity through nine key elements, namely, authentic context, authentic task, presence of expert performances, multiple perspectives, collaboration, reflection, articulation, metacognitive support and authentic assessment. The aim of this study is to map these key elements of authentic learning onto the development and design of a five-week innovation project for implementation in a Swedish upper secondary school context. The mapping process involved first synthesising literature in the area of authentic learning in conjunction with studying Swedish technology education curriculum materials. This was followed by describing the characteristics of each key element of authentic learning in terms of proposing activities for implementation as an innovation project (IP). The results of this study show how criteria of nine elements of authentic learning could be used in designing an innovation project (IP) module in an authentically cogent way. Thus the authenticity framework served as a valid theoretical tool to produce the authentic learning module
Initial teacher education students' conceptions of creativity in technology and science education: A large-scale New Zealand study
No full textTeacher misconceptions about the nature and intent of Technology education (henceforth, Technology) in school sectors is of concern. Research suggests that elementary teachers too often do not have a basic grasp of the central tenets associated with Technology and how it differs from Science. Research by Atkinson (2000) has found that teacher educators too often design Technology lessons with a linear problem solving approach, leaving little opportunity for student creativity and imagination. Using a large sample of Initial Teacher Education (ITE) students (N = 830) this study found that early childhood education ITEs were less inclined to agree with the notion that Technology was mostly about creativity, design, and showing others your ideas. In addition, students thought that creativity was more applicable to Technology (as opposed to Science), although older male students thought that creativity was more relevant to both subjects. Implications for policy and practice are discussed
Fostering Systematic Inventive Thinking (SIT) and Self-Regulated Learning (SRL) in Problem-Solving and Troubleshooting Processes among Engineering Experts in Industry
No full text The present research addressed two unique aspects of fostering problem solving and inventive thinking among engineering experts: first, teaching the Systematic Inventive Thinking (SIT) method for problem solving and new product development; second, fostering Self-Regulated Learning (SRL) comprised of cognition, meta-cognition and self-efficacy beliefs among engineering experts. The pilot study involved observations at industry sites to learn about experts' thinking while solving problems. In the main study, we developed a 30-hour workshop on teaching SIT and SRL that was delivered to five groups of 20-25 engineering experts each (total n=110) at the workplace. The workshop included lectures, discussions, games and solving authentic engineering problems. Data was collected by means of questionnaires, interviews, problem-solving tests, observations and documenting class activities. The findings indicated that the participants significantly improved their competencies related to identifying problems in a given system, and suggesting more innovative solutions and less irrelevant solutions to these problems
STEM education for the twenty-first century: A New Zealand perspective
No full textThis paper clarifies the nature of STEM education and how it could fit within the New Zealand Curriculum (NZC) structure. It also considers aspects of course design and adaptations of the National Certificate in Educational Achievement (NCEA) required for successful inclusion within secondary school learning programmes. The paper also discusses some problems and challenges of developing such programmes which require students to interact with, or integrate knowledge from the science, technology, engineering and mathematics learning areas. It finds that rather than replacing established curriculum areas, a STEM course can run parallel to them providing extended learning opportunities for students which are not presently common in New Zealand
The FITS model: an improved Learning by Design approach
No full textThis paper presents a pretest-posttest design study that compares conceptual learning gains of 237 students, divided into two groups, exposed to a modified and remodified Learning by Design (LBD) task. LBD uses design contexts to learn skills and conceptual knowledge where research around the year 2000 showed high skill performances but disappointing conceptual learning gains. By a series of exploratory studies, previous to the study discussed in this paper, this issue was addressed, which resulted in modifications that were tested on a small scale. As a result the level of concept learning increased significantly. Analysis of the modified LBD group results in this paper confirms this improvement quantitatively by comparing results with available data on a traditional LBD approach (77 students). Further modifications, resulting in a remodified LBD approach, show an even further improvement through reduced fragmentation of the learning task and addressed science. Overall, the remodified approach (FITS model: Focus - Investigation - Technological design - Synergy) enriches technology education by stimulating an empirical and conceptual way of creating design solutions what is a catalyst for interdisciplinary teaching
The New Zealand Curriculum's approach to technological literacy through the lens of the philosophy of technology
No full textNew Zealand's curriculum, in terms of its approach to technological literacy, attempts to deliver a sound, philosophy-based understanding of the nature of technology. The curriculum's main authors claim that it conforms well to Mitcham's (2014) categorization of different aspects of technology's nature. Nevertheless, taking advantage of the existing literature of the philosophy of technology, this paper will reveal that the intended urriculum, though an admirable approach, still has a number of points needing improvement, and there are also certain gaps to be bridged in the claimed conformity. This analysis primarily makes use of the method initiated by Nia and De Vries (2016a), based upon Mitcham’s suggested framework and other philosophers' opinions as to the nature and various features of technolog
Technology education in New Zealand context: Disparate approaches to meaning making of the curriculum and the implications for teachers' evolving knowledge for practice.
No full textTechnology education in the New Zealand context provides an opportunity for schools and teachers to offer future-focused, and innovative learning opportunities for all their learners, regardless of social or academic need. Teacher perceptions of the purpose of technology education influences the way that they interpret and make meaning of the curriculum in their school context. This article draws upon the emerging findings from a research project which explores how teachers’ knowledge of practice was mediated during professional development in two secondary schools. The findings suggest that teachers’ understandings can be deduced from their use of language, which is shaped in culturally meaningful ways. The article draws upon activity theory to illustrate two disparate approaches to discussing the delivery of technology education in the New Zealand context
Exploring technical knowledge in the primary technology classroom
No full textThe aim of this article is to explore the use of categories and aspects of technical knowing which have been identified in specific contexts and related to specific learning objects to identify technical knowing and technical content in another teaching context. In this way, we want to contribute to the understanding of technical knowing within primary technology education, as well as to the development of analytical tools to help teachers in selecting and designing the content of technology teaching. Previous findings from two Learning Studies focusing on evaluating and constructing technical solutions were used to identify technical knowing in video material generated within a particular classroom practice (students aged 7-8 years old). The results suggest that the former categories and aspects can be used in different ways to identify and specify technical knowings related to technical content in the primary technology classroom
Perspectives on Technology Education in New Zealand: Twenty years of progress?
No full textThis paper provides an historical review of the implementation of the technology learning area in New Zealand secondary schools with a view to identifying aspects which may, or may not, have enabled success. The intention here is to build on previous studies and to consider issues which may have been problematic to some teachers and other stakeholders. By reflecting on this process it may be possible to provide further understanding of present and future needs, which can guide the continuing development of both the technology learning area and its ongoing implementation.The paper draws significantly from the author's experience as a professional development facilitator and pre-service technology teacher educator over a twelve year period. Through this work there has been opportunity to gain considerable understanding of issues concerning technology education, implementation, and the facilitation of professional development for teachers of technology
Women in technology-oriented fields
No full textThis study focuses on investigating the main elements that have an effect on women's decisions to enter a career in technology-oriented fields, and more specifically, to discover whether studying crafts, especially technical work, during basic education affects their decisions in this context. The study was carried out using a semi-structured questionnaire, and the data consist of the responses from 12 female technology education teachers and 12 female engineeringstudents. A qualitative theory oriented content analysis was carried out through identifying, coding, analysing and reporting the patterns within the data.The findings revealed that the most influential career anchor identified by all these women was a technical or functional competence. Secondly, their familiarity with the field was a relatively important element. These findings suggest some positive perspectives on women's interests in technology-oriented career paths, and indicating that supportive interventions can be implemented