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AUTHENTIC TEACHING IN STEM EDUCATION - factors for success
Full text linkTeaching for authentic learning is described in literature as motivating. Therefore, some schools in Sweden profile their education as authentic and some teachers strive for such teaching. During 2022, in a case study, we followed teachers and students in grade three with an age of 17-18 years, in a technology programme at a secondary school with aim to explore specific patterns in characteristics in teaching for authentic learning. The result shows that teaching in a technology programme in an upper secondary school can be done with characteristics related to theories. Some patterns are appearing as enabler of authentic teaching. Firstly, it seems to be important to start early with authentic activities when the students begin their first year. Secondly, the teachers must let the planning, teaching "go out of control", likewise the assessment. The teachers have the role as engaging coworkers and the authentic teaching is highly explained by the school leadership and their contacts, competence, acceptance, and safety. During 2023 we make a follow up study with a broader participation. Data is collected during interviews with six teachers in different schools, both primary and secondary schools. All teachers have participated in specific courses and are involved in projects dealing with teaching about space in STEM, with an authentic approach. The interviews will be analysed both related to a category system based on theories about authentic learning and more thematic, with aim to explore what pattern appears as enabler of authentic teaching. In this follow up study we have even more focus on what makes it possible to teach for authentic learning
Timeless, socially relevant engineering knowledge and skills for future technology education
Full text linkThe aim of technology education in primary and secondary school is that students should acquire skills and knowledge that are useful not only today, but also when they are adults. Students’ knowledge and skills need to include aspects of engineering and crafts as well as social implications of technology, which together develops creativity, useful everyday skills, critical thinking, and more. This leads to special challenges for technology teacher education, which has to look forward and focus on future challenges. The training needs to focus on timeless skills and be both about and for the technological future. Exactly which knowledge and skills that are best suited for this endeavour is not in any way clear. The purpose of this paper is to find the timeless and socially relevant engineering methods and skills that could and should be taught in primary and secondary school to increase the likelihood that students are properly prepared for the future. The project has an exploratory approach. Data was collected through focus group interviews with different participant groups: technology teachers in lower and upper secondary school, teacher students aiming to become technology teachers, and teachers working in academic teacher training programmes. The results show that the question about timeless knowledge has rarely been discussed in these groups. They had no clear answers, but ended up mainly in traditional technology education content: writing technical reports, learning strategies for design and product development work, and fundamentals of computer programming. The results suggest that the respondents believed strongly in pupils’ ability to transfer skills and knowledge between domains
Girls\u27 technological knowledge
Full text linkThis study investigates technological knowledge among 13-14-year-old girls at a technology-focused summer camp using a Science and Technology Studies (STS) lens. As they are already interested in technology, they attend the camp out of genuine interest instead of ones to become interested. The girls\u27 expressions of technological knowledge are aligned with societal norms associating technology with hands-on engagement and activities, solidifying their self as belonging in technology. While the camp introduced certain gendered assumptions through "girlified" tasks, the girls wished to transcend these stereotypical activities. They wanted to broaden their technological interests beyond the confines of gendered expectations. Actor networks and external recognition influence their technological knowledge, often motivating their engagement in technology. During an interview, the girls voiced dissatisfaction with existing technology education, mentioning uninspiring teaching methods, outdated materials, and a focus on theory. The girls were critical of the technology education they encountered and emphasised the value of practical learning and a longing for real-life applicable skills. Despite some finding technology classes engaging, low self-confidence in comparison to boys emerged, possibly due to teacher expectations. Their inclination towards practical experiences highlights the importance of a well-rounded learning approach. Implications for school technology education curricula underscore the significance of blending theory with practical application to keep technical girls engaged. By embracing girls\u27 perspectives, educators can craft initiatives that resonate with their interests, rejecting the need for gender-specific content. These insights challenge the stereotype that technical knowledge is gender-bound, recognising that girls\u27 genuine interest is an asset
Understanding the head of department role: leading Design and Technology
Full text linkIn the secondary school curriculum, in England, Design and Technology is to some extent regarded as less beneficial and it is becoming more unpopular with pupils. Therefore, Design and Technology heads of departments find themselves leading a curriculum subject that is in an uncertain situation. The purpose of this study is to consider the perceptions of Design and Technology heads of departments about their practice in monitoring teaching and learning in their departments. This study uses cultural historical activity theory (CHAT) (Engeström, 2001) as a lens to view interview data from six case studies. CHAT is often employed in analyses of activities in workplaces, for example, to uncover how people use both material and conceptual tools and what aspects of tasks they prioritise (Edwards, 2011). Data were collected through field visits that included observations and interviews. The analysis of data reveals how tools were appropriated differently or similarly in Design and Technology department leadership activity systems. The findings identify tools which mediate the work of Design and Technology heads of departments in secondary school. How the heads of departments perceive these tools is analysed to suggest the object of the Design and Technology department leadership activity system. This paper proposes that the contextual settings of subject departments influence department head leadership in forming their own conceptions about their practice
Technology Education considering children’s needs: Evidence-based development of Inclusive materials for learning with robots at primary level
Full text linkThe developmental task inclusion effects the design of teaching and learning regarding technology education at primary level. National studies have addressed the issue and have devoted efforts to theory-based development of conditions for inclusive education and their empirical substantiation (Schröer & Tenberge 2022).
In German primary schools the subject ‘Sachunterricht’ includes among other domains technology education. An essential field of research is shaping the developmental task inclusion in the context of technology education. However, narrowing down the concept of inclusive education for the multiperspective school subject ‘Sachunterricht’ is complex (Seitz 2018). The use of potentials and consideration of individual needs is one distinguishable context when conceptualizing inclusive education in ‘Sachunterricht’.
The consideration of needs in classrooms can be substantiated based on the theory of basic needs (Krapp 2005). Research demonstrates that problemsolving activities with varying degrees of self-direction take different needs into account (Tenberge 2002; Beinbrech 2003). However, the design and substantiation of learning settings, that regard to pupils needs, have so far been largely omitted by research.
This justifies the idea of the presented research project. Based on the theory of basic needs, rooted in developmental psychology (Ryan & Deci 2018), a set of problems and tasks for problemsolving with the learning robot Bluebot™ was developed. Learning settings were tested in classrooms and evaluated in a first cycle to adapt them based on evidence. Preliminary findings of pre-post comparisons show effects on problemsolving skills and self-efficacy.
The present article falls into four sections of which the first one will define the fundamental concepts addressed. After substantiating the requirements of inclusive technology education, section two will introduce the adaptive set of tasks for technological problemsolving at primary level. Based on the methodical framework in section three, preliminary findings from the first cycle of a design-based-research project are presented and discussed
Pupils’ reflections on the use of a digital self-assessment tool to identify and measure development of 21st century skills during maker activities in schools
Full text linkThe number of makerspaces is increasing in the world, and the maker movement has started to become integrated into formal education. Maker environments and maker activities are argued as promoting Key Components for Lifelong Learning, e.g. collaboration, problem solving, creativity, life/social skills and communication. These competences are also referred to as 21st century skills. In this paper, we discuss the use of a digital self-assessment tool (DSAT) for pupils’ identification of, and reflections on, their development of these skills. The DSAT was created with gamification as the model where the pupils could reach different levels, receive badges and upload photographs. There were 114 pupils, aged 13–15 years, from six classes who worked with different maker activities in technology subject classes during the autumn of 2021, while using the DSAT. Examples of maker activities used in this study included designing a liquid-bottle, programming with Micro:bit and programming with Roblox. Data were collected through group interviews after the activities with all participating pupils and thereafter analysed thematically. The pupils found the language in the DSAT difficult considering their age and thought that the tool was time consuming and troublesome to use. However, the pupils argued that it is possible to develop 21st century skills during maker activities in school contexts and that the skills are of importance for the future. This study contributes with important knowledge about the design of digital self-assessment tools and about design of technology education, to support pupils to identify and develop 21st century skills in makerspace activities in compulsory technology education
Exploring the Use of Peer and Self-Assessment as a Pedagogical Tool in UK Secondary Design Education.
Full text linkIn this case study, a collaborative and social-constructivist approach to secondary Design and Technology teaching is explored. Self and peer-assessment interventions are employed as a pedagogical tool for increasing student attainment, knowledge gain and self-efficacy. Within schools, students learn by interacting with their peers; they help each other identify their strengths, address their weaknesses, and develop metacognitive skills. As a construct for aiding knowledge sharing, peer assessment can be significantly beneficial as it allows students to evaluate the work of their peers and provide constructive feedback within a supported environment. This research presents student perceptions on strategies designed to facilitate self-assessment, and peer-assessment as a pedagogical tool and investigates the order these strategies are employed within the classroom. Eighteen, year 11 design students aged 15-16 from across two classes took part in four ‘peer-learning’ sessions containing both self and peer-assessments. These sessions were spread across different stages of the student’s design process: research, iteration, design development and testing and evaluation. The project began at the start of the 2022-23 academic year and concluded at the end of the second term. Each session approaches these assessment exercises with different methods and finishes with a questionnaire to enable comparison. The results gathered show an increase in student attainment, self-efficacy, and a greater understanding of the assessment criteria when students complete their design coursework. A sequence of activities for employing self and peer-assessment within design education is established and presented. This research aims to share evidence of self and peer-assessment as a pedagogical tool when students are completing their design coursework. In presenting the benefits and barriers of this method, teachers will be able to use and adapt it within their own classe
Modelling approaches to combining and comparing independent adaptive comparative judgement ranks
Full text linkThe use of Adaptive Comparative Judgement (ACJ) for educational assessment addresses one need within technology education for the reliable assessment of responses to open-ended activities which are characteristic within the field. The output of an ACJ session is a rank order of the piece of student work with relative “ability scores”. However, the use of ACJ has been limited to date in that ranks are not directly comparable. For example, a rank produced from one class group has no reference information against which to compare a rank produced of the work of another class group. In this type of case a solution has been to combine the work of both classes into one ACJ session, but this has limitation when considering scaling up.
A new goal for the use of ACJ involves solving this issue. The ability to compare or merge ranks presents a new capacity for ACJ – to use a rank as a “ruler” against which other ranks can be compared. In practice this would allow for two possibilities. The first is that a single rank could be developed which presents a national standard against which teachers could compare the work of their students to see where they are performing on a national level. The second is that communities of practice could complete ACJ sessions within their own classrooms, and when meeting as a group they could merge and compare relative performance of their own students to support professional development.
In a previous article a proof of concept of this process conducted via simulation was presented (Buckley and Canty, 2022). In this article we present the results of a project with authentic data – student work completed in response to meaningful activities with teachers acting as ACJ judges – which indicate that the use of ACJ in this way is now possible
Subject Knowledge in D&T Teacher Education: Exploring the gaps
Full text linkDetermining the key subject knowledge that should underpin D&T Teacher education in England has never been easy. The fundamental range of the subject (with a scope of materials that includes food, textiles, engineered materials, computational systems… used to design and make products across a limitless extent of context), continuing developments in many of the technologies that underpin it, the breadth of experience that entrants to D&T teaching bring with them, the heterogeneity of approaches to D&T subject matter in schools (including the move in many English schools to teaching some of the above areas, especially textiles, through Art & Design) and ever changing statutory and examination requirements all have their influence. In the past the D&T Association (2003) has provided guidance, but, as noted by Martin as long ago as 2008, this guidance has lost relevance as the landscape has changed.
There are, of course, in addition to all the above, broader debates that are current about the role of subject knowledge in school education, and these have led to various explorations about how the fundamentals of subject knowledge in D&T should be constructed.
In this paper we describe the way that subject knowledge content in our PGCE D&T curriculum has been, and still is, evolving in response to these diverse and not always complementary forces. Underpinning this, using survey data from past and present ITE students and placement schools, we explore how the subject knowledge content of our PGCE course matches with the needs of our students and the curricula of their placement and first teaching schools.
We end by suggesting possible avenues of development for D&T ITE subject knowledge in the English context, and draw out some principles for building a relevant and robust subject knowledge base for teacher education in D&T
Grasping the Actual Situation of Student\u27s Perspectives on the Improvement of Manufactured Products and User Recognition in Material Processing Learning
No full textThe purpose of this study is to understand the actual situation of students\u27 perspectives on the improvement of fabricated products and user recognition in material processing learning for technology education in junior high school. A survey was conducted with 833 junior high school students who had studied materials processing. The students had three types of learning: those who designed and made their own (Group A, 366 students), those who selected from several designs to make a kit (Group B, 253 students), and those who used kit subjects to make the same thing (Group C, 102 students). The obtained free-response statements regarding user perceptions and free-response statements regarding improvements in manufactured products were categorized. There were 364 descriptions of user recognition, which were classified into three categories: descriptions assuming oneself/family members, descriptions assuming specific users, and descriptions assuming all users. Group A had more descriptions of fabrication improvements than Groups B and C. There were 956 descriptions of product improvements, which were classified into a total of eight categories, such as safety, durability, and functionality. The results of the tabulation and analysis revealed that about half of the students were not able to have a user-oriented viewpoint of improvement, but many of those who had a user viewpoint focused on "specific users," or in other words, on usability. Regarding the improvement of manufactured products, perspectives to improve them in the categories of "safety," "functionality," and "durability" were confirmed. Furthermore, Group A had a high rate of descriptions of product improvement, indicating that the perspective of improvement and refinement is easily fostered in the production and use of products conceived and designed by the students themselves
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PATT40 (LJMU)Biomolecular Research Reports (BRR) (LJM...Design and Technology Education (LJMU)BLResearchDay (LJMU)Journal of Living Labs (LJMU)Journal of Natural Products Discovery (L...Journal of Social Media for Learning (LJ...Student Law Journal (LJMU)PRISM (LJMU)Public Health Institute Journal (LJMU)SPARK (LJMU)Student Experience Proceedings (LJMU)Transformation in Education (LJMU)Innovations in Practice (LJMU)Links to Health and Social Care (LJMU)Access Repository Dashboard
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