Design and Technology Education (LJMU)
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Supporting the T and the E in STEM: 2004-2010
Get PDFEngineering, the ‘E’ in STEM, is seldom taught as a distinct curriculum subject in English and Welsh schools to pupils under the age of 14 years. This contrasts with design and technology (D&T), taken in this paper to represent the largest contributor to the ‘T’ in STEM (the remainder being taken to be the computing and digital communications aspects of ICT), which is currently taught to all pupils up to the age of 14 and remains a very popular option thereafter.
The UK Government STEM programme (with sister projects: the LSIS 16+ STEM programme, the London Engineering Project and the 14-19 Diploma in Engineering) has provided large-scale action-research opportunities to better understand the nature of the T and E in STEM.
This paper describes how the T and E in STEM have been found to be subjects in their own right and also to provide practical context for other STEM subjects. Some effective practice guidelines have been established as a result, and these are discussed, but the paper concludes there is still much to do to fully establish the identity and character of the T and the E in STEM. Ideas for how this might develop are offered
A Study Investigating Indian Middle School Students’ Ideas of Design and Designers
Get PDFThis paper reports on an investigation into middle school students’ naïve ideas about, and attitudes towards design and designers. The sample for the survey consisted of students from Classes 7 to 9 from a school located in Mumbai. The data were analysed qualitatively and quantitatively to look for trends in students\u27 responses. Results show that Indian middle school students, who had no experience in design and technology education, demonstrated an incomplete understanding of what design is and what designers do. Most students considered design as some artistic rendering process where the designer is engaged in decorating or making things look attractive. Very few students suggested design as planning before making. Students demonstrated a good understanding of the skills associated with designers and showed a positive attitude towards designers and design learning. Insights from the study have implications for design curriculum development at the school level
A grounded theory approach to the development of a framework for researching children’s decision-making skills within design and technology education
Get PDFThis paper discusses the establishment of a framework for researching children’s decision-making skills in design and technology education through taking a grounded theory approach. Three data sources were used:
analysis of available literature;
curriculum analysis and interviews with teachers concerning their practice in relation to their respective national curricula; and
a study of classroom activity in order to gather children’s’ perspectives.
These three data sources provided triangulation, as well as supporting the validation of the data obtained. The main areas of interest for the literature search were children’s decision-making strategies, the implementation of decision-making in educational contexts and the roles of teachers and curriculum materials in the development of children’s decision-making skills. In this paper the key outcomes of this literature search are presented. Teachers in Cyprus, England and Iceland, were interviewed concerning their practice and the results of these interviews are presented. The exploratory study was conducted in a Cypriot classroom and the results found in this context are noted and compared with the literature sources and interview outcomes. The resulting framework illustrates the possible factors that affect children’s decision-making skills within design and technology education and is designed to be used in a subsequent research investigation using these possible factors as preset codes
The Stem Advisory Forum: A means of allowing people to influence the Government’s STEM initiatives
Get PDFThis paper gives a short overview of the UK government’s STEM agenda and then considers one aspect in depth – the STEM Advisory Forum. It explains how the Forum operates to draw together views from across the STEM community through online discussions and face-to-face events. Four examples are given of topics that have been dealt with by the Forum. Firstly the topic of engineering, enrichment and engagement is covered through samples of various events and discussions. A major issue covered is the number of young people taking A Level mathematics. The background to the issue is explained and how views expressed on the Forum might have had some influence upon the Government’s advanced level target and may yet impact on admissions behaviour in universities. A third short example of impact on the number of university places for STEM subjects is given and the piece finishes with an example of impact at local level in schools
LEGO Robotics: An authentic problem solving tool?
Get PDFWith the current curriculum focus on correlating classroom problem solving lessons to real-world contexts, are LEGO robotics an effective problem solving tool? This present study was designed to investigate this question and to ascertain what problem solving strategies primary students engaged with when working with LEGO robotics and whether the students were able to effectively relate their problem solving strategies to real-world contexts. The qualitative study involved 23 Grade 6 students participating in robotics activities at a Brisbane primary school. The study included data collected from researcher observations of student problem solving discussions, collected software programs, and data from a student completed questionnaire. Results from the study indicated that the robotic activities assisted students to reflect on the problem solving decisions they made. The study also highlighted that the students were able to relate their problem solving strategies to real-world contexts. The study demonstrated that while LEGO robotics can be considered useful problem solving tools in the classroom, careful teacher scaffolding needs to be implemented in regards to correlating LEGO with authentic problem solving. Further research in regards to how teachers can best embed realworld contexts into effective robotics lessons is recommended
Preparing Teachers for the 21st Century Using PBL as an Integrating Strategy in Science and Technology Education
Get PDFThis paper explores the foundational principles of ProblemBased Learning (PBL) as an integrative teaching strategy designed deliberately to cross discipline boundaries in order to make meaningful and lasting connections. The authors suggest that while PBL has in recent times has largely manifested towards a method of inquiry within a single discipline the founding principles and key characteristics that inform PBL may be applied to solving technological inquiry where an understanding and application of scientificprinciples is fundamental in informing and developing the preferred solution. This paper highlights that in order to be effective classroom educators, in an ever increasing and complex world, pre-service teachers’ need to develop robust mental models and metacognitive skills that are transferable. In supporting this development the rationale and the application of PBL as an integrated teaching and learning strategy in pre-service science and technology education will be examined. This paper suggests that PBL is an effective strategy in supporting inquiry of an interdisciplinary nature as well as developing dispositions that embrace collaborative inquiry and reflective practice
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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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