Technology Education Is Important for Achieving Sustainable Development

In 2015 all 193 United Nations Member States agreed on 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development with its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with the purpose to end poverty, ensure prosperity, and protect the planet. Technology and sustainable development are intertwined. The term "double-edged sword" has often been used to describe technology, as it can be both helpful and harmful. But to what extent is technology significant for sustainable development and what content can technology education have in relation to sustainable development? This study examines what technology content can be discerned in the sustainable development goals, SDGs, in order to detect possible content for technology education. The 17 SDGs include 169 targets since every SDG are defined with "Outcome targets" and "means of implementation targets". All 169 SDGs targets were analyzed through content analysis. A category system was developed from the definition of technology by Rossouw et.al (2010) and DiGironimos’s (2011)  to discern technology content in the SDGs. The results show that the achievement of each and every 17 Sustainable Development Goals in one way or another relies on our use of technology and our development of technology. Teaching with a sustainability perspective creates meaningful content for technology education, where current news and topics can be a starting point. Such teaching can provide students with necessary knowledge towards making well-grounded decisions based on facts, as both consumers and global citizens

Subject Knowledge in D&T Teacher Education: Exploring the gaps

Determining 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

“If D&T wasn’t so easy, I wouldn’t be so good at it”: Nonverbal Ability and Confidence

At the heart of this paper is a belief that the English education system enacts systemic discrimination against nonverbally intelligent students by teaching and assessing non-academic subjects via academic means. This paper presents action research that focuses on students with a nonverbal bias, attempting to boost their self-efficacy (Bandura et al., 1999), self-concept (Bong & Clark, 1999), and discusses how these may be hurt by current D&T assessments. The study examines the comparative perception of intelligence levels needed to succeed in school subjects, alongside the types of intelligences assessed within English educational policy. To boost intelligences specific to design, this research took a two-pronged approach; verbally promoting high-attaining students and presenting their outstanding book work in the spirit of Gardner’s Multiple Intelligence theory (Gardner, 2006), and testing for “eductive” problem-solving intelligences (Raven et al., 1994) at the beginning of each class in a 6-week Scheme of Work with Raven’s Progressive Matrices (RPM), logged publicly on a leaderboard in the classroom. The results reveal a positive shift in whole-class perceptions of intelligence needed for D&T, and increased confidence levels among students on the leaderboards, alongside decreased confidence levels of those not on the leaderboards. The study acknowledges limitations in the methodology, particularly an overemphasis on RPM, which subjugated other aspects of intelligence in design, and my own inadvertent acculturation into the quantitative testing culture. The conclusion acknowledges failures in the research, yet emphasises the need for a cultural shift in English state schools to recognise and respect the non-academic intelligences required to succeed in creative fields like D&T. It highlights the inadvertent discrimination against nonverbally intelligent students due to the dominance of academic culture and advocates for a more tailored approach to D&T assessment which better reflects abilities used in real-world design industries

Embedding Computational Thinking into Authentic Technology Practice

This paper presents the findings from a pilot study aimed to investigate how the computational thinking aspect of digital technologies can be embedded authentically into students’ technological practice. The project explored teaching and learning computational thinking in context and particularly focus on technological needs and practice for young Māori learners. There is recognition internationally about the need for digital technologies within the curriculum. Computational thinking is a critical component of this and is defined as an approach to problem-solving, designing computer systems, and understanding related human behaviours, while drawing on fundamental ideas of computing. Therefore, it is critical that all students acquire computational thinking skills. Technology practice is most successful when embedded within authentic contexts, thus this paper presents a study that facilitated the learning of two concepts of computational thinking: sequencing and orientation within culturally embedded technology practice. The study’s vision is to assist mainstream Māori learners from low socio-economic backgrounds to develop an understanding of related concepts of computational thinking. The research design drew on Māori values and practice that situates learning within authentic Māori contexts. Kaupapa Māori pedagogies were used in our design-based intervention programme to achieve the research goal. The focus of the project was to improve digital technologies learning outcomes to ensure Māori tamariki (children) see themselves as comfortably situated in a digital world

Developing spatial literacy through designing origami: advancing maker education pedagogy with maker études: advancing maker education pedagogy with maker études

Spatial literacy is crucial to success in STEAM-disciplines. Within these disciplines, spatial thinking manifests in a variety of ways, ranging from visualising how pieces of a solution might fit together to effectively communicating solutions to others through language, gestures, and graphic representations. Pedagogy for developing spatial literacy for children is still in its infancy, as training studies tend to focus on paper-and-pencil-based activities that resemble psychometric tests without explicit consideration for didactic approaches. Maker education offers children a design-based way of learning through a process of tinkering, designing, and building, with potential for creative output. In practice, educational maker activities generally tend to overemphasise prototyping tools and the development of the procedural knowledge required to use those tools. However, these hands-on learning activities could aid children to not only develop making skills, but also to attain spatial literacy. Although studies exist that identify spatial thinking during educational maker activities, no efforts have yet been made to design a maker activity that specifically aims to develop participants’ spatial thinking holistically. This paper details a case study of the design and implementation of an origami workshop that aims to develop participants’ spatial literacy. Origami, the art of folding sheets of paper into figures, is a process that requires frequent and varied use of spatial thinking. The workshop adopts the form of a ‘maker étude’, analogous to a musical étude, a satisfying exercise to practice and improve a particular technique so it can be applied creatively. The implementation of the origami maker étude in a public library makerspace in Amsterdam and its potential to support the development of spatial literacy are discussed. Finally, several suggestions are made for future research into the development of primary-school age children’s spatial literacy in makerspace

Student teachers’ preconceptions of programming as a content in the subject technology

In many countries, student teachers are not adequately prepared to teach programming in technology education once they have completed their training. There is a corresponding inadequacy of research regarding pre-service programming education in technology, although in recent years research in this area has increased. There is a lack of research specifically regarding student teachers’ experiences and development of knowledge during programming sessions in their teacher education. A knowledge important for developing competences needed for teaching in technology. This article presents a study with the aim of describing student teachers’ preconceptions about teaching programming in technology.The study uses a phenomenographic approach investigating eight student teachers’ experiences after a five-week technology course preparing for primary education, grades 4-6 (teaching pupils aged 10-12). Semi-structured interviews have been conducted with student teachers from two different higher education institutions in Sweden. From the first step of the analysis, three tentative categories have been obtained, describing student teachers’ experiences as: 1) an understanding of a language and/or a tool, 2) an understanding and use of language or tool to solve technological problems, and as 3) a way of understanding and describing a technological environment.   The results of the study will contribute to new approaches on how to vary and design the teaching of programming in technology for student teachers to develop skills that are important for their future profession

To See Reason: Technology Teachers’ Interventions and Students’ Reasoning in the Design Process

In this study, the aim has been to explore teacher interventions in relation to students\u27 reasoning in the design process. It is important that technology education develops students’ reasoning in design so that the students can learn to draw conscious conclusions and to make the thought process behind these conclusions explicit. The teacher’s support is pivotal to this learning. However, research on teacher practice when students reason within technology education is limited. Nonetheless, gaining knowledge about this would support further insights in how to develop students’ reasoning in design. Data has been collected through two classroom observations of lessons in technology education in Swedish secondary schools. Video and audio were recorded using two cameras and teacher-mounted and student group microphones. Transcribed video and audio data were analyzed through thematic analysis. In the results, the teacher interventions have been described and presented in relation to the important reasoning types in design; means-end reasoning and cause-effect reasoning. Findings indicate that the students’ reasoning is more visible when the teacher asks counter questions or questions to check-up or to challenge the student’s actions. The results of this study will be beneficial to propel further research about teaching in relation to students’ reasoning in design

Electronic Sentences: A systems development tool for young children

This poster describes Electronic Sentences (ES). This is a suite of software and hardware tools, along with supporting curriculum materials, that uses high-level electronic elements to allow young children to easily develop age-appropriate systems to solve real-world problems. As the name suggests, systems are created by assembling grammatically correct sentences that are scanned to create a corresponding electrical system. ES thus helps children develop literacy skills, logical thinking, design thinking and systems thinking. ES is designed to be used in conjunction with a wide range of modelling materials, which teachers will select with an eye to suitability for the children using the system. ES is being developed by a US/UK team. The target age for ES is anywhere between, in England, EYFS and Key Stage 1 and, in the US from grades pre-k-5. The design has focussed on useability for the youngest children in these ranges, i.e., children from 4 years on, while retaining attractiveness for older children, with the acknowledgement that teachers will use their judgement about when best to introduce ES. Limited trials of a prototype, fully working, system have taken place in US classrooms. This paper will, along with describing the ES system and its design aims, report on initial trials in English classrooms. It will explore the effectiveness of the system in achieving its multiple aims (the development of literacy skills, logical thinking, design thinking and systems thinking) and, in the light of these trials suggest necessary developments in the various elements of hardware, software and courseware that will be required before the product is made widely available

The challenges of implementing a spatial ability intervention at secondary level

Spatial skills development has been widely examined throughout the literature, with evidence suggesting many cognitive abilities are malleable and can be improved through targeted solutions. Some previous examples of intervention studies have been shown to reduce the gap between genders, and those of a lower socio-economic status where the training increased spatial ability, as well as in discipline-specific educational performance. These findings align with many national agendas for STEM diversity, which strive to increase participation and performance of such under-represented groups in STEM. With a lot of research being conducted around spatial skill development within a university level setting, or outside of a formal educational context completely, the applicability of such training interventions in a secondary level school context is unclear. With secondary level education aiming to develop many cognitive abilities, including spatial ability as outlined in curriculum documents, the implementation of such an intervention could improve student outcomes and add value to the educational experience of the students. With the time-sensitive nature of secondary level schooling, there are many concerns around the amount of time and effort that needs to be invested to successfully implement such an intervention. Through the piloting of a spatial training intervention, this paper focusses on the development of spatial skills within an upper secondary level setting in Ireland with 358 students aged 14-16 enrolled in the Transition Year programme and their 10 teachers. This paper examines the challenges of implementation of a specific spatial skills intervention, through a variety of lenses, including pedagogy based and performance based, and offers considerations for future research in the area. By looking from both teacher and student perspectives, we explore the issues encountered and offer suggestions to researchers conducting similar studies at secondary level