Creating a community of learners in Design and Technology education: triumphs, disasters and lessons learned!

This paper is an evaluation of an attempt to create a community of learners in an Initial Teacher Education course. Students who participated were in their third year of a four year Bachelor of Technology Education degree at a Scottish university. As part of the Educational Studies component of the course, students were required to work collaboratively to produce a unit of work based on the Scottish Higher Grade arrangement documents in one of three areas of Technology Education (Product Design, Technological Studies and Graphic Communication). The end of year assessment, however, was to be based not on the actual unit of work produced but on student reflection on the process of collaborative learning and their ability to establish links between practice and theory in the field

The role of implicit theories in the development of creative classrooms

Whilst there appears to be a consensus that creativity should be encouraged in the school curriculum in general and in the design and technology curriculum in particular, the extent to which this is a reality within the present day system is open to question. Whereas teachers appear to overwhelmingly endorse the desirability of developing creativity within the classroom (Feldhusen & Treffinger, 1975), there appear, paradoxically, to be factors either within individual teachers or within the system which in some instances militate against this. This paper attempts to explain this problem through an exploration of the literature on creativity. It considers the implications of some of the issues arising from this literature for the successful development of creativity within the design and technology curriculum. The paper examines the role of the teacher in providing structures within the classroom which may act as facilitators or barriers to creative practice in the design and technology classroom. The complex relationship between creativity and motivation, for example, is explored through some of the findings on the implications of external evaluation, concrete rewards and praise for creative work (Ames, 1992; Deci, 1971; Ryan & Deci, 2000; Amabile, 1986; Lepper & Greene, 1978), and the differing effects of competitive, collaborative and individualistic structures on the creative process. (Johnstone & Johnstone, 1999; Nicholls, 1989). The importance of autonomy, diversity and risk-taking in fostering creativity is explored in relation to the work of Ames (1992) and Dweck (1999), and the extent to which teachers encourage the types of traits which appear to be part of the ‘creative personality’ is considered in relation to studies such as those by Wallach and Kogan (1974) and Guilford (1959). It is argued that the extent to which teachers are willing to adopt the type of structures and practices which will foster creativity in the design and technology classroom may be a function, not only of the education system but, perhaps more importantly, of the implicit theories which teachers hold in relation to creative ability in particular and to learning and assessment in general. The role of Teacher Education Institutions is discussed as a means of addressing these issues

Student teachers’ perceptions of technical subjects

This paper explores the extent to which a cohort of student teachers studying for a one-year Post Graduate Certificate of Education in a Scottish university hold stereotypical views about subjects in the curriculum of Scottish secondary schools and of the pupils who select these subjects for study. In particular, a comparison between physics and technological studies is made. Technological studies, which is a relatively new area in the Scottish curriculum, was introduced in an attempt to provide a course with a high degree of academic content and was perceived to be of particular relevance to pupils intent on pursuing a career in engineering. Despite these intentions, uptake of the course in schools in the west of Scotland has shown a steady decline. It is suggested that the persistence of traditional stereotypes regarding the non-academic, skills-based nature of subjects in the technical curriculum may be a factor contributing to the demise of technological studies. The results from this small sample suggest that stereotypical views do exist, at least for the particular group of student teachers surveyed. These findings are discussed within the context of factors which have been found to influence pupil choice of subjects in secondary schools

The Problem with Transition in Technology Education: A Scottish Perspective

This paper is based on an evaluation of a pilot project using Nuffield materials which was carried out in two Scottish secondary schools and their associated primary schools. The pilot was intended to address problems identified at the transition stage from primary to secondary in design and technology. Interviews conducted with staff in both sectors highlight important concerns regarding transition. The paper describes the Scottish technology education system, with particular emphasis on its similarity to the English Key Stages 1, 2 and 3. A discussion of the evaluation of the pilot project is given and issues concerning transition are considered and discussed. Whilst the Scottish technology curriculum differs in some important aspects from the English system, generic and pertinent issues exist which have relevance in relation to the transition process in many countrie

Technology students’ views of intelligence and the implications for classroom practice

This paper explores the views of intelligence held by two groups of students studying for the degree of Bachelor of Technology Education (B.Tech.Ed) at a Scottish University. The course is specifically designed to educate students for a career as teachers of technical education in secondary schools. The research builds upon the work carried out by Carol Dweck on implicit theories. Dweck (Dweck and Legge, 1998) postulates that two views of intelligence are held which she labels entity and incremental. The entity view assumes that intelligence is stable and global. Incremental views on the other hand are based on the assumption that intelligence is malleable and can change over time and according to context. The theories that are held by individuals have important implications for teachers through determining the type of learning structures they create. Analysis of the two groups indicates some important differences between them. These are explored and the implications of the findings are discussed

The Role of Adult Fiddler Crab Environmental Acoustic Cues and Chemical Cues in Stimulating Molting of Field-Caught Megalopae

In mid-Atlantic estuaries, three fiddler crab species, Uca pugilator, Uca pugnax and Uca minax co-occur, with their adults occupying different habitat types distinguished by salinity and sediment size. Some evidence exists that selective settlement is responsible for this separation but the mechanism is largely unknown. We tested the hypothesis that field-caught megalopae would accelerate metamorphosis in the presence of adult species-specific environmental acoustic cues and conspecific chemical cues. We placed megalopae in seawater with and without adult chemical cues, exposed them to one of three sound treatments for 8 days, and recorded the time each megalopa took to metamorphose. In the absence of adult chemical cues, very few megalopae molted regardless of sound treatment. Molting in the presence of habitat sound and chemical cues varied by species. Many U. pugilator molted in all sound and odor combinations, including no odor/sound. U. pugnax was stimulated to molt by chemical cues from either U. pugilator or U. pugnax, but molting was similar across sound treatments. Our results do not support the hypothesis that sound stimulates molting by fiddler crab megalopae, but support the role of chemical odors from adults as molting cues

Hearing in the Juvenile Green Sea Turtle (Chelonia mydas): A Comparison of Underwater and Aerial Hearing Using Auditory Evoked Potentials

Sea turtles spend much of their life in aquatic environments, but critical portions of their life cycle, such as nesting and hatching, occur in terrestrial environments, suggesting that it may be important for them to detect sounds in both air and water. In this study we compared underwater and aerial hearing sensitivities in five juvenile green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas) by measuring auditory evoked potential responses to tone pip stimuli. Green sea turtles detected acoustic stimuli in both media, responding to underwater stimuli between 50 and 1600 Hz and aerial stimuli between 50 and 800 Hz, with maximum sensitivity between 200 and 400 Hz underwater and 300 and 400 Hz in air. When underwater and aerial hearing sensitivities were compared in terms of pressure, green sea turtle aerial sound pressure thresholds were lower than underwater thresholds, however they detected a wider range of frequencies underwater. When thresholds were compared in terms of sound intensity, green sea turtle sound intensity level thresholds were 2–39 dB lower underwater particularly at frequencies below 400 Hz. Acoustic stimuli may provide important environmental cues for sea turtles. Further research is needed to determine how sea turtles behaviorally and physiologically respond to sounds in their environment

Evolving library marketing & communications strategies with intention

Over the past decade, the UNH Library outreach efforts have evolved from a workplace add-on to a department headed by an experienced marketing and communications professional. Budget and staffing concerns precipitated by the global pandemic as well as a new organizational structure provided opportunities for the library to reassess their approach to communications, marketing, and outreach. By prioritizing these efforts, the UNH Library used strategic planning to re-envision our engagement with our campus community. This panel will provide insights from four participants who were instrumental in shifting the library\u27s approach to a more centralized and intentional practice, which produced a more engaging strategy. Panel highlights will include developing the library\u27s first marketing plan, launching new initiatives including library tours and orientation sessions, hiring brand ambassadors, including communications duties into existing position descriptions, standardizing practices for outreach and assessment, developing a social media strategy and hiring two newly created positions. Panelists will share individual and organizational strategies for this work that may be replicated or reframed for attendees to take back to their institutions. Conversation will include proactive next steps and areas for further growth, including measuring impact and developing programming, to continue engaging positively with our community. Key takeaways for the attendees include learning concrete, easy to implement approaches for developing and assessment of marketing, communications, and outreach initiatives that lean on utilizing in-house talent as well as approaching this work through a growth mindset. Participants can engage in the topic from a variety of distinct perspectives from panelists who work in areas of user engagement, library administration, communications & outreach, and information literacy

The state of technology education : a European Commission perspective

This paper arises out of a consultancy to the European Commission. The commission had identified a problem with recruitment to Mathematics, Science and Technology (MST) subjects and careers across Europe and wished to explore existing examples of good practice in the field. The paper describes the methodology used in two phases of the consultancy which set out to identify examples of good practice and highlights the problems encountered in doing this with particular reference to Technology education. The paper then describes examples of good practice in Technology education provided and discusses some of the common problems encountered by European countries in developing an effective system of technology education across all sectors of the education system

Novel Bio-Logging Tool for Studying Fine-Scale Behaviors of Marine Turtles in Response to Sound

Increases in the spatial scale and intensity of activities that produce marine anthropogenic sound highlight the importance of understanding the impacts and effects of sound on threatened species such as marine turtles. Marine turtles detect and behaviorally respond to low-frequency sounds, however few studies have directly examined their behavioral responses to specific types or intensities of anthropogenic or natural sounds. Recent advances in the development of bio-logging tools, which combine acoustic and fine-scale movement measurements, have allowed for evaluations of animal responses to sound. Here, we describe these tools and present a case study demonstrating the potential application of a newly developed technology (ROTAG, Loggerhead Instruments, Inc.) to examine behavioral responses of freely swimming marine turtles to sound. The ROTAG incorporates a three-axis accelerometer, gyroscope, and magnetometer to record the turtle\u27s pitch, roll, and heading; a pressure sensor to record turtle depth; a hydrophone to record the turtle\u27s received underwater acoustic sound field; a temperature gauge; and two VHF radio telemetry transmitters and antennas for tag and turtle tracking. Tags can be programmed to automatically release via a timed corrodible link several hours or days after deployment. We describe an example of the data collected with these tags and present a case study of a successful ROTAG deployment on a juvenile green turtle (Chelonia mydas) in the Paranaguá Estuary Complex, Brazil. The tag was deployed for 221 min, during which several vessels passed closely (\u3c2 km) by the turtle. The concurrent movement and acoustic data collected by the ROTAG were examined during these times to determine if the turtle responded to these anthropogenic sound sources. While fine-scale behavioral responses were not apparent (second-by-second), the turtle did appear to perform dives during which it remained still on or near the sea floor during several of the vessel passes. This case study provides proof of concept that ROTAGs can successfully be applied to free-ranging marine turtles to examine their behavioral response to sound. Finally, we discuss the broad applications that these tools have to study the fine-scale behaviors of marine turtles and highlight their use to aid in marine turtle conservation and management