Developing an effective pedagogy in the classroom : implications for design and technology

The nature of creative problem solving is summarised and used to examine examples of teachers’ practice. Examples are drawn from both the ‘design and make’ approach and the Young Foresight initiative. Characteristics of the teachers’ pedagogy are identified and linked to the nature of the activities and tasks that the students were engaged in. Effective practice resulting in creative problem solving is identified and the influence of task and pedagogy on this practice discussed. Questions are raised about how insights provided by the Young Foresight initiative can be used to enhance problem solving in the curriculum as a whole

Making connections: students using science understanding of electric circuits in design and technology

The requirements of the National Curriculum note the importance of using science (and mathematics) in design and technology activity. Although it is difficult to disagree with this requirement, the nature of the links are not clear. In particular there is little evidence from classroom research that indicates how students use and build upon their scientific understanding. Our previous work indicates that there are difficult problems for both students and teachers and, despite discussions in the design and technology education literature, there is as yet little empirical evidence of how students use science understanding in design and technology activities. We argue here for more research on this issue and analyses of the requirements of design and technology tasks

Design and technology as revelation and ritual

This paper reports one of several case studies of Key Stage 3 pupils involved in designing and making. It explores how a teacher structures tasks, and the impact that has on the pupils' experience of the design process. Although the teacher uses the usual steps in the design process (defining a context, and creating a design brief and specification etc.), this is done in a ritualistic way such that pupils are not made aware of it. Further, in order to control the complexity of the task, the teacher reveals constraints on, and features of, the design, which create problems for the pupils. The explanation for such an approach by the teacher is found in the teacher's view of the design process and in his aims for the particular activity. We would like to acknowledge the work of Sara Hennessy in collecting and analysising data for the research reported here

Bridging the gap: the use of concepts from science and mathematics in design and technology at KS 3

National Curriculum documents note the importance of using science and mathematics in design and technology activity. However, the nature of the links between the subjects remains unclear in classroom practice. We will argue that rather than links between the subjects being obvious and exploited we can identify gaps between mathematical and science concepts as they are developed and used in the three subject areas. In order to build links between the subjects of design and technology, science and mathematics the potential gaps need to be recognised and understood by teachers. We suggest ways in which co-ordination between the subject areas could help to overcome some of these difficulties and in doing so enable students to see their learning in science and mathematics in context and enhance both practical skills and problem solving in design and technology