An (auto)Ethnographic Narrative of the Teaching of Designing within Design and Technology in the English Curriculum

AbstractDuring the 1980s there was a paradigm shift in technology education within the English secondary school curriculum, resulting in a series of National Curriculum iterations with Design and Technology (D&T) emerging in the mid 1990s. School inspection and academic discourse has identified the relative weakness of the teaching of design in comparison with making. This paper is presented as a personal narrative of the teaching of design, within a qualitative and interpretive paradigm. The findings highlight the challenges for D&T practitioners in their role as teachers of design, examining the nature of design education and how design concepts are framed

Educational use of QR Codes.

Quick Response (QR) Codes were developed in 1994 by a company called Denso-Wave looking for an alternative to barcodes for the Toyota motor corporation. They contain significantly more information than barcodes and can be read and decoded by almost any mobile device with a scanner or camera function. In a little over twenty years they have become part of everyday life, from appearing on railway tickets in China, to bank notes in Nigeria and even part of gravestones in Japan! The revolution has not stopped there and they can frequently be seen in classrooms and lecture theatres across continents. This poster draws together the experiences of a significant number of undergraduate trainee teachers in their journey to use and develop QR Codes in classrooms as part of their initial teacher training. Initially based in the secondary education (11 ? 16years old) sector in England, it also looks at the work being undertaken that uses QR Codes to support these trainees whilst they are studying in Higher Education in pursuit of their professional qualification. In summary, the work presented here showcases good practice with real world examples, it highlights the problems and pitfalls and enables the inquisitive educator to begin their journey with QR Codes. At the same time, it offers scope and potential for seasoned users to extend and expand their use in a range of educational contexts and application

A new paradigm for design and technology education?

One might expect a book exploring critique to intrigue, baffle, irritate and reassure in roughly equal measures, and Critique in Design and Technology Education does not disappoint on that measure

Feathered Dinosaurs Reconsidered: New Insights from Baraminology and Ethnotaxonomy

Birds could not have evolved from land animal ancestors because Genesis clearly states that birds and land animals were created on separate days. As a result, young-earth creationists have consistently opposed the theory that birds evolved from dinosaurs. Nevertheless, numerous fossils of dinosaurs with feathers, including some very bird-like dinosaurs, have been found in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. We determined to understand what these fossils mean in a creationist context through a survey of their fossil record and statistical baraminological analyses. While the survey demonstrates that feathered dinosaur fossils do, in fact, exist, the baraminological analyses suggest that there are probably at least eight different created kinds of non-avialan dinosaurs. The existence of multiple created kinds of non-avialan dinosaurs, non-avian avialans, and avians without an enormous morphological gulf between these groups, although historically unexpected in creationism, is argued through this study to be an accurate picture for their designed organization. Because of these results, creationists need to rethink the way they understand the organization of life, especially as it relates to tetrapods, in order to better represent the full spectrum of God’s created variety

Traditional tales and imaginary contexts in primary design and technology: a case study.

Working with contexts is a key component to design and technology activity and education. The most recent iteration of the national curriculum programme of study for design and technology, in England, sets out that children between the ages of 5 and 7 ?should work in a range of relevant contexts? (DfE, 2013: 193); suggested contexts including ?home and school, gardens and playgrounds, the local community, industry and the wider environment?. Whilst these are real world and familiar contexts, fictional contexts also provide opportunities for developing ?creative spaces? in which to speculate and discuss. This intrinsic case study explores the work of two primary teachers? development of a design and technology activity, where traditional tales provide the context. Children explore design problems and opportunities through the eyes of the Billy Goats Gruff, as they seek assistance to cross the river. Data was gathered through semistructured interviews and document analysis of children?s design work. The case study reveals how multidisciplinary and imaginative approaches to teaching and learning in the primary classroom simulate and nurture design thinking, dialogue and critique

Re-designing Design and Technology Education: A living literature review of stakeholder perspectives

Created following the amalgamation of several individual subject disciplines, in England, design and technology is in decline. Debates about its purpose and position have taken place since its inception but arguably these have not transferred into a rigorous research base. There is a growing body of scholars exploring the field, but with the decline of the subject, so the community working and investigating it is also diminished. Without a strong foundation, the actions of the few may not carry sufficient weight to generate full and meaningful debate that would influence those with the power to change policy on curriculum and lead to innovation. If we are to have any hope of reversing the subject’s deterioration, we must do something bold and significant. While an awareness of the subject’s history and its evolution is integral to our understanding of how and why we are where we are, merely reflecting on the past will do little to help the subject move forward. Hence, the principal aim of our research is to explore what a re-designed design and technology could look like. To achieve this, this study draws on different stakeholders’ visions of how they perceive the subject’s future