Exploring Mystery Products to Develop Design and Technology Skills: Case Studies from the Design Museum's Outreach Project

This article presents three case studies that illustrate the value to teachers and learners of using handling collections in design and technology. It briefly outlines an initiative by the Design Museum to create an Outreach Project to support teachers in this aspect of design and technology and then provides examples of classroom practise from a primary teacher, secondary teacher and from two teachers in an MLD special school. The article illustrates how the approach to using handling collections for product analysis activities promotes enthusiastic responses in both teachers and learners and not only develops understandings of how products work, what they are made from and so on, but also develops a broader range of skills such as problem solving, observation and coll

Researching performance based assessment: authenticity in assessment activities and processes to support the development of learner capabilities

Introduction for the 2015 DATA Special Edition This paper was originally presented as a Keynote address at the Southern African Association for Research in Mathematics, Science and Technology Education 21st International Conference, held at the University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, in January 2013. I was asked to present a Keynote that focused on assessment and, mindful of the conference theme of making Mathematics, Science and Technology Education socially and culturally relevant in Africa, the paper took the concept of authenticity as a major thread. The presentation drew on a number of TERU research projects, including one that Richard and I had conducted in South Africa in 1999. Using the projects as case studies, issues of authenticity were explored in relation to summative and formative assessment practices and related pedagogic approaches. Through an exploration using validity, reliability and manageability as lenses, the presentation offered some concluding comments on possible challenges and the potential of drawing on the research presented in a Southern African context. The paper here, that documents the keynote, has not previously been published

The Elusive Keys of Imagination and Play: unlocking creativity and innovation in design and technology education - DATA International Research Conference: UK Keynote

In the John Eggleston Memorial Keynote in 2002, Richard Kimbell identified the specific problem caused by a mismatch between “qualities at the heart of innovation” and current assessment criteria. At the core of this he identified two particularly problematic qualities: “the terrible two - the intractable two - the tantalising two ... the ability to be playful in restructuring the world and the ability to spark ideas”. (Kimbell 2002: 25)This paper will take these “terrible two” as a starting point and explore in greater depth the relationship between these qualities and the concepts of imagination, play, fantasy and reality. It will identify the significance of these concepts for creativity and innovation and the potential they provide as a foundation for the development of creativity and innovation in humans. The paper will then tackle the knotty problem of utilising these concepts in levering open the historic problems of the “gridlocked” design and technology (D&T) curriculum, by drawing on evidence and insights gained from research from within and beyond D&T, including illustrations of how a current research project Assessing Innovation* is exploring ways in which play and imagination can be promoted such that they spark, enkindle and sustain creative responses within D&T experience.Key Words creativity, innovation, play, playfulness, fantasy, imagination

Designing matters; designing minds: the importance of nurturing the designerly in young people

Design education, at face value, is often seen as being vocational – that it is about educating the next generation of designers. But all humans are ‘designerly’ by nature. We have a predisposition to envision and create new future realities in a way that has been described as an intrinsic and defining characteristic of being human and that is vital for cultural evolution. It is a capability that exists as innate potential. In this paper I argue that it is a critical responsibility of educators to develop design capability in all learners at all levels of education. To do this effectively requires a radical questioning of assumptions about the similarities and differences between educating young children and future professional designers, about the nature of difference between novice and expert designer, and of the value placed on developing the designerly potential in all. I also argue for a closer alignment between researching designing in a professional context and researching designing in younger learners as a way of bringing mutual benefit and a greater understanding of the value the designerly has, both for the individual and for civilisation. In the first section of the paper I lay out some of the concerns that have been raised, historically and currently, over the place of design education in the curriculum. I then move to explore the issues raised through drawing on a number of research projects conducted in the Technology Education Research Unit at Goldsmiths. Finally I consider aspects where research has not, so far, provided the answers and suggest where we might begin in seeking further understandings

The inspiration pitch: where do design ideas come from?

This paper reports on a specific aspect of research undertaken to explore the use of real-time’ dynamic, digital portfolios as a way of developing, evidencing and assessing design and technological capability – the e-scape project (Kimbell et al. 2009). In particular, it focuses on the factors that inspired the design ideas generated by the learners, as identified by the learners themselves through an ‘inspiration pitch’. This ‘pitch’ took the form of a 30 second sound-bite, recorded on a mobile phone, through which the learners explained the source of their inspiration. The learners’ responses were analysed to explore the type and range of sources they identified, how these related to performance in the task, whether gender was an issue and if there was a ‘school’ effect. A key feature of the task was the provision of an ‘inspiration’ handing collection and particular attention is paid to this. The handling collection was provided by the school, following guidance from the research team. The paper will report on the way in which the activity and handling collections were structured, the responses of the learners and the insights provided into supporting design ideation. In addition, the paper will report on other sources of inspiration – linked to both resources provided through the task itself and also those from external sources. Finally, the paper will identify certain key messages that could be drawn on to enable teachers to provide more effective support to learners’ development of creative and innovative ideas. This paper draws directly on the Report of Phase 3 of the escape project (Kimbell et al, 2009)

What makes an idea be worth sharing…or maybe recycling…or maybe shredding? What do we want learners to ‘take home’?

Writing a ‘reflections’ piece for this journal is an interesting challenge to be given. In working out what to write about, I have been mindful of the ‘footprints’ I am treading in, of the topics of the reflections that have come before and equally important of the spirit and tone of these reflections

Educating for environmental sustainability and educating for creativity: actively compatible or missed opportunities?

This paper identifies the importance of both creativity and environmental sustainability for developing individual learners and society as a whole. It suggests that sometimes these two concepts appear to be in tension and that, politically, each is often championed by different communities. The relationship between creativity and environmental sustainability is explored in three separate contexts: in a design and technology schools context where teenage learners are being facilitated to develop creative responses within design briefs that include environmental considerations; through interviewing student teachers who have undertaken an ecodesign project; and through interviews with professional ecodesign practitioners. The tensions, compromises and contradictions evident where there is limited experience of environmental issues is contrasted with the level of optimisation and creativity engaged when designers have more maturity in this area. Finally, some suggestions are made for taking forward creativity and environmental sustainability in technology education through an ecodesign capability approach

John Eggleston Memorial Lecture 2008 Designing matters; designing minds: The importance of nurturing the designerly in young people

Design education, at face value, is often seen as being vocational – that it is about educating the next generation of designers. But all humans are ‘designerly’ by nature. We have a predisposition to envision and create new future realities in a way that has been described as an intrinsic and defining characteristic of being human and that is vital for cultural evolution. It is a capability that exists as innate potential. In this paper I argue that it is a critical responsibility of educators to develop design capability in all learners at alllevels of education. To do this effectively requires a radical questioning of assumptions about the similarities and differences between educating young children and future professional designers, about the nature of difference between novice and expert designer, and of the value placed on developing the designerly potential in all. I also argue for a closer alignment between researching designing in a professional context and researching designing in younger learners as a way of bringing mutual benefit and a greater understanding of the value the designerly has, both for the individual and for civilisation. In the first section of the paper I lay out some of the concerns that have been raised, historically and currently,over the place of design education in the curriculum. I then move to explore the issues raised through drawing on a number of research projects conducted in the Technology Education Research Unit at Goldsmiths. Finally I consider aspects where research has not, so far, provided the answers and suggest where we might begin in seeking further understandings