Newton, Douglas P.

English

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Introducing National Curriculum Technology:A Case Study in Curriculum ChangeDouglas P. NewtonSchool of Education Un iversity of Newcastle-upon- TyneIntroductionIn the Autumn Term of 1989, as thenature of National CurriculumTechnology began to emerge, someteachers of a comprehensive school inNorth Eastern England expresseduncertainty and unease about their futureroles. Traditionally, the teaching of theareas of Home Economics (HE) andCraft, Design and Technology (CDT) wasthrough more or less mutually exclusivedepartments. There was agreement thatthis could not continue in teaching for'technology capability'. Concern wasalso expressed that existing interests andteaching expertise would fall by thewayside. There was also, perhaps, a littleunderlying fear of the unknown.Faced with this disquiet, the headteachersuggested that some sort of NationalCurriculum dummy run might be usefuland I was asked to coordinate the project.The intention was to develop some usefulteaching materials and strategies, todemonstrate the feasibility of aproductive fusion of departments, and toreduce uncertainty and unease. The staffwelcomed the suggestion and, at a jointmeeting, the nature of NationalCurriculum Technology was discussedand the theme of Packaging selected fortesting with the current Year 7 (II +years). This theme was to last for abouthalf-a-term and no-one felt that he or shewas at a disadvantage because of thetopic. An art teacher also agreed to takepart in the project.The children of Year 7 were in two broadbands for timetabling purposes and wereof mixed ability within these bands. Theywere taught HE,CDT and Art as a part ofa carousel'arrangement, each classreceiving instruction in one area thenmoving on to the next. The childrenreceived no separate instruction inInformation Technology or BusinessStudies in Year 7. It was not possible tore-timetable the Year to accommodate ashort exercise in integrated Technologyteaching so a coordinated teachingscheme was agreed, to take effect inJanuary 1990. This allowed time forevaluation of the project and planning forthe following academic year.A booklet briefly summarising the aimsand the five Attainments Targets ofNational Curriculum Technology, theProfi Ie Components and the agreedteaching scheme was issued to all staffinvolved at the end of the Autumn Term.This ensured a smooth start to the projectin the Spring term.The lessonsAll classes received a common,introductory lesson on packaging and itsmodem uses and were set the problem ofdesigning, making and testing a packetfor 112 kg of nails.In the teaching time allocated to HE(Food), the children considered the needto protect foodstuffs like eggs andbiscuits. Part A of Package Deal, a T.V.programme in the BBC seriesMindstretchers, introduced the problem.The children set about solving it then PartB, largely about testing solutions, wasshown and the children tested theirssimilarly. The need to package otherfoodstuffs, like potatoes, was introducedthrough a brief account of thesatchel-bottomed paper bag invented byMargaret Knight (1838-1914). This wasan economical way of covertly pointingout that invention is not the exclusivepreserve of men while leading to aproblem on the design of a paper bag tocarry 2kg of potatoes I.The need for awise choice of materials used to packageand transport foodstuffs was discussedand practices surveyed.In the teaching time allocated to HE(Fashion and textiles), the focus wasupon the packaging of clothes. Thechildren soon realised that, while someclothes like shirts were packaged in verysophisticated ways, others were notpackaged prior to sale. The children'ssurvey and display showed that thepackaging of such items was often bymeans of a general purpose carrier bag ofsome form. This was a natural way ofleading into the design and realisation ofa carrier-package such as a roll-up, toolkit holder, shopping bag, or a pencil case,in which there is a need to consider theload and its nature, to select anappropriate material, to design, plan andmake the artefact, and to appraise thesolution.In the teaching time allocated to CDT, abrief history of packaging was describedand a comparison made between earlierpackaging materials and their moderncounteI'Rarts, relating material andfunction2. The Story of Oxo was used totie the message to a concrete instance andmake it meaningful3. For the lesson, thechildren brought a variety of boxes andexamined how they were made anddecorated. Based on this experience, theyiesigned and made a.cubic box usingcard and glue or interlocking tags. In thelater lessons, more difficult packagingproblems were presented involving theprotection and display of, for example, achocolate car. Appraisal of solutionscentred on effectiveness, appearance, andfacility with which they could be stacked.A concluding lesson widened the subjectto consider such aspects as the re-cyclingof packaging materials.In each of these areas, the role of Art wasreadily perceived. For instance it is soonapparent that none of the briefs is sotightly drawn that only one acceptablesolution is possible; matters of goodartistic design enter into, for instance, themaking of labels, boxes, and pencil cases.Similarly, Information Technology is ableto contribute to the design of boxes, theproduction of labels, and the handling ofsurvey data. Some aspects of packagingand good business practices are apparentin many aspects of the theme and, inparticular, in the Story of Oxo.At the conclusion of a unit of work with ateacher, each group moved to the next, asdictated by the existing timetable.The outcomeEach teacher expressed his or her feelingsabout the project in individual interviews.All felt that the standard of work wasgood. Pupils were generallywell-motivated doing more than wasasked and continuing their work in theirown time. The project highlighted thegeneral lack of manual dexterity in Year 7but, it was felt, experience of this kindwould improve it.Having children working in groups ondifferent versions of a problem was felt tobe a useful strategy. For example, somemight work on a package for an egg,others on one for biscuits. Since,inevitably, children are interested in whatothers do, this variety widens theirexperience.All felt that traditional work areas weretoo cramped, constraining and inflexibleand did not lend themselves to discussionand planning (a criticism also made byHMI\ Lessons were of one-hourduration and, it was felt, this was tooshort and led to a lack of continuity andquality of realisation.The overall opinion was that the projecthad been worthwhile and interesting andthe staff would use the material in thefuture. It had demonstrated how eachteacher, regardless of background, couldmake a worthwhile contribution to thedevelopment of technological capability.The staff expressed a willingness todevelop more material in a similar way.The children of Year 7 were also asked towrite their views of the project. A largemajority expressed very favourablefeelings about it. The following is aparticularly articulate example:'I have enjoyed doing the project onpackaging in all of the CDT subjects.It was fun making and learning aboutall the different packages. It made achange from doing ordinary work inthese subjects, like sewing in thesewing lesson, woodwork in thewoodwork lesson, etc. I enjoyedmaking the different shaped boxes andbags from paper ~nd card. I alsoenjoyed making things like cars,robots, boats and many other thingsfrom packages that people would havethrown away. I have looked atpackaging in fashion. I have learntwhat is written on the labels ofpackages why we package food andwhy different things are packaged indifferent things. Altogether the workwe have done on packaging has beenfun'.Of course, there were a few who wouldnot agree. The following is an extremeexpression of that:'I have not enjoyed doing thepackaging project it was really boring.the only thing that I liked was Art. Itwas the worst project I have everdone'.Planning for Key Stage 3The Packaging project was reviewed andthe outcome summarised in a shortbooklet for the staff concerned and thehead teacher, who encouraged furtherdevelopment. A GRIST funded day wasarranged soon after to develop a plan forKey Stage 3. One of the products was anagreed outline scheme based on athematic approach, like that ofPackaging, for the younger children.Amongst the common themes discussedwere: Survival, Energy, and Christmas.Some staff were of the opinion that somethemes did not lend themselves to aworthwhile contribution from 'particularareas of expertise' and it was agreed thatthey might like to develop more limitedthemes of interest to themselves - areasonable and apparently innocuouspoint which left me uneasy for reasonswhich become clear only later. It was,however, emphasised that continuity andprogression are important and that anyactivities should aim to developtechnological capability as described inthe National Curriculum document. Amodel for working with older childrenbased on the cross-curricular Technologycourse of the T.R.I.P.S. Project 5 wasoutlined to the group and it was agreed totry a modified version of this approach inYear 9A second point was an agreement onwhat was needed in terms of thetimetable. Contiguous lessons, in blocksof two, one-hour units were wanted tomaintain momentum and coherence.Advantage was also seen in having allYear 7 lessons for a band taught at thesame time so that there could bemovement of pURils between teachers onan as need basis . There were also somethoughts on designing and making asimple record system which would suitcoordinated teaching and pupilmovement between teachers.The aims of the prOject now seemed tohave been largely fulfilled. The feasibilityof working together as a team had beendemonstrated, teaching material had beendeveloped, the way lorward seemed clear,and concerns appeared to have beenreduced. The requests for contiguous andsimultaneous lessons were granted and anArt teacher and an InformationTechnology teacher were to be includedin the teaching unit. Plans to modifyteaching facilities were also made.The veneer of changeIn the next meeting, at which I waslargely an observer, discussion focusedon an alleged reduction in teaching timeafforded Technology in the newtimetable. In absolute terms, this wascorrect; the time for teaching NationalCurriculum Technology in Year 7 wasgoing to be less that the previousprovision for teaching CDT, HE (Food),and HE (Fashion) taken together.Somewhat heatedly, the question wasasked,'How can we possibly teachTechnology with less time than we havenow?' The Deputy Head explained thatCDT and HE had been replaced by a newsubject, technology, and that Technologywas a Foundation Subject with the sameentitlement as the other FoundationSubjects. This explanation was notwell-received.When discussion tumed to progress onpreparing a detailed scheme of work forthe themes, it became apparent that theescape route offered to 'particular areasof expertise' would be used to theresurrect teaching activities which did notfulfil the spirit of the NationalCurriculum for Technology. It seemedlikely that it would be used to maintainthe status quo.Forcing the. pace of changeThe amount of teaching time afforded thesubject seems to be perceived as anindication of its status: the more time itreceives, the higher its status. Simplypointing out that it is no longer entitled tomore than the others was insufficient tosalve the feeling. There was a need toemphasise the potential gains; at lastTechnology is being made equal to othersubjects, it has suffered for too long fromthe image of refuge for less able, and soon.The staff had demonstrated that theycould work in a cooperative unit onTechnology but the meeting showed thatsome, at least, did not see it as one area ofthe curriculum but as what theNon-Statutory Guidance describes as afederation of subjects. A concludingactivity had been for teachers to constructa concept map of Technology Education.A part of one teacher's map is shown infigure I. The 'consists of' line was thefirst to be drawn and it suggests that thisteacher sees Technology Education as thesum of subjects listed. This may stemfrom an unwillingness to submerge avalued and distinctive identity in a largerpool. It carries with it the temptation toperpetuate that identity through theescape route from the common themes.This supports the opinion of the NationalCurriculum Council that a federal view ofTechnology could lead to fragmentation. d' d 7Into unco-or mate parts.Only demonstrating the feasibility ofchange and showing how to effect ithardly touches deep attitudes, values andcommitments, even in the face ofinevitable change. Will some teacherscontinue to dabble surreptitiously in thepast or will their attempts fade away withthe need to produce results for all to see?When curriculum change is effected posthaste, there is little time for much morethan a forced march to the starting pointand having got there, the troops arelooking every which way but forward.The smoothly functioning unit with acommon view of its purpose is probably amyth but it is the ideal that theconscientious Head of Department workstowards. In this case, the Head ofDepartment was made aware of thefragile nature of the gains and theincipient danger of fragmentation. Bymonitoring classroom activities andguiding development, progress could beconsolidated and extended. Theseteachers also need to spend time togetherdiscussing, planning and experimentingwith Technology Education so that theymight begin to share Technology-orientedvalues.ReferencesI. Newton. D.P., Newton L.D. (1990) Bright Ideas:Design and Technology (ScholasticPublications) also Newton D.P. and NewtonL.D. (1987) Footsteps into Science (StanleyThomes)2. Crampton K. and Finney, M. (1988) Design andCommunication (Collins)3. 'The Story of Oxo' is available from BrookeBond Foods Ltd, Education Service, LeonHouse, High Street, Croyden, CR9 IJQ, whoalso have an information leaflet on Packaging.4. Nash I. (1990) 'Two in three schools unready fortechnology'. The Times EducationalSupplement, 4 May A35. Smith, B.P., Warriner, M.P., et ai, (1990) paperpresented on 'Technology and Initial TeacherTraining' at Leeds Polytechnic, 20 March,outlining the Technology Resources InformationProblem Solving Project for 12 to 14 year olds atGreenhead Grammar School, Keighley. Asignificant part of this project is for children towork on a Small Business Scheme.6. Similar to Teaching Model B described in theNon Statutory Guidance for Technology of theNational Curriculum Council (1990) B 13 D&T.7. National Curriculum Council (1990) NonStatutory Guidance for Technology, B9 D&T.TECHNOLOGY/ \Process\Please pay immediately and,commencing in 1991, on Ist May eachytar, the sum of £14.00 to TrenthamBooks Limited., L10yds Bank,30-95-21, Loughborough, Leics,England.Account No. 0168192Please cancel any previous order.* Insert name of your bankers.Please send to: Trentham Books Ltd.,Unit 13/14 Trent Trading ParkBotteslow StreetStoke-on-Trent STl 3LYNAME----------ADDRESS _Signed _I am a new subscriber/existingsubscriber/To: Mrs. B. WigginsTrentham Books LimitedUnit 13/14 Trent Trading ParkBotteslow StreetStoke-on- Trent STl 3LYPlease enter my subscription to Design& Technology Teaching.* I enclose payment/official Order for£ 14.00 ($30 or £16,00 overseas) for oneyear subscription commencing withVolume 23 Number I 1990 andcontinuing in subsequent years untilcancelled.NAME -----------ADDRESS _I am a new subscriber/existingsubscriber.* delete as appropriate.Please make cheques payable toTrentham Books. Receipts are notissued unless required, in which caseplease enclose SAE.

Introducing National Curriculum Technology: A Case Study in Curriculum Change

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Introducing National Curriculum Technology: A Case Study in Curriculum Change

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