Barnett, M.

Compton, J.

Macaskill, C.

O'Hagan, P.

English

Loughborough University Library: Open Journals

IT IN D&T .Why doresearch?Informationhandling anddecisionmaking indesign andtechnologyM. Barnett,J. Compton,C. Macaskill,P. O'HaganInstitute of Education,University of LondonFrequently, the informationgathered by pupils in theresearch phase of a projectis not used to inform laterdecisions about theirdesigning and making. Thisarticle considers the potentialof databases (CD-ROMs inparticular) to supportinformed decision making bypupils carrying out projects indesign and technology.We are told that ours is an Information Age. Asany ten-year-old knows, computers can dointeresting things with any amount ofinformation. For design and technology, thequestion of information handling is important.Although the latest rewrite of the Order makesmuch less demand for ATl- the 'needs andopportunities' of yesteryear, informationhandling is included in the Manufacturing andEngineering GNVQs as a grading criterion.Over the last two years, as part of a projectconcerned with the use of databases in designand technology, we have been exploring whatpupils actually do when they carry outresearch. For us, a crucial question has beenthe extent to which any research supporteddecision taking during designing and making.The process of researching could involve skillsand techniques for:• clarifying what is to be found outidentifying sources of informationretrieving and recording informationjudging relevance of information retrievedpresenting findingsmaking use of the information to informdecisions or actions.On the other hand, 'doing research' can refer toa process whose main or sole aim is to pad outthe project folder. Pupils often ask 'Have Idone enough yet?' or 'Can I get on withmaking now?' .• Do pupils use research totake decisions aboutdesigning and making?Most teachers believe that how they setprojects requires pupils to 'do research' andthat this activity will link with the designingand making pupils do subsequently. We havefound little evidence of pupils being taughteither research skills or practising methods formaking use of their findings. This hasconfirmed points communicated to us byGabriel Goldstein HMI1. 'While pupils usedatabases to produce for example a pie chart,they are neither challenged to explain norexploit their output'. For him there was notalways evidence that the notion of 'datahandling for meaning' (i.e. information)informed actual pupil practice in the classroom.The potential of databases is that they can helppupils access information which would in turnenable them to take better informed decisions,but it is clear that any database must be seen assomething more than a convenient source of'data' to be regurgitated to satisfy perceiveddemands for' enough research'. Our work withschools has shown pupils' activities to becharacterised by a variety of conceptions aboutwhat research was for. The following examplesare taken from practical project work:'Data gathering' - such as 'Collectanimal pictures for your folder'. In thiscase research was undertaken 'Because theteacher told us to' and had little effect onthe proj ect.'Confirmatory' - such as 'When shegave out the project I already knew that Iwanted to do a squirrel, so I looked it upand it was OK'. The research here doeslittle more than firm up an initial fuzzyresponse.'How to .• .' - such as 'I thought anelephant would be good, but it's difficultto draw. So I found a picture that I couldtrace'. In other words, it's a convenientmethod for solving a problem.'Focusing' - such as 'What I did was tolook at a few leaflets and they all usedcuddly animals - there weren't anysnakes or slugs! So I thought it would begood to use something that people hadused already.'The first three headings typify the vastmajority of activity for KS3 pupils. Only in thefourth case can it be said that the pupil'sthinking has moved forward through clarifyingwhat needs to be found out and linking this toideas for the project outcome. Many pupilsnever get to understand the importance ofinformation handling to designing and making.In part this is practical - pressures of time andresources. There will always be potentialdifficulties in obtaining and accessing data, butat root remained the question: did the way theproject brief was set really require informationhandling?• CD-ROMs in school designand technologyWe have been working with a number ofschools trialling the use of CD-ROM databasesin design and technology, and this has given usan opportunity to observe the way in whichteachers and pupils set about handlinginformation from this potentially richIT IN D&Telectronic data source. We will refer here towork in three of these schools by way ofillustrating some of the possibilities andlimitations of using dedicated CD-ROMs.School 1This is a suburban all-girls comprehensiveschool (approximately 800 pupils) which hasover the past five years de-centralised its ITprovision although many of the staff still claimuncertainty and a lack of confidence inexploiting IT. They are concerned that there isinsufficient or inappropriate database materialcovering the content domain of D&T. The vastmajority of pupils take the traditional GCSEroute in either food or textiles, though a smallnumber take CDT: Realisation.The computer with CD-ROM was mounted ona trolley so that it would be available to anygroup within the faculty. The database wasused during the early stages of projects tosupport pupils in identifying needs andopportunities. The aim of using databases wasto broaden the field of research and to providea wider range of data from which pupils couldselect items specific to their task. Exampleprojects included:KS3: 'Exploring the creative use of asewing machine' - pupils were requiredto research a variety of images and designideas before selecting or creating theirown for use as a template for their making.Designs from Wheeler Quick ArtCD-ROM were reviewed along withprinted resources.KS4: 'Designers and the fashion industry'- pupils were required to research therecent history of fashion and fashiondesigners and select one as a case study.The Guardian on CD-ROM was used toexplore recent fashion trends. Pupilsselected useful information and combinededited versions of these with informationfrom other sources as the basis for theirproject.KS4: 'International Cookery' - pupilswere required to research food sources andcookery methods, culture and cuisine in achosen foreign country, before going on toplan and make a series of dishes. Inaddition to the Guardian and TimesCD-ROM discs supplied, the schoolacquired Europe in the Round. As with thefashion project, pupils used their selectedinformation as the basis of their designingand making.The main thrust of their work has been insupporting general research, which wouldnormally have been carried out only fromprinted resources. Teachers feared that theCD-ROM was not only unfamiliar to pupils butthat the 'browse' architecture and userstructures were unsympathetic for pupils intheir early research, but were pleased that oncepupils became more familiar with theequipment they could easily transferinformation directly into other softwarepackages. The more specific the research, themore easily pupils were able to target andretrieve appropriate information. Teachers wereparticularly pleased that the software wassufficiently user friendly for pupils not only toteach themselves the basics but also to explorethe limitations and the potential of the system.An interesting additional bonus for staff wasthat the obvious enthusiasm of the pupilstended to promote inter-departmental workingand discussion about the potential thatCD-ROM could have for teaching and learningin D&T.School 2This is an inner-city all-girls Roman Catholicday school with approximately 650 pupils.Academic subjects are held in high esteem butthe demands of the National Curriculum fortechnology are seen as 'very difficult'. Theschool has in the past offered home economicstextiles and child care as life skills.Given a split site, all trialling was done intextiles and food using newspaper CD-ROMswith the equipment on a trolley. Despite beingable to move it from room to room it was keptfor the majority of the time in a small studyroom to be used by individuals or smallgroups. Projects included:KS3: To support National Curriculum SAT'Design and make a snack bar'. TheCD-ROMs were offered to pupils as aresource to help with their PJI(Identifying needs and opportunities)although the traditional database onnutrition proved more useful.KS4: 'The family' - CD-ROM was usedas part of the developmental psychologymodule for GCSE in child care. Thenewspaper CD discs were particularlyeffective in allowing pupils to exploreIT IN D&TModel TheatreYear Group:Outline of Project: To design and make a model theatre production thatincludes an educational message. The performance should be aimed at KS3pupils. Initially, pupils are encouraged to brainstorm ideas such as 'drugs' or'AIDS' etc., and develop these into a spider chart of possible ideas. Once theyhave decided on a theme for the project, they are then encouraged to researchthe factual background for their subject. This involves using both paper andelectronic sources. Using this information the groups then develop astoryboard for their production. All the props and characters are made fromcardboard.Stand-alone Archimedes, external CumanaCD-ROM drivePurpose of using software: To allow pupils to use relevant data to deliver aspecific message to a particular target audience.popular conceptions of the family and theinfluence of social trends on behaviour.Individual projects then looked moredeeply into one specific aspect, for whichthe Guardian proved very useful. Pupilsselected not only statistical informationbut also compared and contrasted opinionand comment. The edited versions werecombined with information from othersources as the basis for their project.Much of the comment above from School 1was repeated by teachers in this rather differentschool environment. They too used thedatabases predominantly as an aid to research.In both schools the enthusiasm of the pupilsand their resulting work overrode many of theinitial fears the teachers had about newtechnology/computers. The project hasstimulated the school library to buy aCD-ROM drive and two discs (The Bible andWar/dAtlas).School 3This inner-city comprehensive has 550 girls inthe main school and 250 pupils ina mixedsixth form. The school has for a long timeenjoyed a reputation for its excellence in thearts. Design Technology is a relatively newdepartment in the school. There are, however,fairly extensive computer facilities.There are two modules taught at KS3 thatspecifically address the use of databases. Thefirst, 'Model Theatre', a Year 7 project, isdesigned to introduce the pupils to thepossibilities of using CD-ROM as a researchresource for all design and technology work.The second, 'Electronic guide to the school', isa classic Year 8 project which is often usedsolely as a means of teaching basic electronicsbut in this case involves the pupils designing amultimedia database. This looks in greaterdepth at how information is stored andpresented, and is designed to give the pupilsmore confidence in the effective use ofelectronic information systems.We include here the plan for the model theatreproject. The dual approach, using paper andCD-ROM resources, avoids the logisticalproblem of everyone wanting to use theCD-ROM drive at the same time. It also allowsa class discussion as to the merits of bothsystems. The groups are encouraged to discussall the information collected, in order to decidewhat is relevant and useful for their finalproduction.• Summary of school-basedresearchTwo significant conclusions can be drawn fromour work and for the future development ofreplicable good practice.The first is that the CD-ROM is user friendly.It has promoted research during the initialphase of D&T project work - investigatingneeds and opportunities. At present there is arelatively small range of CD-ROMs available,but this will be remedied over the next two tothree years - through for exampleNCET-funded developments (the excellentDesign Council Image Bank CD-ROM, forexample). The great advantage of CD-ROMusage apart from its portability is that it doesnot require specialist knowledge or greatpractice to use it effectively and speedily. Mostpupils were able to teach themselves to use thehardware and the search structures in onelesson. Also their success encouraged staff toinclude its use in other areas - as in School 2above - and promoted inter-departmentaldiscussion and collaboration.The second is that CD-ROM does not addressall the problems of information handling whichpupils encounter in D&T. This is easier toexplain by example. At School 3 the Y7 pupilsIT IN D&Tengaged in the model theatre project used thenewspaper databases to find factualinformation about their chosen health topic.The D&T task was to produce a playlet to putacross their chosen health message to otherKS3 pupils. The school's learning objectivewas to get the pupils to use the database as asource of factual information on the chosenhealth issue.The database use in this project was typical:the CD-ROM was used to trawl usefulinformation, not to facilitate decision taking. Inother words, how did the pupils at School 3decide how to turn newspaper articles abouttheir topic into language that their peers couldunderstand? How did they decide what to leavein and what to miss out? How did they decidehow to turn the facts into a story? It was clearfrom the outcomes that the CD-RaM-basedmaterial had informed the factual aspects of theplaylet - as in an English project. The specificD&T aspects of the project - such as drawingthe storyboard or constructing the props andcharacters - did not require a database, norwere images, characters or dialogue directlyattributable to the newspaper source material.All newspapers carry a range of advertisingalongside the news and features, and this artmaterial could have been used by the majorityof children in decisions about drafting the storyline and designing the props.Unfortunately, limiting pupils' database use toa dedicated system such as CD-ROM has notyet allowed projects to explore 'informationhandling for meaning' fully. In the exampleabove, an open (content free) database couldhave been used to facilitate decisions about theD&T aspects of the project. For instance, indrafting the storyline pupils could have usedthe database to collate information aboutcurrent views and attitudes to the health topicof the potential audience. During the project, tohelp design the storyboard, characters andprops, other KS3 pupils could have beencanvassed about their responses to the messageand to alternative images. In evaluating thefinal production, an open database could havebeen used to collate and interpret opinions andcheck whether or not these related to theoriginal survey of opinion. However, thecomments of staff in these schools showed thatthey might have used open databases were theyas simple and effective as CD-ROM.Toplace an order orrequest a FREE copy of<.-> our 1994 TechnologyCatalogue pleasetelephone 0800 526441Economatics (Education) ltd.Epic House, Darnall RoadAttercliffe, Sheffield 59 5AATel: (0742) 561122 Fax: (0742) 439306IT IN D&T• Conclusion: information as amaterialThe aim of the research process, as outlinedabove, is to produce information useful inmoving the project forward. This may wellrequire that data gathered for other purposes, orfor no single specific purpose, be interpreted orreorganised in the light of the context andpurposes of the project. This is the processwhich Layton2 describes asrecontextualiastion. The original informationfrom the data source needs to be worked on;skills, knowledge and practice are needed towork it effectively. There is a sense in whichinformation can be viewed as a material, to beused actively like other D&T materials such asfood metals or textiles.Information does not, however normally arrivein a 'raw' state any more than other materialsarrive in the work-room in their raw forms.Materials generally arrive part finished and theamount and type of work to be done on themdepends on the form in which they arrive. Eventhe most generic and least contextualiseddatabases contain partly processed information,if only by virtue of the data having beenformatted in accordance with the databasestructure. Structure and modes of access willaffect how easy it is to 'work' the material.One of the most interesting attempts to produceinformation in a readily 'workable' form is theCD-ROM being produced by Adrian Mardenand colleagues at Goldsmiths' College. It isdesigned to support D&T project work, usingthe context of the theatre. Organised into eightdata sets, each level gives a clear indication ofthe potential complexity of the information-handling process required. Their searcharchitecture includes a browse or generalscanning mode, called PLAY; a FIND mode toexplore detail; a WORD mode that seeks bykey word; and a WORK mode that offerspotential classroom activities.For information handling to work inclassrooms, the key issues are ease andfriendliness of access and appropriateness ofthe data found. In selecting any data source forclassroom use, teachers needed to think aboutnot only whether the information contained issuitable - but also whether the data could beinterrogated and manipulated in a manageableway. If pupils view the CD-ROM as a bit like ateacher: 'I can find out what I need to knowfrom it' - and the structure is too limited orunresponsive, pupils fail to find what they wantand become disillusioned.In an overview of database managementsystems, Paul McDonald and MalcolmBatchelor3 have pointed out that trainingchildren to use inappropriate systems is at bestineffective and at worst detrimental. From abrief set of indicative uses for D&T activity,they concluded that 'until databases can bemade to act as information-bases rather thanmere data-bases, it could be more profitablefor pupils to gain the concepts, skills and habitsof information handling by better use of thelibrary' .Before teachers can use databases effectivelyas an integral component of their teaching andlearning programme, they need to establish forthemselves the learning aims to be achievedthrough using a database. They need tounderstand the interventions needed so thatpupils better understand not only how to usethe database but also how to use the resultinginformation in their designing and making. TheNuffield Design and Technology CurriculumProject materials4 give useful guidance on thisimportant aspect of teaching.One practical approach, which encouragespupils to link research work to subsequentdecision taking, is to ask them to keep a simplerecord of their research activity - both the'what I found' and the 'why it was worthrecording'. Pupils could then be asked tocolour code their findings and use the samecolour code throughout their folders, perhapsto outline parts of a drawing or to underlinesome text to show where the research wasrelevant and useful. It is also helpful if anyassessment explicitly credits how the researchwas used rather than simply that it was there.Finally, we would emphasise that if the taskdoes not really need research, then the pupilsshould not be encouraged to try and do any!• References1. Gabriel Goldstein, Private Communication2. D. Layton, 'Science education and Praxis: therelationship of School Science to Practical Action'in Studies in Science Education 19, 1991, pp. 43-793. P. Macdonald and M. Batchelor, PrivateCommunication4. Nuffield-Chelsea Curriculum Trust, Design andTechnology Resource Book, 1992

Why do research? Information handling and decision making in design and technology

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Why do research? Information handling and decision making in design and technology

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