David Barlex

The Role of Published Materials in Curriculum Development and Implementation for Secondary School Design and Technology in England and Wales

This paper discusses the ways in which teachers exploited a set of curriculum materials published as a vehicle for curriculum innovation, and the relationship between chosen modes of exploitation and teachers’ own perceptions of how the materials had ’added value’ to their teaching. The materials in question were developed by the Nuffield Design and Technology Project (’the Project’) to offer a pedagogy appropriate to the statutory curriculum for secondary school design and technology education in England and Wales (DFE/WO 1995). The Project had sought both to inform the statutory curriculum, and respond to its requirements. An earlier case study (Givens 1997) laid the foundations for the survey that is reported here. This paper focuses on the teaching of pupils aged 11–14. It finds that while most teachers made at least some use of all the various components of the publications, they were selective. While the Study Guide, which carries out a meta-cognitive dialogue with pupils, was generally underused, those teachers who did use it perceived greater value added by the materials as a whole to the quality of pupils’ work, their effectiveness in design and technology and their autonomy.

Design and Technology--the Nuffield Perspective in England and Wales.

This paper describes the development of the design and technology component of the National Curriculum of England and Wales from its inception in 1988 to its current form in 1995 and the influence of the Nuffield Design and Technology Project in this process. The paper discusses the Nuffield approach to four important issues – breadth and balance, continuity and progression, differentiation and clarity of content. The paper discusses the role of the teacher and identifies four important features required for successful teaching. The paper describes the work of the Project in providing continual professional development for design and technology teachers including the work of area field officers to support teachers who are using the Project publications.

Teaching STEM in the Secondary School: helping teachers meet the challenge

This book looks at the purpose and pedagogy of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) teaching and explores the ways in which STEM subjects can interact in the curriculum to enhance student understanding, achievement and motivation. By reaching outside their own classroom, teachers can collaborate across subjects to enrich learning and help students relate school science, technology and maths to the wider world.

Investigating interaction between science and design & technology (D&T) in the secondary school – a case study approach

Interaction between science and design and technology (D&T) in schools is seen by many educationalists and industrialists as being desirable. During the period 1970 to 1990 progress was made in the UK, however the advent of the national curriculum compartmentalised subjects thus hindering further progress. Bodies in the UK such as the Office for Standards in Education (OfSTED) and the Engineering Council have repeatedly promoted cooperation between these two subjects in schools and, since 2000, have renewed their support through several publications. Similar efforts, with varying degrees of success, have been made in other countries. Initially this article records progress made and identifies that, in the majority of cases, a ‘top–down approach’ by educationalists has not produced significant change. This research reports on a ‘bottom–up’, school‐based case study facilitated and monitored by university researchers. The findings indicate that this can be fraught with difficulties unless approached in a carefully planned way to avoid situations where teachers challenge each others’ subject knowledge and pedagogical culture. The outcome reports on how teachers in the science and design and technology departments of a school achieved a measure of success and concludes with a recommendation of a way forward in facilitating interaction between these two subjects.

The Stem Programme in England

This chapter is in four parts. It is deliberately and of necessity descriptive. And the author has to acknowledge that in reporting this very short history of an episode of curriculum politics that he was actively involved in the machinations. The author is the STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) consultant for the Design & Technology Association and was given the brief to develop the profile of design & technology within the National STEM Programme with particular reference to links with science.

Developing a Technology Curriculum

This chapter proposes three procedural principles that can inform the development of a technology curriculum: being true to the nature of technology, developing a perspective on technology, and enabling technological capability. It then explores possible futures for technology education curricula using each of these principles as a lens. Drawing on these scenarios, the argument is made that using these principles will result in a curriculum that is a valid and worthwhile endeavour for all students, and that facilitates the introduction of new elements, enabling the curriculum to keep pace with changes outside of school. The chapter concludes by asserting that teachers can use the principles to devise, justify and implement programmes of study that are robust and can withstand scrutiny from those who might question the worth of technology education. In turn, policy makers can benefit from the informed discourse with an articulate and knowledgeable profession.

The Young Foresight Project

This chapter is primarily concerned with the involvement of mentors from business and industry working alongside pupils and teachers in schools in the Young Foresight Project. The chapter will begin by giving a brief description of the Young Foresight Project and the materials it produced. It will then describe briefly the way in which the project was evaluated to inform its development. It will then present some of the findings of this evaluation with particular regard to the views of the mentors from industry. It will describe the way that mentors adopted different roles in the classroom and the way in which the views of the mentors led to the revision of the project materials. Finally it will consider the worth of involving mentors in the development of such a project and discuss the way mentoring can be situated within a participation metaphor for learning.

Nuffield Primary Design & Technology – A Brief History

Phase 1 development, in which the approach to teaching and learning was devised and piloted with independent external evaluation in a variety of schools, and the first website was developed.

Achieving Creativity in the Technology Classroom

Creativity in education is elusive. Creative teaching is not necessarily the norm in a system immersed in a performance culture. In such a system, teaching that enables pupils to be creative may also be marginalised in efforts focusing on achieving everimproving public examination results. Design and technology, the subject in the National Curriculum in England that is responsible for technology education, is not exempt from these pressures yet creativity lies at its core. This chapter will start by setting the scene with a brief summary of recent government interest in creativity in England and current research findings concerning the conditions for creativity in the classroom.