week 3

We conducted an expert jigsaw this week on our group wiki to deal with the volume of readings. I loved this idea suggested by Wendy.
My allocated reading was:

Beyond 'The Design Process': An Alternative Pedagogy for Technology Education. Brent Mawson

I found this a very wordy reading that was difficult to follow. The gist as I understood it is that technology education has historically been approached too rigidly as a linear step by step process of design.
The author cites Roberts and Norman (1999) in saying that design does not take place in a linear manner and to portray it in a simple diagram is not realistic. Children need to first understand the situation from which a problem is derived. Also they need to understand properties of available materials, rather than simply being given a problem and a diagram of steps to follow.

The suggested solution is to downplay the design process models and place more emphasis on skills and practices.

The suggested pedagogy is three interwoven stages:

1. immersion in the general context before the problem is introduced.

2. concurrent interweaving of five procedures - information gathering, designing the outcome, producing the outcome, reflecting on the process, child selected starting strategies. Regular peer presentation should occur throughout these stages.

3. formal presentation of outcome and evaluation of both it and the process towards it.

The standout point here for me is the first step. With richer contextual knowledge and experience, students are more likely to a) engage better with the problem and b) feel better equipped to solve the problem. The task becomes achievable for them and more authentic on the sense that they have been immersed in the situation.

Sheena's reading was Jones, Bunting and De Vries on the nature of the curriculum. After reading through her summary, this is my reflection:

A learning journey for all involved? How could we assess in technology? Wikis are a great tool to this end. ICT use can be incorporated across every subject. I don't know that it necessarily needs to be assessed as a separate subject. As a CCP, It can be the platform for summative assessment presentations for other subjects. I guess the limitation lies in classroom resources. Presently, most schools have a computer lab into which classes can book a weekly session. In the ideal world, one to one devices would be available for use in every classroom....

Week 2

Reading: Skills for the 21st C: Teaching higher order thinking (Robyn Collins)
Key messages:

• Harvard University developed Project Zero, a set of steps for exploring artworks that may be applied to other curriculum areas. They are exploring viewpoints, reasoning, questioning and investigating, observing and describing, comparing and connecting, and finding complexity.
• Bloom's Taxonomy's cognitive domain provides a framework for teachers to promote higher order thinking through 5 steps:

1. specifically teach language and concepts of higher order thinking
2. plan discussion time to tap into higher order thinking skills
3. explicitly teach subject concepts
4. provide scaffolding
5. consciously teach to encourage higher order thinking

Technologies Curriculum Aims and Rationale

Key Words	In Practice
Enterprising individuals
Solutions
Complex challenges
Contribute
Sustainable
Design thinking
Authentic needs
Computational thinking
Information systems
Digital solutions
Traditional, contemporary, emerging
Innovative
Practical nature
Critical and creative thinking
Interrelationships
Planning and reviewing processes to realise ideas
Experimentation
Problem-solving
Prototyping
Evaluation
Critical appreciation
Equity, ethics, personal, social values
Desirable sustainable patterns of living
Preferred futures
Investigate
Design
Plan
Manage
Create
Evaluate

Technology Design Cycle...

I have previously dabbled with Mindomo (in e-learning) and found it to be a very user friendly concept mapping platform. This evening however, my computer keeps freezing when I select a template on their site. Instead I have copied and pasted this image from our group wiki, where I copied it to from the moodle site....

Tutorial Week 1 Tuesday 10th March 2015
Tagxedo!!
http://www.tagxedo.com/artful/bce93596770244ff




Reflection....Key differences and similarities between design thinking and computational thinking

I think the two styles of thinking interlink. A problem that needs solving might require data collection and analysis first (computational thinking). Design thinking follows on from this with formulation of possible solutions. Design thinking might be needed to determine how to use and represent data too. Computational thinking is needed in evaluating  solution designs.
Both styles of thinking are innovative and elicit higher order thinking. Both require understanding of a problem and identification of possible scenarios and solutions. Both require logical planning, prediction and evaluation.

I have used the scope and sequence documents from ACARA in considering the similarities and difference of design and computational thinking. It is still a grey area for me in that I have yet to see some really effective curriculum implementation in these areas. My own children are in primary school and I have seen some technology projects that they have been involved in at school but I haven't seen thinking processes/problem solving habits being carried through to general practice. So it seems kind of like a small side project with a very short period of focus. This is a shame as this area of the curriculum is so rich with opportunities to create problem solvers and positive learning habits. Idealistic, I know. I look forward to exploring practical ideas for meeting the curriculum that will stimulate and engage learners.