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....