Technology Education as a Necessary Component of General Education

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Technology Education as a Necessary Component of
General Education

• Marc J. de Vries
• Eindhoven University of Technology
• The Netherlands

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Introduction

• Motives for technology education
• A philosophical basis for technology education
• The test of practice
• Educational research as a resource

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Motives for technology education

• Technological literacy living in a technological
  world
• Sophisticated users
• Responsible citizens
• Economic importance creating a workforce
• Engineers
• Other professions
• Stimulation of key competencies
• Creativity
• Group work

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Can not science education accomplish that?

• Science education does not deal with the creative
  process of creating new technical means for
  addressing social needs
• Science education does not have the normative
  component that is inherent in technology
• Science is one of the inputs for innovation, but
  not the only one

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Technology education as a worldwide issue

• Emerged out of craft education
• Element of design added (UK)
• Element of social aspects added (Nordic
  countries)
• Element of conceptual knowledge added (Germany,
  France)
• Integration of different approaches (USA,
  Netherlands)

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Threats to technology education

• Lack of sound conceptual basis
• Practice does not match with rhetoric
• Lack of agreement between actors
• Teachers
• Teacher educators
• School boards
• Governments
• Industry
• Parents
• Pupils

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A philosophical basis for technology education

• Technology as
• Artifacts
• Knowledge
• Activities
• Volition
• Book Teaching About Technology
• author Marc J. de Vries
• published by Springer
• URL www.springeronline.com

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Technology as artifacts

• Physical nature
• Functional nature
• Proper functions
• Accidental functions

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Technology as knowledge

• Knowledge of physical nature
• Knowledge of functional nature
• Normative component ought to
• Prescriptive
• Evaluative
• Knowledge of relations phys-func
• Normative component suitable for, necessary
  for
• Science and practice both sources of knowledge

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Technology as activities

• Designing
• Traditional analysis-synthesis-evaluation
• Modern Non-linear complex process
• Making
• Materials, energie and information
• Using
• Systems character of artifacts

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Technology as volition

• Extension of human capabilities
• Impact on and by society/culture
• Values
• Ethical
• Aesthetical

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Transformation into practice

• Example Dutch schoolbook series Technologisch
• Pupil ages 12-15 years
• 2 volumes, each for 1 year
• Textbook, activity guide and CD-ROM

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Structure of the course

• Introduction what is technology?
• Basic concepts
• Materials
• Levers (input-output)
• Transmissions (input-process-output)
• Energy (formation, transformation, storage)
• Systems (system hierarchy, feedback)

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Structure of a textbook chapter

• Introduction
• Explanation of concepts
• Social aspects
• Case study (professions)
• Summary

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Structure of an activity guide chapter

• Questions on theory
• Exploration of concepts by experiments
• Smaller practical assignments for practicing
• Larger project design and make, while using
  concepts

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Support by educational research types of studies

• Theoretical surveys
• Philosophical basis
• Curricular studies
• Empirical studies
• Identify succesful practice
• Find causes of success
• Try to generalize

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Support by educational research contents

• What and why
• Role of design
• Values
• To whom and by whom
• Attitudes and mental concepts of Pupils/students
  and teachers
• How
• Design practice
• Task-skills relations
• Reasoning and concept learning
• Assessment

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Dissemination of outcomes

• Academic journals
• International Journal of Technology Design
  Education (Springer)
• URL www.springeronline.com
• Teacher journals
• The Technology Teacher (ITEA)
• Curriculum of teacher education programmes
• Teacher associations (conferences)
• International Technology Education Association
  (USA-based)
• URL www.iteaconnect.org

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International contacts

• PATT conferences (Pupils Attitudes Towards
  Technology)
• URL www.iteaconnect.org/D4c.html
• Hemisphere (ITEA listserve)
• URL www.iteaconnect.org/LearningCommunities/Hemis
  phere/HS.html
• European Union projects