Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
SCIENCE THROUGH TECHNICAL UNDERSTANDING
MAKING IT WORKPaul Hopkins
Tuesday, June 16th, 2016.
STEM?
What is Science? What is Technology?The House of Commons Standing
Committee on Education (1995) has acknowledged the difficulty of defining
technology, and of defining it in relation to science.
STEM?
Wha
t is
the
over
lap?
Science and technology are independent, with differing goals, methods and outcomes (the demarcationist view).
Science precedes technology, i.e. technological capability grows out of scientific knowledge; this position, often called the technology as applied science view, is widely held and influential.
Technology precedes science; this materialist view asserts
that technology is historically and ontologically prior to
science, that experience with tools, instruments and other
artefacts is necessary for conceptual development.
Technology and science engage in two-way
interaction; this interactionist view considers scientists
and technologists as groups of people who learn from
each other in mutuallybeneficial ways.
(Gardner 1994, p. 5)
Where do children’s ideas come from?
Learning takes place in a social space
The world in which they are living …
Their home environment …
The media to which they are exposed …
The people they interact with …
Process of children’s ideas
Elicitation: This starts with the naïve concepts of learning and then gets children to explore the ideas they have. Starting with a stimulus or a question. Normally rooted in conversations between the
children and not between the children and the teacher - thought the teacher may intervene.
Intervention: The idea is now to challenge or support the naïve views of the world the learner has. This may well involve the children in carrying out an investigation or experiment
to test out some of their ideas from the elicitation stage.
Reformation: Introducing children to key scientific/technological ideas or concepts and then asking them to think again about the questions they are asking and how their ideas link into the bigger
picture.
Evaluation: How successful were the ideas and activities to help the children develop their scientific/technological
ideas and understanding?
The scientific process
The scientific curriculum
What’s DT about?
Ofsted, 2015
A technology model? 1
Craft, 2005
The DT curriculum
Types of activities
Where’s the DT / Where’s the science?
Science Dominant
Technology Dominant
Dem
arca
ted
Indi
stin
guis
habl
e
Questions / Comments?
