Years 7-10 Technology (Mandatory), Draft Writing Brief

This response has been prepared after consultation with:

• officers from OTEN, Properties Directorate, the OHS&R Unit and District K-6 Science and Technology consultants
• over 60 technology teachers and head teachers participating in district network meetings
• DET representatives from the 5 technology BCCs and teachers as nominated by each professional technology teacher association who participated in an intensive one-day workshop to review the draft.

This writing brief is unsatisfactory in its treatment of some significant issues

• Fails to articulate a clear and explicit continuum of learning from Stage 3 Science and Technology into Stage 4 Technology
  
  It is recommended that the outcomes, course structure and content of the Technology (mandatory) writing brief be revised to establish common language and clear structures which will link directly to the technology outcomes and content of the Stage 3 Science and Technology syllabus.
  
  It is important that this new syllabus capitalise on the technology learning students have undertaken in Stage 3. By 2005 the Department will have completed an intensive three-year program of focused support to improve the teaching of Science and Technology K-6. The strategy focuses schools on building a progression of Science and Technology learning from early Stage 1 to Stage 3. Secondary technology teachers will need to be able to easily identify, relate to and build upon technology learning achieved through the Stage 3 Science and Technology outcomes and content.
  
  
• Fails to clarify understandings of essential terminology including technology, technologies, design and design process
  
  A continuum of learning can only be built upon common and consistent use of language. Agreed definitions need to be used consistently K-12 and be evident in this syllabus in a glossary.
  
  This draft writing brief has inappropriately redefined the term technology as the materials, tools and techniques that are safely and proficiently used in the production of quality design projects (page 20). This definition does not reflect either of the 2 definitions that have been previously used in NSW education. The definition in the current mandatory D&T syllabus is the UNESCO 1985 definition. The other definition occurs in the current Science and Technology K-6 syllabus. The K-6 definition is recommended as this will enhance the continuum of learning and it is a better definition. Technology is concerned with the purposeful and creative use of resources in an effort to meet perceived needs or goals...(Page 1)
  
  Technologies can be defined as the purposeful and creative use of resources to meet needs in specific fields of human endeavour for example information and communications technologies (ICT).
  
  Design (verb) can be defined as the systematic process of planning and implementing of ideas to solve identified needs or opportunities. Design involves analysing needs, exploring and generating ideas, evaluating and making judgements about alternatives, and managing ideas to a workable solution.
  
  Design (noun) can be defined as the outcome of a systematic process of designing. Typically in technology education the outcome of designing is a product, system or environment or a part of a product, system or environment.
  
  
• Fails to clarify understandings of essential terminology including technology, technologies, design and design process
  
  A continuum of learning can only be built upon common and consistent use of language. Agreed definitions need to be used consistently K-12 and be evident in this syllabus in a glossary.
  
  This draft writing brief has inappropriately redefined the term technology as the materials, tools and techniques that are safely and proficiently used in the production of quality design projects (page 20). This definition does not reflect either of the 2 definitions that have been previously used in NSW education. The definition in the current mandatory D&T syllabus is the UNESCO 1985 definition. The other definition occurs in the current Science and Technology K-6 syllabus. The K-6 definition is recommended as this will enhance the continuum of learning and it is a better definition. Technology is concerned with the purposeful and creative use of resources in an effort to meet perceived needs or goals...(Page 1)
  
  Technologies can be defined as the purposeful and creative use of resources to meet needs in specific fields of human endeavour for example information and communications technologies (ICT).
  
  Design (verb) can be defined as the systematic process of planning and implementing of ideas to solve identified needs or opportunities. Design involves analysing needs, exploring and generating ideas, evaluating and making judgements about alternatives, and managing ideas to a workable solution.
  
  Design (noun) can be defined as the outcome of a systematic process of designing. Typically in technology education the outcome of designing is a product, system or environment or a part of a product, system or environment.
  
  
• Occupational health and safety issues
  
  The requirements of the OH&S Act 2000 and the OH&S Regulation 2001are integral to the delivery of all syllabuses in schools.
  
  The Board must ensure that the syllabus provides adequate guidance to teachers about safety matters and does not suggest or require student participation in activities and experiences with specific tools, techniques or materials that would prevent a school from meeting legal obligations under OH&S legislation.
  
  This syllabus will need to ensure that students learn about OH&S legislation, its purpose and its impact across a broad range of design and technology activities. Students should also learn to implement risk management strategies in their own design projects.
  
  The syllabus will need to consider the capacity of the full range of students to successfully complete prescribed tasks. The syllabus needs to be flexible enough to allow teachers to use professional judgement based on risk assessment to implement learning tasks that cater for the needs and abilities of individual students whilst still achieving syllabus outcomes.
  
  The Board needs to consult with educational systems and relevant Government agencies and authorities in an ongoing manner in the syllabus development process in order to ensure this occurs.
  
  

The rationale needs reworking to tie all the issues together with a foundation of design and making, "a core of holistic design experiences and technology processes" (Direction 4 page 40) and the specific knowledge and skills gained through the use of tools, materials, techniques in design projects.
This syllabus needs to be future-oriented and provide students with an understanding of the nature of rapid technological change and strategies to manage and shape change. Students need to be resilient, enterprising, innovative and flexible in their ability to deal with changing technologies. This aspect needs to be strengthened.
The removal or editing of some of the language and other jargon is suggested as it may not be consistently understood by the broad range of readers such as "their fascination", "love of making", "action-based", "customer or client", "meta-cognitive".
The rationale does not currently show how the syllabus will contribute to the K-10 Curriculum Framework.

The diagram needs to show that for many students their last focused study of technology before beginning work, TAFE, university or other pathways occurs with the Mandatory Stage 4 course.
The placement of the Stage 4 Life Skills syllabus and its relationship to the mandatory course is unclear in this diagram. There is general support for the inclusion of Life Skills outcomes in the 7-10 subject syllabuses.

The aim should summarise the intentions of the syllabus and should therefore begin with an emphasis on design processes and experience across a breadth of technological areas. The word "designed" in the lead of the sentence should be removed as it is confusing.
The aim should read:
Technology 7-10 is intended to provide students with holistic understandings about design and a breadth of technologies, an ability to use design processes to responsibly and creatively meet identified needs and proficiency with a variety of materials, tools and techniques.

The cross-curriculum content referred to in this section needs to be explicitly written into and be evident in the learn to/learn about sections of the syllabus content.
The ICT section needs to be substantially strengthened as numerous concerns were raised by teachers about the importance of mandating significant ICT experiences in the syllabus. This section needs to explicitly address the two aspects of ICT, firstly the appropriate usage of computing technologies (ICT) in any design project and secondly the need for specific and focused study of the design of information systems, products and software.
Greater emphasis needs to be given to the importance of and relationship between design, innovation and enterprise in this syllabus under Work and Employment heading.
The importance of more open-ended design briefs in allowing choice and supporting difference and diversity needs to be addressed here.
Gender still significantly impacts on the participation of girls and boys, men and women in technological activity. This reduces opportunities and access for individuals. These issues need to be directly and explicitly addressed in this course.

The outcomes need to be rewritten to reflect the modified objectives. The writing of achievable, clear and assessable outcomes is essential as the outcomes are increasingly driving teaching and assessing practice.

The current objectives do not provide a balance in representing the course and do not address research to meet needs, generating ideas, managing projects to successful completion, experimentation, future orientation, making judgements, selection of materials, tools and techniques.
The objectives should be rewritten under the following groupings:

• Exploring, generating and communicating design ideas
• Managing projects to the successful completion of quality products, systems and environments
• Selecting and using resources especially materials, tools and techniques proficiently and sustainably
• Evaluating the work of designers and technologists and reflecting on the success and learning of their own design projects
• Understanding design processes, ethical, social and environmental responsibility, innovation and emerging technologies, the work of designers and relevant career opportunities

The relationship between the "Areas of Study" and the Core Content including "Design" and "Technologies" is very unclear.
The nine areas of study are described as recognised fields of design however a number such as Agricultural Design, Engineering Design, Food Design, Information Design, Textiles Design are not generally described in this way. The reference to recognised fields should be deleted. The information design area should be expanded to include information systems, software design as well as multimedia and electronics. With these additions the other areas of study provide a reasonable range.
The reduction of the mandated minimum number of design projects from 6 to 4 is widely supported in schools as it allows a greater depth of study and more flexibility for timetabling. A new mechanism however needs to be introduced to ensure that students gain holistic understandings about a breadth of technologies.
There is significant concern that some schools may provide a very narrow range of experiences selected from these areas of study. This is particularly likely in the industrial arts area. Of the 9 so-called technologies; 5 technologies draw from the Industrial Arts tradition, 2 from the Home Economics tradition, 1 from Agriculture and 1 from Computing. The popularity and importance of computing in our society means that this area should be much better represented. The justification of the selection of the nine technologies is not evident, does not reflect importance in the broader world and does not reflect subject elective numbers.
The areas of study section should be revised so that students would study a minimum of 4 design projects, with at least one project from each of 3 areas of study; products, systems and environments.
This mechanism builds on the stage 3 Science and Technology organisers of Built Environment, Products and Services and Information and Communication providing greater continuum with Stage 3 and allowing the specification of mandatory content for all students under the three headings of products, systems and environments. The mandatory content could then be taught through a design project in the selected design field as shown below:

This proposal has been discussed with a number of groups of teachers including the D&T BCC and our consultation forum where the concept was well received.

The proposed content on pages 23-25 provides a reasonable sample for this area but will need to be revised in line with proposed changes to objectives and outcomes.
The section of the writing brief on pages 26-29, currently described as technologies, includes details with subheadings of materials, tools, techniques, OH&S, innovation and emerging technologies. As described above the selection of the so-called technologies is ad hoc and should be reconsidered.
It is recognised that some teachers will value the specification of materials, tools and techniques as shown in this section, as it signals a return to prescribed procedural learning in technology education with a reduced role of design in projects. Teachers who have been uncomfortable with a design-based approach in Design and Technology will particularly appreciate this change. Whilst the comfort zone of teachers needs to be considered it is important that this syllabus is first and foremost driven by the needs of students now and in the future.
Specifying the materials, tools and techniques which all students must learn about and learn to use as shown on pages 27-29 is counterproductive to a design-based syllabus and:

• overburdens the syllabus with content
• restricts open-ended, holistic design projects and pedagogy that is student-centred and based on the interests and resources of the local community. For example students learn to apply the efficiency of computerised embroidery techniques page 27. Computerised embroidery could not be described as an important skill in students' lives and its specification requires schools to have such equipment and to only undertake textile projects that can utilise this technique.
• predetermines the selection of materials and therefore the type and "openness" of the design brief
• quickly dates the syllabus in an area of rapid technological change
• adds another level of complexity to the programming of the syllabus. Teachers will be required to integrate three separate areas in each design project. This complexity is evident in the current Design and Technology syllabus and many teachers have simply ignored sections of the syllabus such as the Prescribed Dimensions.
• places resource demands on all schools which may not be sustainable
• does not address contemporary OH&S requirements which are based on risk management of situations

This section should be placed in the support document where a comprehensive discussion about design project ideas and the associated OH&S issues and risk management strategies for teachers could be better

The density of the text under the heading  Continuum of Learning obscures the very important purpose.  Much of the text in the Stage 4 statement is supported but it sounds like a repeated rationale.  Given the value of teachers identifying knowledge and skills developed along the learning continuum, and in order to assist teachers to develop and consolidate learning experiences of students this section of the document needs to be reconceptualised.
This section should include the staged outcomes from E1-3 to promote to teachers the importance of outcomes and the nature of the outcomes achieved in primary Science and Technology.