Recent Research in Learning Technological Concepts and Processes

This paper examines recent research in student learning of technological concepts and processes. To explore this area three inter-related aspects are considered; existing concepts of technology, technological knowledge and processes. Different views of technology and technology education are reflected in both research outcomes and curriculum documents. Teacher and student perceptions of technology impact on the way in which technology is undertaken in the classroom. Teacher's perceptions of technology influence what they perceive as being important in learning of technology. student's perceptions of technology and technology education influence what knowledge and skills they operationalise in a technological task and hence affect student technological capability. Technological concepts and processes are often defined in different ways by particular groups. Subject subcultures are strongly held by both teachers and students. The influence of subject subcultures and communities of practice will be discussed in terms of defining and operationalising technological concepts and processes. Technological concepts are not consistently defined in the literature. For students to undertake technological activities, knowledge and processes cannot be divorced. Recent research highlights the problems when processes are emphasised over knowledge. This paper will examine different technological concepts in an attempt to create a critical balance between knowledge and process. Much of the literature in technology education has rightly emphasised definitions, curriculum issues, implementation and teacher training. This paper argues that it is now time to place a great emphasis on in-depth research on student understanding of technological concepts and processes and ways in which these can be enhanced.     

The study of technology as a field of knowledge in general education: historical insights and methodological considerations from a Swedish case study, 1842–2010

Today, technology education in Sweden is both a high-status and a low-status phenomenon. Positive values such as economic growth, global competitiveness and the sustainability of the welfare state are often coupled with higher engineering education and sometimes even upper secondary education. Negative values, on the other hand, are often associated with primary and lower secondary education in this subject. Within the realm of technology education at such lower levels of schooling in Sweden, different actors have often called for reformed curricula or better teacher training, owing to the allegedly poor state of technology education in schools. Recurring demands for a change in technology education are nothing unique from an historical point of view, however. In fact, the urge to influence teaching and learning in technology is much older than the school subject itself. The aim of this article is to describe and analyse some key patterns in technology education in Swedish elementary and compulsory schools from 1842 to 2010. This study thus deals with how technological content has developed over time in these school forms as well as how different actors in and outside the school have dealt with the broader societal view of what is considered as important knowledge in technology as well as what kind of technology has particular significance. The long period of investigation from 1842 to 2010 as well as a double focus on technology as scattered educational content and a subject called Technology make it possible to identify recurring patterns, which we have divided into three overarching themes: Technological literacy and the democratic potential of technological knowledge, The relationship between school technology and higher forms of technology education and The relationship between technology and science.     

Conceptual and Procedural Knowledge

The ideas that underlie the title of this chapter have been part of a familiar debate in education, namely that of the contrast of content and process. In both science and mathematics similar arguments have taken place, and these debates represent a healthy examination of, not only the aims of science and mathematics education, but the teaching and learning issues, and as such they reflect the relative maturity of these subject areas. Even in technology education, which is still in its infancy as a subject, echoes of these debates exist and there are contrasts of approaches to the balance of process and content across the world. The 'debate' in technology is evangelical in nature, with for example, proponents making claims for problem-solving approaches as a basis for teaching with few accounts and almost no empirical research of what actually happens in classrooms. There is insufficient consideration of the learning issues behind this, or other proposals, and it is timely to turn our attention to student learning. This article examines the nature of technological knowledge and what we know about learning related to it. The article argues that learning procedural and conceptual knowledge associated with technological activity poses challenges for both technology educators and those concerned with research on learning.     

Problem Solving in Real-Life Contexts: An Alternative for Design in Technology Education

This article focuses on one way to study technology, through technological problem solving situated in real-life contexts. In problem solving for real-life contexts, design processes are seen as creative, dynamic and iterative processes that engage exploration; join conceptual and procedural knowledge-both thought and action; and can encourage considerations to technology, human and environmental interactions. This approach is a demarcation from what is typically found in schools; design, make and appraise cycles based on closed design briefs that are teacher assigned and unrelated to the students' world. An interpretation of technology education as problem solving for real-life contexts using design processes as tools for creation and exploration offers an alternative approach to design in technology education. Alternative curriculum and instruction then emerge. Elementary and secondary school programs in technology education and teacher education can all be seen through this kind of design lens. Episodes from case studies are reported with the intent to briefly describe technology education programs in elementary and secondary schools that interpret technology education in this way. Educational implications of this approach are offered. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Issues of Learning and Knowledge in Technology Education

This article examines issues that arise from learning and knowledge in technology education. The issues examined are, first, the definition of technological knowledge and what the nature of that knowledge should be, where the concern is with how we define and think about that knowledge, especially in the context of how students learn and use knowledge in technology education. Second, the relationship between learning and knowledge in particular the inter-relationship between learning and knowledge, focusing on a situated view of learning. The third issue sees learning related to the context within which the learning takes place.This paper will explore these three inter-related issues in four sections. First, an outline of a view of learning that privileges context. Second, there will be a consideration of types of knowledge, namely, procedural and conceptual knowledge. These two types will be elaborated upon through research done at the Open University, particularly on problem solving and design. In discussing conceptual knowledge empirical work in mathematics and science education will be drawn on, along with work on the use of mathematics and science in technology education. Third, it will be argued that qualitative knowledge should become a part of teaching and learning in technology education because it both reflects a view of knowledge stemming from situated learning, and the tasks of technology. The article will end with a research agenda for what we have yet to understand, drawing on the earlier arguments.     

Knowledge and Values in Technology Education

This paper addresses two closely interrelated issues in Technology Education: knowledge and values. The starting point for the discussion is analysis of the nature of knowledge in technology education. Approaches for theorising knowledge will be analysed in this paper as well as problems associated with them. Three major types of problems are identified: problems with finding an appropriate approach for the analysis of technological knowledge; problems with a technocratic interpretation of technological knowledge for the purpose of its classification; and problems with establishing a consistent approach to distinguish common features of technological knowledge. A model that represents knowledge in technology education and the place of values in it is presented as a way of overcoming the problems specified. The claim is made that understanding of knowledge/values relationships can improve theoretical understanding of how technology education can be constructed.     

Knowledge Types in Technology

Starting with the distinction of natural science, engineering science ("technology") and engineering practice ("technics"), the paper will stress the difference between technological and technical knowledge. The first part will discuss the relationship between science and technology, arguing that technology is a genuine type of knowledge rather than "applied science". In technics, however, even technological laws, as transformations of scientific laws, cover a certain part of knowledge only. The greater part of technical knowledge includes technical know-how, functional rules, structural rules, and socio-technological understanding, which is just developing in our times. The classification of knowledge types will be used for determining which kind of knowledge may seem appropriate to general technological education.     

Developing Technological Knowledge

It is argued in this paper that various approaches are available in designing teaching and learning experiences for technology education. However, many approaches are based on inappropriate assumptions about transfer, the ways in which meaning is represented by individuals and relationships among different kinds of experiences. It is advanced that the development of technology knowledge in school should aim at developing a rich inter-connectedness among the ways in which technological meanings can be understood by learners, so that learners experience transformations in relation to themselves, technological practice and their knowledge. Cultural-historical activity theory is suggested as a useful basis for designing instruction aimed at the various purposes of technology education.     

How technology teachers understand technological knowledge

Swedish technology teachers’ views of technological knowledge are examined through a written survey and a series of interviews. The study indicates that technology teachers’ understandings of what constitutes technological knowledge and how it is justified vary considerably. The philosophical discussions on the topic are unknown to them. This lack of a proper framework for what constitutes technological knowledge and how it is justified might affect both how curricula are interpreted and how pupils’ knowledge is assessed.     

The technological knowledge used by technology education students in capability tasks

Since technology education is, compared to subjects such as mathematics and science, still a fairly new subject both nationally and internationally, it does not have an established subject philosophy. In the absence of an established subject philosophy for technology education, one can draw on other disciplines in the field, such as engineering and design practice, for insights into technological knowledge. The purpose of this study is to investigate the usefulness of an epistemological conceptual framework chiefly derived from engineering, to be able to describe the nature of technological knowledge, in an attempt to contribute towards the understanding of this relatively new learning area. The conceptual framework was derived mainly from Vincenti’s (What engineers know and how they know it. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, 1990) categories of knowledge based on his research into historical aeronautic engineering cases. Quantitative research was used to provide insight into the categories of knowledge used by students at the University of Pretoria during capability tasks and included an analysis of a questionnaire administered to these students. Findings suggest that the conceptual framework used here is useful in technology education and that the categories of technological knowledge apply to all the content areas, i.e. structures, systems and control, and processing, in technology education. The study recommends that researchers and educators deepen their understanding of the nature of technological knowledge by considering the categories of technological knowledge presented in the conceptual framework.     

On and off the beaten path: The evolution of four technological systems in Sweden

This paper examines four Swedish case studies of technological systems from the perspective of path dependence: what are the similarities and differences in this regard between factory automation, electronics and computers, biotechnology, and powder technology? What are the distinctive features in each system which set it apart from similar systems elsewhere, and what role does path dependence play in explaining these features? The essential function of technological systems is to capture, diffuse, and magnify spillovers of technical and organizational knowledge: therefore, the nature of knowledge (i.e., the characteristics of knowledge and how it can be transmitted) in each system determines what types of spillovers are likely to occur, as well as the mechanisms through which they occur. Other important influences are the initial conditions and the institutions (including both organizations and rules of the game).     

Discerning technological systems related to everyday objects: mapping the variation in pupils’ experience

Understanding technology today implies more than being able to use the technological objects present in our everyday lives. Our society is increasingly integrated with technological systems, of which technological objects, and their function, form a part. Technological literacy in that context implies understanding how knowledge is constituted in technology, and in particular how concrete (objects) and abstract levels (systems) are linked. This article has an educational focus concerning systems in technology education. Using a phenomenographic approach, the study explores pupils’ experiences of technological systems as embedded in four everyday objects. We identify five qualitatively different ways of understanding systems, ranging from a focus on using the particular objects, over-focussing on the function of objects, seeing objects as part of a process, and seeing objects as system components, to understanding objects as embedded in systems. As a conclusion, we suggest an educational strategy for teaching about systems in technology education.     

The Development of a National Curriculum in Technology for New Zealand

New Zealand under went major curriculum reforms in the early 1990's. These reforms were determined by the New Zealand Curriculum Framework which provides an overarching framework for the development of curricula in New Zealand and which defines seven broad essential learning areas rather than subject areas. Technology is important and should be part of the education of all students. Six grounds for developing technology education were given, namely: economic, pedagogic, motivational, cultural, environmental, and personal. This paper reports on the development of a technology curriculum in schools. The philosophy of the curriculum will be discussed, particularly crucial aspects such as inclusiveness. The way in which the technology curriculum has attempted to meet the needs of a New Zealand technological society will be examined. The general aims of technology education in Technology in the New Zealand Curriculum are to develop: technological knowledge and understanding; an understanding and awareness of the interrelationship between technology and society; technological capability. The development of seven technological areas for all students will be highlighted. This paper will discuss in detail the development of the national technology education policy and the way in which the curriculum was developed. The last section of the paper will consider issues related to teacher development programmes and areas of future research.     

Defining technology and technological education: A crisis,or cause for celebration?

This paper originated from a two-year technological education teacher development project at the Faculty of Education, The University of Western Ontario. The authors searched for an understanding of technology and technological education through traditional scholarly means, i.e., a literature review, and through an action research venture that, it was thought, would reveal the parameters of ‘technology’. The paper, beyond helping to give the authors and the reader a better understanding of what it means to define an elusive concept, serves to give technology educators a conceptual starting point from which to build insight into the elements of their life's work. The function and form of the paper evolved from the project process. They [the function and form] were determined by the nature of and ambiguities associated with technology. The reader is invited, for example, to consider the historical, social, cultural, and philosophical dimensions of technology. Rather than draw parallels about technology from those diverse disciplines, a daunting task, the paper charts a terrain from which investigators who seek a definition of technology and a framework for the subsequent study of technology, might get their bearings. The paper includes approaches to defining technology, a literature review, a comparison of science and technology, and an epilogue. While a definition is offered as part of the epilogue, the larger purpose of the paper is to improve one's understanding of an ubiquitous phenomenon. The central question of the ongoing debate, in Ontario and elsewhere, about the role and direction of technological education, is inherent in the paper and in the mandate of the teacher development project. What is technology and where and in what form does it belong in the curriculum of the schools?     

Towards a Model for Teacher Development in Technology Education: From Research to Practice

This paper reports on a series of interventions in New Zealand schools in order to enhance the teaching of, and learning in, technology as a new learning area. It details the way in which researchers worked with teachers to introduce technological activities into the classroom, the teachers' reflections on this process and the subsequent development of activities. These activities were undertaken in 14 classrooms (8 primary and 6 secondary).The research took into account past experiences of school-based teacher development and recommendations related to teacher change. Extensive use was made of case-studies from earlier phases of the research, and of the draft technology curriculum, in order to develop teachers' concepts of technology and technology education. Teachers then worked from these concepts to develop technological activities and classroom strategies. The paper also introduces a model that outlines factors contributing to school technological literacy, and suggests that teacher development models will need to allow teachers to develop technological knowledge and an understanding of technological practice, as well as concepts of technology and technology education, if they are to become effective in the teaching of technology.     

The Nature of Technological Knowledge: Philosophical Reflections and Educational Consequences

Technological knowledge has a normative component that scientific knowledge does not have. When we have knowledge of a computer, that often comprises normative judgements: it functions well or it does not function well. In knowledge of technical norms, rules and standards as another type of technological knowledge we also find a normative component. This characteristic has consequences for our assessment of knowledge. For scientific knowledge truth is the ultimate condition. For knowledge of norms, rules and standards as a type of technological knowledge this the condition is problematic. They refer to things that do not exist yet, but are still to be designed or made. Nor truth, but effectiveness is the condition here. For technology education the normative component is important. Pupils must learn to make judgements about effectiveness, as this is a prominent characteristic of technological knowledge, that makes it distinct from scientific knowledge. Pupils must also learn to deal with ethical and other values when doing technological project work.     

Value judgment and social action in technology studies

The paper raises the question: what should educators now be doing to promote informed judgment and responsible action in advanced technological society? After providing a narrative of the development of the context for this question, the paper argues that educators should now be allocating less time and attention to general education and more to projects at specifically targeted learning sites such as environmental and community service programs.     

Technology learning 2: Towards reawakening the technologists within primary teachers

We begin by setting out a view of learning as framework-building; enabling learners to shift their perspectives. For us, this expresses the essential unity of many human endeavours — in particular, for our purposes, children's learning, teachers' theory-building and the evolution of scientific understanding. We identify two frameworks which, we contend, are currently limiting the vision of teachers in fundamental ways and with serious consequences for their students. One is a transmission perspective on learning (in which New South Wales schooling has traditionally been steeped) and the other, a limiting conception of and anxious approach to technology (significantly impeding its meaningful penetration into schools). To learn how to help teachers break free of these restraints, we provided an opportunity for our teachers to become learners themselves in a technological context based on developmentalist views of learning and teaching. Here they became self-directing, challenged and fulfilled, gaining feelings of control over the technology, and each developed a powerful and personal appreciation of another framework for learning and teaching. In what they did, we can identify approaches which enabled a plurality of epistemologies to flourish. In conclusion, we predict a key role for these kinds of technological contexts in learning.Mark Cosgrove teaches in teacher education programs in the Faculty of Education at the University of Technology, Sydney. He studies the history and development of ideas in science and technology and their roles in cultures, and is exploring the notion that learning and technology are natural, biological phenomena. Lynette Schaverien is a research scholar investigating the learning and teaching of science and technology in primary schools. She is interested in developing teaching approaches which foster and sustain children's natural curiosity, and styles of mentoring which will regenerate teachers' powers to exploit that curiosity in classrooms.     

Concept Mapping as a Means of Evaluating Primary School Technology Programmes

Concept mapping provides a means for teachers and pupils to represent their understanding of an area of knowledge. It has been used as a planning tool by teachers to identify a framework of specific concepts and their propositions within a topic, as an assessment tool and as a means of collaborative sharing of knowledge. Information from two primary schools would also suggest that it can be used as a means of evaluating a school programme of primary technology. Research into people's perceptions and attitudes to technology indicated that there were a number of concepts and propositions associated with this field of study. A variety of groups of people including primary children were asked to describe what they understood to be technology and this information was constructed into a concept map format. The two schools described in the study had different programmes to deliver technology within the curriculum area of environmental studies. The first school had a planned programme of technology which was taught by the head teacher of the school. The second school had technology taught by class teachers, running as a thread throughout the environmental studies programme. In the first case the children knew when they were engaged in a technological task whereas in the second case the technology was implicit and the children were not necessarily aware of any specific subject area. The children's perceptions of technology and their attitudes towards it were analysed with reference to the constructed concept map. In the school where there were specifically programmed technological tasks, the children indicated that their understandings of technology were focused towards the design process; they identified technology as designing, making, problem solving and generating ideas. In relation to the Scottish curriculum their knowledge was concentrated in the area of the outcome entitled 'Understanding and Using the Design Process'. Children in the second school indicated that their understanding of technology was related to objects including computers and new inventions. This demonstrated that their ideas were mostly linked to the outcome entitled 'Understanding and Using Technology in Society'. It can be argued that in order to have a comprehensive understanding of technology the children should have knowledge and understanding of both outcomes. In the light of the results the head teachers of the respective schools decided to look more closely at their programmes in order to find out what modifications might be made. The head teacher of the first school decided to question the children more closely because he was aware of some attitudinal difference between the boys and the girls. He has now decided to do some further research in his school to see what changes need to be made. The head teacher of the second school is about to embark on a complete review of her school technology programme. The results of the research would suggest that concept mapping in the suggested form is a possible tool for evaluation of primary school technology prorammes. However this was only a small case study and further research would have to be done to provide more substantial evidence.     

Swedish technology teachers’ views on assessing student understandings of technological systems

Technology education is a new school subject in comparison with other subjects within the Swedish compulsory school system. Research in technology education shows that technology teachers lack experience of and support for assessment in comparison with the long-term experiences that other teachers use in their subjects. This becomes especially apparent when technology teachers assess students’ knowledge in and about technological systems. This study thematically analysed the assessment views of eleven technology teachers in a Swedish context. Through the use of in-depth semi-structured qualitative interviews, their elaborated thoughts on assessing knowledge about technological systems within the technology subject (for ages 13–16) were analysed. The aim was to describe the teachers’ assessment views in terms of types of knowledge, and essential knowledge in relation to a progression from basic to advanced understanding of technological systems. The results showed three main themes that the interviewed teachers said they consider when performing their assessment of technological systems; understanding (a) a system’s structure, (b) its relations outside the system boundary and (c) its historical context and technological change. Each theme included several underlying items that the teachers said they use in a progressive manner when they assess their students’ basic, intermediate and advanced level of understanding technological systems. In conclusion, the results suggest that the analysed themes can provide a basis for further discussion about defining a progression for assessing students’ understanding about technological systems. However, the findings also need to be examined critically as the interviewed teachers’ views on required assessment levels showed an imbalance; few students were said to reach beyond the basic level, but at the same time most assessment items lay on the intermediate and advanced levels.