We do things differently here…………the real challenge for design educators.
A couple of things have crossed my radar recently which emphasise a point I have been trying to make in a number of different forums. If you have not come across this excellent video produced by DATA in conjunction with Seymour Powell and the James Dyson Foundation then pause and have a look, it’s worth it. thttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAZ24bukRpU Your next port of call … Read more
Knowing where to start……..and where to go.
It is amazing how quickly two weeks can fly by, isn’t it? The Easter holiday is now over and it is back to work with a vengeance, though of course, many of use will have spent a greater or lesser part of our holiday catching up with work, planning work or getting ahead with work. I … Read more
Teaching styles and why mind maps are useless.
Digital decay? No an interesting take on clock design by one of our pupils. It’s the last week of a very busy term but then, they all are like that. ( How many times have you heard the old idea, “Lets wait until the summer term when we have some more time,” and, be honest, … Read more
Just another lesson………the deeper truth about learning objectives.
It wasn’t a formal lesson observation, the kind where you agree what you will be looking at, look at it and then talk about what you looked at. It was just one of those countless situations where I needed to be in a colleagues room using a piece of equipment while they got on with the lesson … Read more
More thoughts on teaching design research.
I proposed a number of questions in last weeks post and, leaving one or two unanswered promised to set the matter straight this week. My choice of Art Deco as a teaching vehicle for the design skills that I want to give my pupils is based on several ideas, not least the ones that were raised … Read more
Teaching design………..Making sense of research.
The politics of design technology education in the UK has been at the forefront of my thinking for some time now but I started this blog with the aim of sharing ideas and debating with other teachers of design so I feel that it is time for some ideas about the classroom. One of the cool things about blogging is … Read more
What does good Design Technology look like?
Sometimes when I sit down to write a post the ideas flow easily and sometimes they do not. I started this post last night and got as far as the title which I really think needs some attention at the moment. Regular readers will know that the cat has been thrown firmly among the pigeons as far as Design Technology … Read more
Design Technology in the National Curriculum…..building for the future.
I try to write one post a week but failed in my mission last week, preparations for the annual Schools Network conference on Engineering and Design Technology interrupted the flow a little. The focus of the conference was the importance of these subjects for a 21st century education and as it turned out the event may have been timely. Not only … Read more
Success and failure in design education….when getting it wrong can be the right thing.
It was one of those conversations that you find yourself having with groups of children, you hear yourself explaining the same thing that you have had to many times in the past and something strikes you afresh. Often that fresh insight is from the children, almost all of the projects that we run have benefited from the … Read more
Bad teachers and how to spot them…………….This weeks headline from Mr Gove.
An astute colleague observed that Mr Gove managed to get himself into the broadsheet papers or on the media almost every week, citing his journalistic background as the source of his expertise. This week the shock headline was all about making it easier for school heads to get rid of bad teachers. So many things to say! … Read more
