| 1. |
- Axell, Cecilia, et al.
(författare)
-
Facts for youngsters : Contextualised technology or fragmented artefacts? A study on portrayals of technology in picture books from a gender perspective
- 2015
-
Ingår i: PATT 29 Plurality and Complementarity of Approaches in Design and Technology Education, Marseille, France, April 2015. - Marseille : Presses Universitaires de Provence. - 9782853999946 ; , s. 42-48
-
Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Technology is a field with strong connections to the female/male dichotomy and children's gender stereotyping starts as early as the age of two (Berner, 2004; Nisbet, Pendergast & Reynolds, 1998; Turja, Endepohls-Ulpe & Chatoney, 2009). According to the Swedish Curriculum for the Preschool, the preschool should strive to ensure that children ”develop their ability to identify technology in everyday life, and explore how simple technology works” (Lpfö98/2010, p. 10). The preschool also has a goal to actively counteract traditional gender roles and patterns (Lpfö98/2010, p. 4). An important part of children's activities in preschool relates to picture books. A government investigation states that the preschool, through its activities (among them ”reading aloud”) is an arena where societal norms can either be preserved or challenged (SOU 2006:75). Books about cars, airplanes, boats etc. often serve as an introduction to human applications of technology. Based on these, children start to identify and categorize the technologies they encounter in everyday life.The aim of this study is consequently to investigate the technological content from a gender perspective in a selection of picture books, more specifically; how do the books content preserve or challenge preschool children's view of technology and gender? Preschools use books from libraries in their daily activities, therefore the empirical material in this study is derived from the library section ”facts for youngsters”. A thematic analysis was employed to discover the dominant themes within the books. The result of the study shows that there is a focus on how separate artefacts function but no detailed explanation on how these artefacts are connected or what kind of implications they have in a societal context. There also seems to be an emphasis on traditionally masculine coded technology. This study will serve as a basis for a comparative study between two preschools, one where gender and technology is a prioritised goal and one where it is not.
|
|
| 2. |
- Björkholm, Eva, et al.
(författare)
-
Focusing on a specific learning content in primary technology education
- 2015
-
Ingår i: 29th PATT Conference : Plurality and Complementarity of Approachers in Design and technology Education. - Marseille, France : Presses Universitaires de Provence. - 9782853999946 ; , s. 55-60
-
Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- In this paper, we discuss findings from two previous studies in technology education using the Learning study model and the Variation theory of learning. The Learning study is a collaborative approach where teachers and researchers work together in the classroom with the aim to enhance students’ learning concerning a specific content. In a Learning study, focus is on a specific “object of learning”, i.e. what the students are expected to learn. The aim of this paper is to show what knowledge concerning specific objects of learning in technology education is generated in a Learning study and to discuss the potential contribution of this knowledge to technology teaching practice. We will provide examples from two Learning studies conducted in primary technology education in Sweden. The findings from the studies are of two kinds; identified aspects of the object of learning that are critical in order to learn, and aspects that could be referred to the teaching of the specific content.
|
|
| 3. |
- Hallström, Jonas, 1969-, et al.
(författare)
-
The black box and beyond: introducing a conceptual model as a learning tool for developing knowledge about technological systems
- 2015
-
Ingår i: Plurality and Complementarity of Approaches in Design and Technology Education.. - Marseille : Presses Universitaires de Provence. - 9782853999946
-
Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- In the last decade research about technological systems in technology education has attracted increased attention. This research has pinpointed pedagogical challenges in teaching about systems, particularly how pupils are given the opportunity to learn about complex systems in a conscious progression; the components and connections in between, system boundaries, and the relation to society in general and other systems in particular. The aim of this paper is to construct a conceptual model as a learning tool for developing knowledge about technological systems. Since we base this model on previous research about technological systems, this study is a qualitativeresearch synthesis, where we employ comparative and hermeneutic methods. Our model contains focal points for teachers and pupils to attend to in technological systems education: 1. System structure, 2. System function with single or multiple inputs, and 3.The relationship between components without and with feedback loops. Important concepts for education about technological systems are system boundary, function, flow, feedback loop, black box, consequence, and historical evolution. Finally we introduce the concept of systems horizon as the limit for what can fruitfully be analyzed as a technological system.
|
|
| 4. |
- Nordlöf, Charlotta, 1978-, et al.
(författare)
-
An explorative study of the Swedish Technology subject from the teacher’s perspective
- 2015
-
Ingår i: <em>PATT 29 Plurality and Complementarity of Approaches in Design & Technology Education, Marseille, France, April 2015</em>. - Marseille : Presses Universitaires de Provence. - 9782853999946 ; , s. 313-321
-
Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- In this study Swedish teachers’ views of the technology subject and technology teaching are examined. Investigations made the last few years show that there are deficiencies in the technology teaching in Swedish schools - e.g. lack of time in the timetable, low status, non-certified teachers and lack of materials. The subject is young, compared to other subjects, and the teachers have different backgrounds and different technological knowledge. Educational research in general tells us that the teacher has a great impact on the pupils and their learning situation. Therefore, the aim is to examine how Swedish Technology teachers experience and view the subject and its teaching.The study is quantitative and based on a web based inquiry. 1153 teachers participated. The participants teach, or taught, technology in Swedish compulsory schools. The data was analysed with the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) software. In order to examine the teacher’s experience consisting of different underlying factors, an exploratory factor analysis was performed on 18 statements from the inquiry. The result of the analysis shows that there are four underlying factors; 1 Technology education is important, 2 Good conditions for technology education, 3 Syllabus is in focus for technology education and 4 Confidence, interest and technology education of the teacher. “Technology education is important” has the highest mean, which indicates that most of the teachers do find Technology important. The lowest mean is found in “Good conditions for technology education”, it shows that the respondents were not satisfied with the circumstances in their school. The factors are a help for a wider understanding of the teachers experience. Further investigations of the factors and the statistical material will follow, with ambitions to find out if there are some preconditions that explain why teachers have different views of the factors found in this first part.
|
|
| 5. |
- Norström, Per, 1971-
(författare)
-
Technological Experiments in Technology Education
- 2015
-
Ingår i: PATT 29. - Aix-en-Provence : Service Imprimerie de l'université d'Aix-Marseille. - 9782853999946 ; , s. 322-327
-
Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- In processes of engineering design and innovation, technological experiments are commonly conducted. The methods used are similar to those in the natural sciences, but the objectives are different. Technological experiments commonly deal with context-dependent problems related to function, rather than the uncovering or falsification of general laws. Furthermore, they often include value-laden concepts such as safety and ergonomics which are not part of the natural sciences. In school, experimentation is largely seen as part of the domain of the natural sciences, and the experimental parts of technological work gets little attention. This study is based on findings from a professional development course for teachers in years 7 to 9 in compulsory school in Sweden (pupils aged 13–16). In the course, the use of experiments in education was one of the major themes. The teachers who partook in the course generally found it difficult to formulate technological problems to be examined using experimental methods. During the course, they were to develop their own technology education experiments. These often turned out to be rather plain activities where the results, rather than the process were the important thing. In this paper, the results from the teachers’ actual attempts to design technological experiments and reasons for why experimentation should get a more prominent position in school are discussed. Experimental work is an essential part of research in engineering design and the technological sciences and should therefore be included in technology education, but without turning it into only applied natural science.
|
|
| 6. |
- Sundqvist, Pernilla, et al.
(författare)
-
The Purpose of Technology Education in Preschool : Swedish Preschool Staff’s Descriptions
- 2015
-
Ingår i: Plurality and Complementarity of Approaches in Design and Technology Education. - Marseille : École supérieure du professorat et de l’éducation, Aix-Marseille Université. - 9782853999946 ; , s. 390-396
-
Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- In 2010 technology became emphasized as a subject in the revised curriculum for the Swedish preschool. Two yearslater 42 preschools were scrutinized by the Swedish Schools Inspectorate. The resulting report revealed that thepreschool staff lacked knowledge about technology in general and felt insecure regarding the subject’s application inthe preschool practice. There is relatively little research on the area, but even so some studies have shown the sametendency. To increase the knowledge of the existing situation in the preschool the aim of this study was to investigatehow preschool staff describe the purpose of technology education in preschool. Data was collected through an openendedquestionnaire. A stratified sample of 10 % of all the preschools in the investigated municipality resulted in thequestionnaire being sent out to 139 preschool teachers and day care attendants. The return rate was 73 %. The datawas analyzed using a conventional content analysis to create categories from data. Five categories were formed todescribe the preschool staff’s descriptions of the purpose of technology education: 1) to develop children’s interestin technology, 2) to make children aware of the technology around them and through that making the technologyavailable for them, 3) to give children an awareness about how technology works, 4) for children to develop abilitiesand knowledge to be able to create, invent and solve problems using technology, 5) to prepare children for futurelearning. All together these categories cover all aims but one for sustainable development stated in the steeringdocuments for the preschool and it seems that these respondents have a more developed understanding oftechnology in preschool than the ones the Swedish Schools Inspectorate reported in 2012.
|
|
| 7. |
- Svensson, Maria, 1969, et al.
(författare)
-
Teaching and learning system thinking in technology
- 2015
-
Ingår i: Plurality and Complementarity of Approaches in Design and Technology Education: PATT29 conference proceedings. Apr 2015, Marseille, France. - Marseille : Presses Universitaires de Provence. - 9782853999946 ; , s. 404-409, s. 404-409
-
Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Complex technological systems have emerged during the last decade as an important strand in technology teaching in several national curricula for compulsory school. However, even though understanding the systemic aspects and connected nature of contemporary society, it remains unclear what such understanding entails in detail, and even more unclear what may constitute good teaching. We present the results from a teaching-learning design project on the topic of large societal and complex technological systems, which are seen as constituted of transformation and transport, acting on matter, energy and information. The main results are a suggested and evaluated plan of teaching developed in collaboration with a team of technology teachers, as well as descriptions of how pupils’ system thinking is constituted in terms of four basic aspects: Resource and intention of the system; System component constitution; Process and transformation in components and system; Network character. In total, a teaching plan spanning four lessons was realised in four different classrooms, with classes’ sizes ranging 15 to 25 pupils in the ages 14 and 15. The teaching design progresses through focusing specific parts of various systems, for example the transformation of polluted water to clean water in a water purification plant as part of the water supply system. There is an emphasis on the function of the part in relation to the system on the one hand, and on how the part is and can be realised technically, taking care to relate the latter to what is taken up in other curricular strands of technology. The last part focuses the examination of technological systems as constituted by interacting and meaningful parts, where their network nature may emerge.
|
|
