GED4803

Technology in the curriculum

Mr C Penna

12 points - 3 hours per week - First semester - Clayton

Objectives Upon successful completion of this subject, students should have developed an improved knowledge and understanding of technology and technology education; gained an appreciation of the problems confronting the development and implementation of technology education; become familiar with curriculum-based strategies for change in technology education.

Synopsis Australian community leaders in education, politics, industry and commerce agree that there is a pressing need to reassess and improve both the focus and quality of technology education in the compulsory and post-compulsory years. This subject aims to establish the rationale for developments in technology education; explore the scope of technology education as part of the curriculum; present international, national and local perspectives on technology education; promote the concept of capability, ie the ability to use knowledge to do things - to design, make, repair, adapt, evaluate and improve artefacts for a human purpose; provide an opportunity for practical involvement in a technology project; explore the relationship of technology to other curriculum areas; and examine strategies for implementing and assessing technology education programs. The subject will be relevant to primary, post-primary and tertiary educators, will be broadly based, and will aim to meet the needs of individual students, each of whom may undertake an in-depth study in the field of technology in the curriculum.

Assessment Two research projects (1000 words each): 30% each - Essay (3000 words): 40%

Recommended texts

Layton D Technology's challenge to science education Open U P, 1993
McGinn R Science, technology and society Prentice-Hall, 1991
Victorian Board of Studies Curriculum and standards framework: Technology VBOS, 1995
Williams J and Williams A Technology education for teachers Macmillan, 1996

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