Investigating middle school students’ perceptions of technology and developing design and technology education units to study students’ design productions

Students’ ideas about design and technology

This survey investigated the ideas about technology among students of Class 8 (average age 13 years) coming from a variety of urban and rural settings. A questionnaire was developed for the purpose, administered in a pilot survey of 167 students, and refined before the final survey among 644 students from 11 English and Marathi medium schools in and around Mumbai. Designed in 4 parts, the questionnaire had over 200 items under 14 major question heads and a diversity of question formats. The sample included tribal and urban students, besides representation of gender, and students from English and Marathi medium schools. The results indicate that a complex interplay of factors, like history, perceivable complexity, association with specific social groups (male and female) and accessibility, and locale (urban and rural) of the technology affect students’ perception of the level of technology involved in objects. Students, as in earlier surveys, had a very positive view of technology considering it beneficial for individuals and society, and essential for the progress of countries. They were proud of their country possessing nuclear technology, yet worried about its consequences for people and the environment.

Development and trials of 3 D&T education units

Three classroom intervention units were developed under D&T education research programme referred to as D&T education units: bag-making, wind mill model making, and puppet making and putting up a puppet show.

The development of each unit progressed iteratively through trials among students in Class 6 or 7 (age 11 to 13 years) from three different kinds of schools: English medium urban school, Marathi medium urban school and Marathi medium tribal school (Ashramshaala). The selected 20-25 students from each school had about equal number of boys and girls. The units, each conducted over 15 hours in each of the 3 settings, were contextualised as problems for the students and encouraged their use of diverse locally appropriate strategies to solve them.

The units were designed to provide the students hands-on experience of measurement, planning, work distribution, design, allocation and manipulation of resources, making, communication and evaluation. Besides engaging teams of students in manual and procedural tasks, they also aimed to develop their skills of imaging, sketching, and drawing as well as aesthetic and social values. Data was collected during the trials in the form of students’ paper-pencil productions of drawings, structured and spontaneous writings, researchers’ notes and audio and video recordings.

Publications:

Khunyakari, R., Mehrotra, S., Chunawala, S. and Natarajan, C. (2007). Design and technology productions among middle school students: an Indian experience. International Journal of Technology and Design Education, 17, 5-22.

Khunyakari, R, Mehrotra, S., Natarajan, C. & Chunawala, S. (2006). Designing design tasks for Indian classrooms. In Marc J de Vries and Ilja Mottier (Eds.). Research for standards-based technology education. Proceedings PATT-16, Baltimore, March 2006. pp 20-34

Khunyakari, R. P., Mehrotra, S., Chunawala, S., & Natarajan, C. (2006) Design and Technology Productions Among Middle School Students: An Indian Experience In Volk, Kenneth (Ed.) Articulating Technology Education in a Global Community. Proceedings of the International Conference on Technology Education in the Asia Pacific Region, January 05-07, 2006, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, pp 63-73.

Cognitive aspects in students’ design productions

Designing and making an artefact, whether it is a simple bag, a puppet for a puppet show or a windmill model, requires students to visualise and depict the spatial relations between components and assemblies. Design involves mental transformations (translations and rotations), analogical and functional reasoning, and the use of conventions and notations (icons, symbols, referent labels) while depicting. In the course of designing students make judgements about material properties, and estimate material shapes, sizes and quantities. Making the artefact enhances manipulative and fine motor skills. Most importantly, in D&T tasks, the skills are practised and knowledge applied in authentic problem solving settings. Design productions of three D&T units were analysed using a framework that was developed for the purpose. The productions included pencil and paper work like the exploratory sketches made by students while designing an artefact, their technical drawings, material lists and procedural maps, as well as the final product.

Publications:

Khunyakari, R., Mehrotra, S., Chunawala, S., & Natarajan, C. (2007). Cognition in action in design and technology unit among middle school student. In C. Natarajan and B. Choksi (Eds.). Proceedings of epiSTEME2: International conference to review research on Science, Technology and Mathematics Education (pp.126-131). India: HBCSE.

Khunyakari, R., Mehrotra, S., Chunawala, S. and Natarajan, C. (2007). Design and technology productions among middle school students: an Indian experience. International Journal of Technology and Design Education, 17, 5-22.

All of the above projects formed part of a doctoral thesis:
Khunyakari, R. (2008). Investigating middle school students’ perceptions of technology and developing design and technology education units to study students’ design productions. Doctoral Thesis. Mumbai: HBCSE, TIFR Deemed University.