I read with delight today's Straits Times article on the formation of the 4th publicly-funded university, which among others, would have a greater degree of focus on design! Perhaps it is time, though a little late, that design education have their day in court. Now if only the same can be said of the high-school education here, which have somehow or rather pushed design, and design education, to the purview of the lesser-inclined!
Quote from International Journal of Technology and Design Education 2006:
ReplyDelete"One of the most significant developments of recent years has been the emergence
of technology and design education as an integral part of general education in
many parts of the world. Its distinctive curriculum features are technological literacy
and capability and it highlights the importance of ‘knowledge in action’, of ‘doing’
as well as ‘understanding’.
However, teaching technology and design as a component of general education is
an emergent, rather than an established, practice and many questions remain to
be answered. In addition to issues about the nature of technology itself, little is
known about students’ learning and teachers’ understandings of technology and
about what it means to become more technologically capable. There are impor-
tant issues about the preparation of technology teachers, the assessment of
technological competence and the relationship of technology to other curriculum
elements, notably science. There are also significant policy questions relating to
the practice and rationale of curriculum change."
Key words to consider: technological literacy as emergent; some thoughts to consider: How technological are our students?