THE HERB FARM REVISITED
Curriculum Links – Primary level
Introduction
In these pages Mike Rogers suggests some possible activities for primary school students, inspired by The Herb Farm Revisited case study.
With many technological principles illustrated or touched upon, The Herb Farm Revisited Techlink case study is full of rich contexts for the study of Technology at Primary levels. The Herb Farm Revisited provides an insight into the development and marketing of natural products, with the ethos of the technologists driving the decision-making.
Much of the activity described is beyond primary school level, as it deals with the production of treatments for human ailments, and primary teachers are advised to avoid this for ethical and legal, as well as practical reasons. However, the primary teacher can glean generic concepts from the practice described and the processes followed. Through the two new curriculum strands – Technological Knowledge and Nature of Technology – teachers can explore many aspects of Technology with their students (remember, these strands do not require the students to follow a process from an issue through to development of an outcome as in Technological Practice). Students could investigate, discuss, or trial, look at existing products, models or systems, human preferences and legal aspects. They have the freedom to discover the meaning of technological principles and concepts and perhaps apply these to mock-ups or functional models.
These suggested activities focus on two main areas:
