Promotional flier:
Technology Education, Looking to the Future
School: Heaton Normal Intermediate School
Developed by : Lynne Topham
Download Brochure (pdf, 2.4MB)
Heaton Normal Intermediate School is in the process of changing to technology education based classes. To inform parents of the changes and of the benefits of technology education to their children, Deputy Principal Lynne Topham decided to develop a colourful flier to send home with students.
Recognising the importance of sending the right messages, Lynne consulted with Paul Snape, TENZ North-South Island Regional Chair and Lecturer at the University of Canterbury College of Education. Paul broke the information down to vitals, concentrating mostly on Technological Practice and how it relates to day-to-day considerations.
"Some of our parents and students still had historical expectations of outcomes from the Technology rooms," said Lynne, "In the Food Tech room people cook, in the Fibre Tech room they sew."
Paul focussed on the need to communicate the exciting opportunities involved in technology education. "We wanted to get across to parents that appropriate teaching in Technology is quite different than what they experienced in their manual training classes" he said. "Technology education programmes need to prepare children for life in the 21st century"
The flier was created in Microsoft Publisher and included:
- Technology Education overview
- What's happening at Heaton?
- Examples of Technological Practice (such as brief development, planning for practice, initial brief, outcome development, final brief and Technological Outcome) in every-day life
- A glossary of key terms
- Links to more information
The Technological Practice examples were illustrated by two clip-art cartoon characters, Sam and Joe, who describe the technological process from the students' point of view, explaining what they had learnt and why each stage of the process was important.
A scenario illustrates the process with a specific context involving another student, Fred, a school athlete chosen for the South Island champs. Fred needs a trackside bag to hold his clothing, towel, and energy food, as well as being easily identifiable from other competitors' bags. The scenario follows Fred's Technological Practice as he sketches, plans, models, and evaluates his final product.
The flyer has gone a long way towards helping parents and caregivers understand Technology terminology, the learning that takes place, and its purpose in society. It has played an important role in the ongoing integration of the technology curriculum within teaching at the school. "We are now looking at refining previous practice and devising new ways of continuing the implementation of the technology curriculum," Lynne says.
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