Towards a Transformative Epistemology of Technology Education

Technology Education offers an authentic and invaluable range of skills, knowledge, capabilities, contexts and ways of thinking for learners in the 21^st century. However, it is recognised that it occupies a comparatively less defined and more fragile curricular position than associated, but longer established, subjects such as Mathematics and Science. While recognising that no single factor lies behind such a condition, this paper draws upon thinking in the philosophy of technology, technology education and the ontology of artefacts to argue that transformation may be considered as an epistemic source for technology in a similar way to ‘proof’ within Mathematics and ‘interpretation’ within Science. Encapsulating technology's intimate relationship with materials, it is ultimately argued that the transformation of a technical artefact from an ill‐defined into a well‐defined ontological state constitutes a prime source of technological knowledge for pupils. Moreover, it provides an alternative route into further consideration about the nature of the domain, epistemology and curricular identity of the subject.     

Redefining the meaning of teaching: A work in progress

Abstract

Particular elements of a new initial certification program are described. The use of inquiry, collaboration, and reflection as teaching strategies resulted in new learning for preservice teachers, experienced teachers, and university faculty involved in the program. Each partner in the endeavor indicated an increased understanding of these strategies as effective tools for teaching and learning at every level of the profession. Furthermore, a vision of professional development for experienced professionals in the context of their work with novice teachers emerged. Guidelines for the design and implementation of such programs are proposed.     

THE IMPACT OF AN INSERVICE EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM ON THE GERONTOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE AND ATTITUDES OF GERIATRIC RECREATIONAL SERVICE PROVIDERS

The impact of an inservice program on practitioners’ gerontological knowledge and attitudes was examined. A nonequivalent control group design was used to conduct the study. The experimental group was made up of geriatric recreational service providers attending the first of two annual one‐week inservice educational programs. An outdoor resource management undergraduate level class served as the control group. The experimental group relative to the control group underwent a significant increase in their gerontological knowledge. Neither group experienced a significant change in their attitudes regarding the social value of the elderly or personal anxiety toward aging. The amount of change experienced in gerontological knowledge by program participants was significantly influenced by the degree of contact the individual had had with elders but not by their educational background. Educational background and degree of contact were not significantly associated with change in gerontological‐related attitudes. Implications for persons involved in designing and developing educational programs are discussed.     

Computers in Language Teaching

Abstract

Many people remember their language lessons from their secondary schooldays as tedious and ineffective. Although the emphasis in language teaching has shifted from the passive skills (reading, listening) to the active skills of speaking and writing, the result after many years of hard work is often disappointing. Learning a language in a classroom environment is extremely difficult. There is no real need to speak or write. Teachers are not interested in the contents of what their students are saying or writing but in the correctness. There is not enough time for the individual student to manipulate and practise what he or she has learned. Motivation is low. Obviously, computers cannot solve these problems. However, they can be used to create a more stimulating environment in which students are given authentic tasks that require a real use of language. If computers are used for practice and drill only, we are missing out on a valuable contribution to language learning and teaching.     

Spelling development in 6–11‐year‐old Greek‐speaking Cypriot children

The aim of the present study was to examine the spelling development of Greek‐speaking children in the early school grades. Although Greek orthography is regular for reading, it is much less transparent as far as spelling is concerned. Spelling development was investigated using a word spelling task designed to explore the effects of word length, familiarity and spelling regularity. One hundred and fifty normally developing primary school children living in Cyprus took part in the study. Results suggest that the children employed both phonological and lexical strategies in spelling Greek words. Results indicated that sub‐lexical procedures were more marked for younger children, whereas lexical processing was employed more widely by older children. The findings are interpreted in terms of stage developmental models.     

Does STES‐Oriented Science Education Promote 10th‐Grade Students’ Decision‐Making Capability?

Today’s society is continuously coping with sustainability‐related complex issues in the Science‐Technology‐Environment‐Society (STES) interfaces. In those contexts, the need and relevance of the development of students’ higher‐order cognitive skills (HOCS) such as question‐asking, critical‐thinking, problem‐solving and decision‐making capabilities within science teaching have been argued by several science educators for decades. Three main objectives guided this study: (1) to establish “base lines” for HOCS capabilities of 10th grade students (n = 264) in the Israeli educational system; (2) to delineate within this population, two different groups with respect to their decision‐making capability, science‐oriented (n = 142) and non‐science (n = 122) students, Groups A and B, respectively; and (3) to assess the pre‐post development/change of students’ decision‐making capabilities via STES‐oriented HOCS‐promoting curricular modules entitled Science, Technology and Environment in Modern Society (STEMS). A specially developed and validated decision‐making questionnaire was used for obtaining a research‐based response to the guiding research questions. Our findings suggest that a long‐term persistent application of purposed decision‐making, promoting teaching strategies, is needed in order to succeed in affecting, positively, high‐school students’ decision‐making ability. The need for science teachers’ involvement in the development of their students’ HOCS capabilities is thus apparent.     

Visualizing Humans by Computer

Abstract

This paper gives an overview of the problems involved in visualizing humans in a three‐dimensional scene, and looks at the history and development of human shape modelling, human motion control, and modelling of human characteristics and clothing to produce computer‐generated actors.