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Planning And Implementation Of Such Work Is A Fundamental Part Of Work In Dt ...

Planning and implementation of such work is a fundamental part of work in DT education. At key stage 2, there is generally no dedicated area for DT work, so activities are carried out in the classroom, whereas key stage 3 introduces separate classrooms for individual subjects.
Overlap with other subjects
To avoid duplication and / or lack of coverage, special attention needs to be paid to areas where DT overlaps with other subjects. At key stage 3, Electronics and Systems & Control are covered to some extent in most physics courses, and to a lesser extent GCSE chemistry involves the study of properties of textiles, and biology incorporates details of the use and properties of different foods. Similar examples are found in the
key stage 2 science curriculum.
Opportunity for the use of ICT
The national curriculum recognises the potential for the use of ICT in DT, in both collecting data, presenting results and researching topics. This is emphasised in the ICT curriculum for key stages 2 and 3 (Rutland, 2000).
Relevance to Pupils' future work
With the wider availability of vocational training and courses, the study of subjects related to DT is becoming a popular route for school-leavers (Petrina, 2004).
Local Variation
Despite guidance from the national curriculum, there is considerable scope for individual LEA's and school management teams to define their own DT policies: this includes the choice of subjects studied, the examination courses offered and so on. If there is a lack of consistency between primary and secondary approaches to DT education, continuity of learning becomes difficult at best.
The above considerations are particularly important to those responsible for the transition between primary and secondary DT, because of the change in approach that occurs at this stage: DT becomes a separate subject, studied with specialist teachers and becomes the subject of external examinations. Primary DT education must therefore provide the
requisite levels of knowledge and confidence to allow pupils to make this transition successfully.
Guidance for educators in this area comes from a variety of sources, most importantly from the National Curriculum and professional literature. Section 2 examines the current state of this guidance, commenting on the viability and congruence of different approaches.
Summary of Section 1:
DT is an important part of the non-core curriculum at Key Stages 2 and 3. In order to ensure that pupils make a successful transition between key stages, in is necessary for policy makers to appreciate the key issues involved in teaching DT
Section 2: Current Practice
-an analysis of the way that teachers and researchers tackle the transition.
2.1 The aims of Design Technology teaching at key stages 2 and 3
-the National Curriculum links to DT at this level are outlined.


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