Creativity in Design & Technology

1. Creativity in Design & Technology David Barlex Nuffield Design & Technology Young Foresight Electronics in Schools Brunel University

2. Presentation overview • The Ground Rules • Creativity revealed in art objects • Designing as a creative activity • Creativity revealed in design objects • The contribution of Nuffield D&T to creativity • An heretical approach from Young Foresight • Does ICT add value to creativity? • Can electronics be creative?

3. The Robinson Definition • using imagination • pursuing purposes • being original • being of value • From All our Futures: Creativity, Culture & Education

4. Stimulus ‘Risky’ activity Context Creative activity Reflection Risk management Knowledge and Skill The Nuffield QCA Findings

5. Looking at art objects • Boticelli • Exquisite, time consuming execution • What does the gossamer gown tell us? • Was the artist lost in time when painting that?

6. Looking at art objects • Jackson Pollock • Rapid execution • Almost in a trance • Yet desperately trying to control the dripping paint

7. Looking at art objects • Elisabeth Frink • Frightening and fascinating • Faceless, powerful authority • Raw masculinity and strength • A chilling vision slowly revealed by the chisel

8. Designing as a creative activity • Relating the work of Nigel Cross on designers and designing to creativity as defined by the Robinson Report • Produce novel, unexpected solutions - being original • Tolerate uncertainty, working with incomplete information -using imagination • Apply imagination and constructive forethought to practical problems - using imagination & being of value • Use drawings and other modelling media as a means of problem solving - pursuing a purpose • Resolve ill-defined problems - pursuing a purpose • Adopt solution-focusing strategies - being concerned with value • Employ abductive/productive/appositional thinking - using imagination • Use non-verbal, graphic/spatial modelling media - being imaginative and original

9. Looking at design objects • Analogous to the human arm • Springs acting as counterbalances to the loads • The frame from stiff, strong and light tubes • The base necessary to prevent overbalancing is in scale with the remainder of the design

10. Looking at design objects • A radical departure from the traditional forms and materials • Distinctive circular cabinet restated in the speaker, the controls and the arc of the tuning dial • Fuelled by the aesthetic of British Modernism • Cost effective manufacture

11. Looking at design objects • A variant on an old product • Manufactured to solve a packaging problem • Selling so successfully that it has become a new product in its own right

12. The grim reality in many schools • LEA findings • The research perspective • The Oftsed view • See Creativity in Crisis, Design & Technology at KS3 and KS4 DATA Research Paper No 18

13. The Nuffield secondary pedagogy • Resource Tasks • Capability Tasks • Case Studies • Progression as a sequence of Capability Tasks underpinned by developing strategies for designing • Scaffolded by means of Resource Tasks and Case Studies • Supports risk taking needed for creativity in designing • High sales at KS3 and reasonable sales at KS4 yet limited impact • Overall a bit disappointing

14. Designing at KS4 • www.secondarydandt.org • Extending the useful life of the materials • Design Hexagon - strategy plus RTs • Design Guides- issues to consider • Free to download

15. The primary approach • Big Tasks • Dedicated Small Tasks • Clarity in design decisions • The immersion experience • A pack for teachers • A website for teachers www.primarydandt.org

16. Primary Food Technology Year 1

17. Progression in Primary Food Technology • Year 1 - A Fruit Salad • Year 2 - A Serving of Toast • Year 3 - A Cold Drink • Year 4 - A Pastry Product • Year 5 - A Serving of Tea • Year 6 - A Bread Product (as a bridging activity)

18. The moving pictures

19. The roly polys

20. Children’s buggies • The basic model • No special effects • Just forward and reverse

21. Children’s buggies • The reversing switch close up • A lot of patience and persistence needed here • But masking tape is no substitute for solder

22. Children’s buggies • A closer look at the drive system • Tension and weight causing material failure • What can be done to improve this?

23. Children’s buggies • A more sophisticated approach • Forward and reverse • Card mounted power supply and switch • Lighting

24. Children’s buggies • Careful decoration • Torn tissue paper for an effective camouflage • Plus muzzle flash!

25. Children’s buggies • A closer look at the insides • Two lights • In series so not very bright • A paper fastener switch • And too much masking tape!

26. Children’s buggies • Even more sophisticated • Forward and reverse • Card mounted power supply and switch • Lights that penetrate the body shell

27. Children’s buggies • A closer look at the insides • Elegant layout • Body shell with moveable sun roof and windows • An absence of masking tape

28. But what about this one? • Dog rough! • Intense • Urgent • And the only one with the light switch on the hand held control panel

29. Young Foresight Synopsis (i) • Use in design & technology • As part of KS3 curriculum • Particularly suitable for year 9 • Also used at KS4 and KS5 • Developed to enhance creativity, collaborative learning, design ability and presentation skills

30. Young Foresight Synopsis (ii) • Design but not make • Products and services for the future • Utilising new and emerging technologies • Working in groups • Supported by mentors from industry • Presenting ideas to peers, teacher, mentor and wider audiences

31. Conceptual design with the Young Foresight Tetrahedron Technology People Society Markets

32. The QTC Challenge • QTC is clever stuff. • It comes as thin sheets or a powder. • It can be built into textiles or fixed to hard surfaces. • In a relaxed state it is a good insulator. • When it is stretched, squashed or twisted it becomes a conductor. • The harder you stretch, squash or twist it the better it conducts. • It’s already been used in power tools and a robot hand. • What would you use it for?

33. Pupils’ concept 1

34. Pupils’ concept 2

35. Pupils’ concept 3

36. Pupils’ concept 4

37. Lots more examples • Atwww.youngforesight.org • PLUS • Information about the project • Print materials to download • News from the regions

38. The Research and Development Dimension • Patricia Murphy of the Open University has investigated problem solving in D&T and evaluated the Young Foresight Programme • Extensive observation in classrooms coupled with intensive analysis of the data provides insight into D&T pedagogy

39. Murphy & McCormick (1997) Murphy & Hennessy (2001) In the standard design & make classroom Designing in the box Problem solving avoided Problem solving unsupported Asking for answers and following instructions Problem solving thwarted In the Young Foresight conceptual design classroom Autonomy Personal decision making Successful collaborative learning - through dialogue students developed an integrated understanding of design issues and concepts Considerable ‘residual’ pay off (Hiebert et al. 1999) The Young Foresight and standard D&T classrooms compared

40. Young Foresight and Design • After the Programme all students had developed understanding of design beyond the confines of their D&T experiences and were able to discriminate between design decisions. In particular they had come to understand fundamental relationships that inform a critical approach to design and that support student creativity. This indicated that the students were experiencing design as a process rather than a series of isolated activities.

41. Where does ICT add value? • For generating design ideas • For developing design ideas • For communicating design ideas • For making design decisions • For prototyping and manufacturing

42. Where is ICT going? • Search engines? • New types of software? • Manufacturing? • Virtual products? • Embedded intelligence? • Who is deciding where it goes in education?

43. Electronics in schoolsa risky strategy • Based on 7 SETPOINTS • Considerable local autonomy • Responsive to local conditions • Utilising local expertise • Centred on teacher professional development • Different entry levels • On going evaluation by Open University • Managed by SEMTA • Visit www.electronicsinschools.com

44. Conceptual Marketing Technical Constructional Aesthetic Design Decisions

45. Myths exploded • It’s too hard to teach • It’s too hard to learn • Girls can’t/won’t do it • It costs too much • There’s no room in the curriculum • You can’t compete with high street products

46. Product potential

47. Design decisions EXPERIENCED Small Task Big Task Pedagogy Outside influences TAUGHT CAUGHT ENABLED UNDERPINNED Appropriate technologies Social constructivism Summing up

48. References • Murphy, P. and McCormick, R. (1997) Problem Solving in Science and Technology Education, Research in Science Education, 27, (3) 461 - 481 • Hiebert,J., Carpenter, P., Fennema, E., Fuson, K., Human, P., Murray, H., Olivier, A., & Wearne, D., (1999) Problem Solving as a Basis for Reform in Curriculum and Instruction: the Case of Mathematics in Murphy, P. (ed) Learners, Learning and Assessment, London, Paul Chapman • Atkinson, S. (2000) Does the need for high levels of performance curtail the devlopment of creativity in design & technology project work? International Journal of Technology and Design Education, 10 (3) 255 - 281 • John-Steiner, V.(2000) Creative Collaboration, Oxford University Press, New York • Murphy, P. and Hennessy, S. (2001) Realising the Potential - and Lost Opportunities - for Peer Collaboration in a D&T setting, International Journal of Technology and Design Education, 11 (3) 203 - 237 • Murphy, P. (2002) in Barlex, D. (ed) Creativity in Crisis, London, Nuffield Foundation DATA • Cross, N. (2002) The nature and nurture of design ability in G. Owen-Jackson (ed) Teaching Design and Technology in Secondary Schools, Routledge Farmer, London • Barlex, D. (2003) Considering the impact of design & technology on society – the experience of the Young Foresight Project in Dakers, J. & de Vries, M. (eds) PATT 13 Conference Proceedings 140 - 144 Scotland, Glasgow University available at http://www.secondarydandt.org/dandtworld/report_0000000649.asp7.03.04 4.00 pm • Barlex, D and Rutland, M. (2003) Developing the Teaching of Food Technology in Primary Schools in England through Curriculum Development and Initial Teacher Education, International Journal of Technology and Design Education, 13 (2) 171 - 192 available at http://www.nuffieldcurriculumcentre.org/go/CurriculumIssues/Issue_17.html 8.04.04 5.30 pm

49. Thanks for listening dbarlex@nuffieldfoundation.org