Facilities & Equipment
! SAFETY
It is desirable that the space allocated to the teaching of Technology be designed so as to cater for a variety of activities such as material processing, graphics, task completion and storage. Care should be taken with the layout to minimise the effects of waste such as dust and fumes. It is preferable that designated permanent space be provided for the teaching of Technology. Due to the broad nature of the syllabus content and the varied requirements in relation to practical work it is likely that teaching initially could involve the use of a number of rooms, e.g. Art Room, Computer Studies, Construction Studies Workshop, Home Economics Room, Library, Materials Technology(Wood) Workshop, Metalwork Room, Science Room, Technical Graphics/Drawing Room, Technology Room, etc. Available tools, access to equipment, power points, water and waste disposal provision have to be included in the planning for a year's work.
Careful planning of the timetable will be required if proper access to appropriate facilities is to be provided. It may be possible to cater for the availability of these specialist rooms on a rota basis, perhaps even on a term basis depending on the teaching approach being adopted - especially in the first year. Duplication of basic items of equipment may be inevitable in order to avoid having to simultaneously reserve a number of rooms for the teaching of Technology.
Time
The minimum time allocation for technology should be four periods per week timetabled as two double periods(approximately 240 hours). The recommended time for the various sections of the syllabus is included in Section 4 of these guidelines.
The vital resource of time must be managed with care. It must be pointed out that skill acquisition takes time and should be allowed for in planning the programme for any year. The greatest use of classroom time may occur in the design phase of the task for two main reasons.
- The student, rightly, must spend time, unrushed, in contemplating a variety of solutions.
- The elementary drawing skills required by the syllabus may result in very slow work in the preparation of working drawings.
Communications by clear drawings/sketches and reports is an essential part of the design process. Adequate time needs to be given to the acquisition of these communications skills. The students might find it useful to produce some of their drawings in their own time. The speed of preparation of working drawings can be greatly advanced by adopting some of the suggestions on freehand drawing proposed in the Communications section of the guidelines.
Cross-Curricular Links
Teachers of technology, if not familiar with, should at least be aware of the content of other parts of the school curriculum that might have a bearing on a student's understanding of, or progress in, specific elements of the technology course. The depth of treatment and timing of topics in these related areas might be taken into account when planning particular sequencing of learning in Technology. Some obvious examples occur in Materials Technology(Wood), Metalwork, Art, Craft and Design, Home Economics, Computer Studies and Science, but there may also be aspects of History, Geography, etc. which would be relevant.
Storage
Because there will be a need to assess the students' progress in terms of tasks, consideration will have to be given to the storage and/or display of their work, both during and after its completion. This can be a major problem where students undertake the construction and assembly of a sizeable artefact. Where the assessment is purely an internal matter for the teacher and students, short-term storage facilities are adequate (shelves and presses in the Technology Room for example). For purposes of external examination towards certification, a longer-term storage need arises.
Other Resources
Access to library, both school and community, should be included in the planning. Use of audiovisual equipment and photography, if available to the school, can be of great benefit in the teaching of Technology.