Design and Technology (D&T) is a popular, and important, subject in schools across the UK. A rare gift in the curriculum, D&T combines creative thinking with practical skills, equipping young people with everything they need to become active citizens, learn about technological developments and make informed decisions about new design approaches. It also prepares many for future careers in design and engineering. As a former D&T teacher turned academic, I’ve long been interested in how teachers can use educational research to improve student engagement and achievement. In recent years, there has been a growing interest within the D&T education community for research that is relevant and applicable to teaching practice.
Although there are the usual academic conferences and online journals which teachers can access, this knowledge sharing is one directional: from the researcher to the teacher. That's why I recently launched a Knowledge Exchange Pilot to build research capacity and engagement in D&T education. The pilot aims to support teachers, academics and subject leads by breaking down the silos that often limit knowledge sharing. For instance, the government is currently interested in research-informed education, using data to figure out what works best. Teachers also need the ability to find relevant research and, more importantly, understand how to apply it. At present, there are few mechanisms in place to support either of these objectives.
When launching the pilot last September, I put a call-out to any D&T teachers who had recently collected and analysed data for a master’s or doctorate. I was delighted when five fantastic teachers responded. While their research might have ended up gathering dust on a library shelf, I hoped to help them share their work with a broader audience at this year’s Pupils’ Attitudes Towards Technology (PATT39) conference. I paired each teacher with an established D&T academic to support their presentations.
Before PATT39, the team had never met in person before. But with generous funding from the Edge Foundation, HME, and Nottingham Trent University (where I work) we came together to virtually attend PATT39 in Canada. In addition to the teachers and researchers, we invited a broad selection of subject leads from across the UK, including representatives from DfE, Ofsted, The D&T Association, The Design Council, and The National Society for Education in Art & Design (NSEAD).
At the event, the subject leads gave thought-provoking talks about what research they needed nationally to inform D&T policymaking. But it wasn’t just them telling us what they needed. It also included us – teachers and researchers – and shared our points of view. Some academics in the room, for instance, have been in the subject for 40 years. They were able to say: “Well actually, we’ve already got research on this topic” – a simple but powerful example of how getting together allowed us to push the issue forward. Likewise, the teachers were able to share their practitioner-led research and how this had improved their teaching and their students’ learning.
During the round table discussions, some of the civil servants were upfront about the fact that D&T had been a bit of a mystery to them. They told me they now felt much more confident returning to their organisations to shape D&T education policy. It was great to break down boundaries between the academic, teaching and policymaking communities. After the subject leads left, the teachers and academics got together to thrash out some ideas to keep the momentum going.
One fundamental problem in D&T education is that current research is scattered, making it hard for individuals to access. To solve this, we are now planning a website and research portal to support the entire D&T community. Teachers, academics and subject leads will soon have a single place online where they can find research to support their work. The site will also act as a forum for teachers to share what they’ve read and how they’ve applied it in the classroom. In addition, they’ll be able to suggest new ideas, while academics like myself will be able to recruit teaching staff as participants or supporting researchers on upcoming projects.
The event also saw the launch of a new podcast, Researching D&T Education – well worth a listen for anyone in the D&T community. In addition to this, we have a special edition of the Design and Technology Education International Journal coming out next April to help teachers on the pilot take their research to an even wider audience,. This will include their conference papers reworked into articles for the entire D&T community to access.
While it’s always hard to say what the future holds, the pilot's success so far has already exceeded my expectations. The plan is to establish a growing community of D&T teachers, researchers and other parties who can continue to share ideas, identify what research is needed and figure out how to impact educational practice and teacher training. Next year, PATT40 takes place in Liverpool. I can’t wait for us all to attend – this time in person – and to see what we’ve achieved by then!
Dr Alison Hardy is an expert in design and technology education and Associate Professor at Nottingham Institute of Education. She is also the host of the Talking D&T podcast.
The teachers who shared their research at the event were Brendan Anglim, Richard Brown, Joanna Chidgey, Claire Vickery and Daniela Schillachi-Rowland.