David Morrison-Love

‘Learning about Progression’ is a suite of research-based resources designed to provide evidence to support the building of learning progression frameworks in Wales. ‘Learning about Progression’ seeks to deepen our understanding of current thinking about progression and to explore different purposes that progression frameworks can serve to improve children and young people’s learning. These resources include consideration of how this evidence relates to current developments in Wales and derives a series of principles to serve as touchstones to make sure that, as practices begin to develop, they stay true to the original aspirations of A Curriculum for Wales – A Curriculum for Life. It also derives, from the review of evidence, a number of fundamental questions for all those involved in the development of progression frameworks to engage.

This podcast, recorded by the author of the paper, discusses some of the key thinking and ideas in: Morrison-Love, D. (2016) Towards a transformative epistemology of technology education. Journal of Philosophy of Education, Vol 50, Issue 4 (In Press). Core ideas include the relationship between technical activity, materials and the metaphorical paradigm of technology as an enhancement to human capability. Ultimately, it is argued that pupils’ technological knowledge arises in no small part, from their navigation of an ontological pathway through which they realise solutions to problems in a physical form.

Wales is currently undertaking significant curricular reform following a systematic review of the country’s education system (Donaldson, 2015). As frameworks that reflect evolving societal demands and shape learning experiences, curricula occupy a powerful and integral place in Education. Despite this, it is not always clear that they support pupils’ learning in ways that pay attention to research evidence and classroom experience. The CAMAU Project (University of Glasgow & University of Wales Trinity Saint David), designed to address this concern, was commissioned by the Welsh Government to support the process of radical, evidence-based curricular reform. Developed around the Integrity Model of Change (Hayward & Spencer, 2010), it brings together researchers, policy-makers and Welsh teachers as co-developers of learning progressions using participatory research methods (Bergold & Thomas, 2012) and the principle of subsidiarity (Donaldson, ibid). These frameworks will support planning and formative assessment by describing learning journeys for Welsh pupils aged 3 to 16. This paper describes the CAMAU project and discusses selected findings from research, policy and practice in the first phase of developing progression frameworks for Design and Technology, and Computer Science. Reviews of research and policy presented in Hayward et al (2018) were undertaken using the ‘Knowledge to Action’ method (Khangura et al, 2012). A discussion of this evidence suggests that ideas of ‘the process of abstraction’, ‘systems and mental models’ and ‘quantity, level of integration and complexity of factors considered’ may be important in learning progression. From the perspective of practice, more open-ended pupil tasks appear to support teachers better in the early stages of thinking through progression. When initially describing learning progression, many teachers focused on describing particular task requirements or the independent use of skills, rather than the underlying conceptual understanding. Initial descriptions were more skill-based with less agreement about the knowledge required to support progression.

This is a paper from the ESCalate Academic Papers Online series, written by Margery McMahon, David Morrison-Love and Ruth Deakin-Crick in 2006. MacELLI is a learning enhancement project undertaken by the University of Glasgow and the University of Bristol. This paper explores an initiative offering students an opportunity for learning enhancement at a third level institution. The authors outline the nature of the initiative and discuss the preferred learning enhancement resource for the project, and consider the impact of the resource and its potential benefits for learners by reviewing the level of learner engagement with the project and student feedback on their experience

The ability of pre-service teachers (PSTs) to transfer learning between subjects and contexts when problem solving is critical for developing their capability as technologists and teachers of technology. However, a growing body of literature suggests this ability is often assumed or over-estimated, and rarely developed explicitly within courses or degree programmes. The nature of the problems tackled within technology are such that solutions draw upon knowledge from a wide range of contexts and subjects, however, the internal organization and structure of institutions and schools tends to compartmentalize rather integrate these. Providing a knowledge base and strategies to enhance PSTs’ awareness of and skills in transferring knowledge may allow for a more integrated understanding to develop. The importance of developing this ability to transfer knowledge is heightened as PSTs will, in turn, be responsible for developing the similar capabilities of their future students. This paper ...

Research into technological problem solving has shown it to exist in a range of forms and draw upon different processes and knowledge types. This paper adds to this understanding by identifying procedural and epistemic differences in relation to task performance for pupils solving a well-defined technological problem. The study is theoretically grounded in a transformative epistemology of technology education. 50 pupils in small groups worked through a cantilever problem, the most and least successful solutions to which were identified using a Delphi technique. Time-interval photography, verbal interactions, observations and supplementary data formed a composite representation of activity which was analysed with successively less contrasting groups to isolate sustained differences. Analyses revealed key differences in three areas. First, more successful groups used better and more proactive process-management strategies including use of planning, role and task allocation with lower ...

As practical and creative education in England continues to experience challenges and a relative loss of status, this paper argues for the importance of a broad and balanced curriculum and in particular design and technology (D&T) education. This paper is a position piece and discusses some of the challenges facing D&T. Calling for a reinvigoration of the subject to its original intentions, as the first National Curriculum subject in the programmes of study for England - discussed in the 1980s and enacted in 1990 – we explore how perspectives on education, curriculum and technology are politically informed and constructed. This paper reasserts the fundamentally humanising nature of technology in society. Drawing on ideas from science and education, both within and outside of DT beyond the technical and economic arguments.

In the continuing context of curriculum change within English education, this paper explores the cultural and historical roots of design and technology, as an educational construct, distinct from design or engineering, which exist as career paths outside of the school curriculum. It is a position piece, drawing on literature from a wide range of sources from writing and outside of the discipline. The authors revisit the original intention of design and technology as a national curriculum subject and within the contemporary challenges, highlight the historical and social importance of technology, including designing and making, as an essentially human and humanising activity. The aim being to contribute to the theorisation and philosophy of the subject, where typically practitioners tend to focus on practical and potentially mundane concerns. This paper asserts that technological human activity is rooted in technological innovation and determinism. The aim is to add to the literature...

This paper contains information which provides a context for the work of the CAMAU research team based in the Universities of Glasgow and of Wales Trinity Saint David. This information includes an outline of the context of curriculum and assessment arrangements within which the research is situated and provides information on the processes of working with the Pioneer Schools network, a key aspect of the Welsh Government’s commitment to subsidiarity in educational decision making. This paper also includes key findings from the project’s Interim Report (October 2017) ‘Learning about Progression’.

Taxonomies related to education and learning offer both potential and risk. Moreover, my experience as a secondary school teacher of Technology Education and now as a Lecturer, has lead me to significantly revise my own thinking in this area. Though taxonomies such as that presented by Bloom offer a great deal by way of crystallising core thinking processes in people’s minds, I would argue there is a risk that they can mask the reality of task contexts. I think that rather than considering the elements of loom’s Taxonomy as hierarchical, there is merit in viewing them more discretely and in direct relation to task contexts. Moreover, I would argue that in most instances, it is the task context (and prior experience of the pupil), rather than the level of the taxonomy, which dictate the challenge from a pupil’s perspective. If a pupil is not experiencing challenge, questions could be asked about the depth of learning that is taking place. However, before elaborating on the issue of c...

The aim of this research project is to co-create and evaluate an approach to lesson design in the Teacher Education (Technologies) curriculum with students to support the development of knowledge required to create and teach effect lessons in Technology Education. Morrison-Love has developed the Adaptive Subject Pedagogy Model to support students to create research-informed subject-specific lessons for teaching in schools. As part of the model, engagement with research literature and theory, as well as reflection on professional learning is central. Students on the BTechEd degree programme have been invited to participate in four interrelated dimensions of data-collection: interviews relating to school experience de-brief case studies, participatory development focus groups to better understand student experiences of professional development, focus groups to evaluate the use of the ASPM, and exploration of assignment responses in the Teacher Education Technology course where student...

Creativity is nebulous to understand and problematic to nurture. Though, as a human trait, it is frequently observed in a range of endeavours, being creative, or producing something that is deemed creative, is often very challenging for pupils. This presentation reports on the design and execution of a focused pedagogical learning and teaching strategy that enhanced the creativity of pupils when developing sketch-based ideas in response to a brief. The pupils (13-14 years old) were undertaking a design and make project in the technology department of a Scottish secondary school. The developments discussed herein were part of the work undertaken by the department in response to the Curriculum for Excellence (Scottish Executive, 2004) . Initially, a range of key research studies will be reviewed. This will conceptualise creativity in a context meaningful to pupils and teachers, and determine the factors that can mitigate pupils’ ability to work creatively. These factors relate to the ...

Wales is currently undertaking significant curricular reform following a systematic review of the country’s education system (Donaldson, 2015). As frameworks that reflect evolving societal demands and shape learning experiences, curricula occupy a powerful and integral place in Education. Despite this, it is not always clear that they support pupils’ learning in ways that pay attention to research evidence and classroom experience. The CAMAU Project (University of Glasgow & University of Wales Trinity Saint David), designed to address this concern, was commissioned by the Welsh Government to support the process of radical, evidence-based curricular reform. Developed around the Integrity Model of Change (Hayward & Spencer, 2010), it brings together researchers, policy-makers and Welsh teachers as co-developers of learning progressions using participatory research methods (Bergold & Thomas, 2012) and the principle of subsidiarity (Donaldson, ibid). These frameworks will support planni...

Research into school-based and real-life technological problem solving has shown it to exist in a range of forms and draw upon a number of constituent processes and knowledge types. While this has given much needed insight into what happens when pupils undertake such problem solving in classrooms, there is little understanding about the relationship between these constituent elements and pupil performance on problem solving tasks. Moreover, such tasks are often still undertaken individually within schools. This thesis builds directly on this by offering a definition for classroom-based technological problem prior to developing a mixed-method approach that allowed the problem solving activity of four high performing groups to be compared with that of four low performing groups. Single gender groups of approximately four pupils worked through a well-defined cantilever problem task in three Scottish technology education classrooms. The group performance was determined by outcome. Findi...

Research into technological problem solving has shown it to exist in a range of forms and draw upon different processes and knowledge types. This paper adds to this understanding by identifying procedural and epistemic differences in relation to task performance for pupils solving a well-defined technological problem. The study is theoretically grounded in a transformative epistemology of technology education. 50 pupils in small groups worked through a cantilever problem, the most and least successful solutions to which were identified using a Delphi technique. Time-interval photography, verbal interactions, observations and supplementary data formed a composite representation of activity which was analysed with successively less contrasting groups to isolate sustained differences. Analyses revealed key differences in three areas. First, more successful groups used better and more proactive process-management strategies including use of planning, role and task allocation with lower ...

This Executive Summary presents high level messages which emerge from the analysis and synthesis of the findings of surveys and interviews with members of every Area of Learning Experience Group (Section 1) and interviews with senior policy makers (Section 2). Section 3 of this report (using evidence to promote a Successful Future for the Curriculum for Wales) provides more detail on ideas that are important for The Curriculum for Wales to be successful in future. In the spirit of co-construction, all readers are invited to consider this Section 3 and to discuss within their own communities possible implications for sustainable long term change: • what contributions they might make to ensure that currently successful aspects within an existing programme are sustained and • how participants might work collaboratively to address areas likely to raise the level of risk to programme success. Findings The worldwide COVID pandemic has resulted in unprecedented levels of change in educatio...

Wider participation, retention and quality assurance has refocused attention on students’ learning experiences and opportunities, with an appreciation that raising a student’s awareness of their learning preferences can help them adopt different styles and become more flexible learners. There is consensus that if opportunities for developing their learning skills are available to students the quality of their learning improves and they experience more success. This should be more than simply a crisis response to an emergency situation (e.g. examination failure) and involve self-reflection on existing learning strategies and development of new ones. Learning enhancement is at its core. This paper focuses on a joint project between the Faculty of Education and the Student Learning Service at the University of Glasgow, funded by the University’s Learning and Teaching Development Fund. It trials a Learning Profiling Tool with a student cohort from the BEd programme. Critical reflection ...

Problem solving is widely recognised as a crucial ability in all aspects of life, not least as a core capacity in an effective working life beyond the years of formal education. Contemporary consideration for engendering a more sustainable future has arguably re-catalyzed its importance. A recent report from the OECD entitled ‘Education at a Glance’ effectively considers a range of factors attributable to a country’s future competitive advantage and, in doing so, draws specific attention to the significance of problem solving and technical skills. Similar recognitions can be found in other organisations such as UNESCO. Though such indicators can appear profound on a societal level, these capacities must first and always be nurtured and developed at a local level; where Technology Education classrooms provide notable potential. Indeed, it was [1] who argued over twenty years ago that problem solving was in fact the core method through which pupils undertook learning in Technology Edu...

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Technology Education offers an authentic and invaluable range of skills, knowledge, capabilities, contexts and ways of thinking for learners in the 21st century.  However, it is recognised to occupy 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 a 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.

The ability of pre-service teachers (PSTs) to transfer learning between subjects and contexts when problem solving is critical for developing their capability as technologists and teachers of technology.  However, a growing body of literature suggests this ability is often assumed or over-estimated, and rarely developed explicitly within courses or degree programmes. The nature of the problems tackled within technology are such that solutions draw upon knowledge from a wide range of contexts and subjects, however, the internal organization and structure of institutions and schools tends to compartmentalize rather integrate these. Providing a knowledge base and strategies to enhance PSTs’ awareness of and skills in transferring knowledge may allow for a more integrated understanding to develop. The importance of developing this ability to transfer knowledge is heightened as PSTs will, in turn, be responsible for developing the similar capabilities of their future students. This paper begins by considering problem solving in technology education and some of the issues associated with learning
transfer. Thereafter, a framework and strategy for better integrating learning between courses is described and forms the basis for developments in an initial teacher education degree programme for technology education. Provisional data from evaluations and PSTs’ work indicated a positive effect in
enhancing their thinking and additional data collected in the form of questionnaires, interviews and course work further illuminate this finding. It is argued that the development framework and approach enhances PSTs’ mental models of teaching technology and offers a significant step forward in promoting skills in the transfer of future learning between subjects; something increasingly critical for 21st century
STEM Education.