Sunday 21 August 2016

An assortment box of views: different perceptions of D&T’s purpose and structure


Tomorrow I head off to Utrecht for the PATT2016 conference: Technology Education for 21st Century skills. I'm presenting a paper that is taking a sideways look at some of my PhD data in the context of D&T's marginalisation and D&TA's campaigns.



Image: CoCreatr


Abstract

Views about the value of Design and Technology (D&T) to students, the economy and society are diverse, occasionally exaggerated, and usually conflicting (for examples see Department of Education, 2013; Design and Technology Association, 2011 and 2015; Hardy, Gyekye, & Wainwright, 2015). For example: is D&T a subject with specialised knowledge? A subject that applies knowledge from other subjects? A vocational subject? A subject to meet the country’s economic needs? Or a subject to develop good citizens?

These conflicting views were brought to the fore when the review of the English National Curriculum proclaimed that D&T has an insufficient disciplinary coherence (Department for Education, 2011). Strong, disciplinary coherent subjects have a clear form of knowledge and are favoured by the current UK government. Subjects with disciplinary coherence have strongly defined boundary between itself and other subjects (Bernstein, 2000), and strongly defined knowledge that is ‘sacred … not ordinary or mundane’ (Bernstein, 2003, p.73).

In response to this review, and other challenges, the Design and Technology Association (D&TA) has run two campaigns to ‘fight’ for D&T to be recognised as an important and essential part of the school curriculum (Design and Technology Association, 2011; 2015).
But D&TA has not systematically investigated how D&T teachers and their students, the activators and receivers of D&T, perceive the subject’s purpose and coherence. This paper uses Bernstein’s (2000; 2003) concepts of classification and framing to analyse the perceptions of these two groups. Their assorted views are different to D&TA’s campaign messages but as conflicting, and they concur with the curriculum review that D&T does not have a strong disciplinary coherence.

The conclusion suggests how this analysis could inform future D&TA campaigns and suggests that by addressing D&T’s specialised knowledge and the contribution D&T makes to students 21st Century Skills is not lost but strengthened.


Key words: Bernstein, classification, design, knowledge, skills, technology education.

Thursday 18 August 2016

Structured Writing Retreats at Launde Abbey - additional date for 2017

Students and academic can find it difficult to plan writing time - and even when the time is planned, distractions occur and time is lost to other more immediate tasks and meetings. Writing retreats are one way of providing opportunity to prioritise writing and progress with research outputs.

This year, alongside the day retreats I run for NTU and other universities, I am also organising more residential retreats at Launde Abbey in Leicestershire.These are 48-hour retreats with several writing slots, good food and fresh air.

Last year I attended Rowena Murray's Training for Retreat Facilitators and the structure of these retreats is modelled on Rowena's research.  
Click dates to book now for:

Wednesday 15th - Friday 17th March 2017 

Friday 15th - Sunday 17th September 2017


The aim of the retreat is to use dedicated writing time to progress our writing. The retreat is designed to support students and lecturers in their writing projects such as thesis, articles or reports. This is a supportive environment, where we use most of the time for writing, all of us in the same room. There is time during the retreat to discuss papers and share ideas. This will be a useful event for colleagues to meet up and talk in a relaxed environment. 

How is the retreat structured?
The retreat starts on day 1 at 4pm and ends on day 3 at 4pm. All writing sessions, meetings and meals are in Launde Abbey. We use most of the time for writing, all of us in the same room. Brief scheduled discussions between writing slots often generate solutions to writing problems, develop drafts, lead to research-oriented conversations and provide feedback on writing-in-progress.
Retreat Programme
Day 1
4 - 4.30          Arrive at Launde Abbey
4.30 - 5          Refreshments and setting up
5 - 5.30          Introductions, writing warm up, setting goals
5.30 - 6.30     Writing 
Day 2
9.15 - 9.30     Planning 
9.30 - 11        Writing
11 - 11.30      Break 
11.30 - 12.30 Writing 
12.30 - 2        Lunch and a walk to stretch out legs
2 - 3.30          Writing 
3.30 - 4          Break 
4 - 5.30          Writing
Day 3
9.15 - 9.30     Planning 
9.30 - 11        Writing
11 - 11.30      Break 
11.30 - 12.30 Writing 
12.30 - 2        Lunch and a walk
2 - 3.30          Writing
3.30 - 4.00     Break, taking stock, outputs, feedback, next moves
Where is the venue?
Launde Abbey  is a residential retreat centre in Leicestershire, 6 miles from Oakham and 13 from Leicester. Its a few miles off the A47, the link road between the M1 (Leicester) and A1 (Peterborough).


Launde Abbey - Launde Road East Norton, LE7 9XB - View Map
What refreshments are included?
Full board: all meals, morning coffee and afternoon tea
Non-residential: morning coffee, lunch and afternoon tea. If you would like to have dinner on the first evening please email Alison for details. 
Want to know more about writing retreats?
Read: Murray R & Newton M (2009) Writing retreat as structured intervention: Margin or mainstream?, Higher Education Research and Development, 28(5): 527-39.
For more information
Contact: Alison Hardy alison.hardy@hotmail.co.uk
Alison has attended Rowena Murray's Training for Retreat Facilitators and the structure of this retreat is modelled on Rowena's research.