THE BOOK
This book proposal is inspired by John Eggleston’s Teaching and Learning Design and Technology: A Guide to Recent Research and its Applications (2001), and seeks to extend on the legacy of the book by putting the best that is known and understood about the subject in the hands of classroom teachers.
Drawing together the most up-to-date research and scholarship from experts across the world, design and technology education offers the cutting edge and evidence-based perspective on this practical and creative subject. Design and technology is part of the general education curriculum in many countries around the world, under different names and following different traditions, with ideating, realising, and critiquing (aka the design-make-evaluate paradigm) as implicit signature pedagogies. This book is ideal for building preservice teachers’ confidence and deepening in-service teachers’ knowledge and expertise in matters pertaining to design and technology key curriculum concepts, pedagogical approaches, and assessment practices. The chapters systematically review evidence and present it in a straightforward and accessible format for busy educators to engage with and use research-informed principles and practices in their classrooms, workshops, and studios. The book is structured to support the reader with chapter outlines, research questions, synthesis of key findings and implications, synopses of key studies, and key points. Explanations of key concepts, real-life examples and reflective points keep the theory grounded in classroom practice. The book is accompanied by a companion website, including online summaries for each chapter and 3-minute video summaries by the authors, an archive of search protocols, and links to open access research on design and technology education.
Sections
Part I Introduction to design and technology education
Part II Design and technology curriculum
Part III Design and technology pedagogy
Part IV Design and technology assessment
Part V Design and technology research literacy
Structure of the Book
The proposed structure of the book is outlined below, with an indication of potential content and themes for chapters. The proposal to the publisher will be made using the 200-word summaries from responses to this call for contributors. The editors will also draft the general introduction, the research design chapter for Part I and the research landscape chapter for Part V.
Foreword
by a national or international advocate of design and technology education (500-words)
Preface
How and why this book came into being (500-words)
General Introduction
How and why to use this book (1000-words)
Part I
Introduction to design and technology education (2000-word position pieces).
Chapters in this section will explain (a) the research design/methodology (systematic literature review) adopted for Parts II to IV; (b) what design and technology education is as an international phenomenon; (c) the current controversies and tensions for the subject; and (d) key issues for teacher education and development. Contributors for this section will be by personal invitation only.
Part II
Design and technology curriculum (3000-word systematic literature review discussions).
Chapter proposals for this section will systematically synthesise literature on (a) the position of design and technology in the curriculum; (b) how is the design and technology curriculum arranged, (c) design and technology knowledge and capability; (d) the role of extra or cross curricular themes (such as maker spaces, STEM, etc.) in the design and technology curriculum; and (e) the contribution of design and technology (such as academic, practical, vocational, technical, work-based, etc.). The editors invite proposals for chapters from teams as part of this call for contributors.
Part III
Design and technology pedagogy (3000-word systematic literature review discussions).
Chapter proposals for this section will systematically synthesise literature on (a) how design and technology is taught in the early years, primary, secondary, and/or further education sectors (not necessarily all in one chapter!); (b) signature pedagogies of design and technology education; (c) how design and creativity is learnt through design and technology; (d) how practical skills are learnt in design and technology; (e) how project work is facilitated in design and technology, etc. The editors invite proposals for chapters from teams as part of this call for contributors.
Part IV
Design and technology assessment (3000-word systematic literature review discussions).
Chapter proposals for this section will systematically synthesise literature on (a) what knowledge, skills and dispositions are being assessed in design and technology education; (b) what learning and progress looks like in design and technology; (c) feedback work in design and technology; (d) how creativity can be assessed in design and technology; (e) the role of the examinations in design and technology; (f) the role and impact of AI (or other technologies and innovations) on design and technology, etc. The editors invite proposals for chapters from teams as part of this call for contributors.
Part V
IDesign and technology reseqarch literacy (2000-word position pieces).
Chapters in this section will explore (a) the research landscape for design and technology education; (b) how to interpret and use research-informed approaches from outside of design and technology research; (c) how to access, interpret, and use design and technology research in the classroom; (d) how to conduct informal design and technology practitioner inquiry in the classroom; (e) the value of researching design and technology formally as a practitioner; (f) the value of postgraduate research of design and technology at a university; and (g) how research supports teacher education and development. Contributors for this section will be by personal invitation only.
Retrospective
500-word reflections from the editors
e.g. a pragmatic take on research in design and technology educational: what is missing, what might be on the horizon, and what we have learnt while writing the book.
Afterword
Similar to the forward, but by a second national or international advocate of design and technology education (500-words)