Wt4603 unit7 week10-07-11-2011_t

WT4603
Wood Processing Safety &
Practice
Autumn 2011
Lecture Unit 7 (Week 10)

A Technology Education Perspective through the Lens of Paradigm
Change and Sustainable Development
 Notes Prepared by: Mr. Joseph Lyster 07/11/2011
 Available on www.slideshare.net/WT4603

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Sustainability
• The existence of planet earth is unquestionably
dependent on the health, stability and diversity of its
eco-system and the resources it offers to all forms of life.
• Natural resources, trees for example, have been used for
many purposes, such as shelter, by humans and animals
throughout the ages.
• The respectful use and care for natural resources
through a balanced relationship between economic,
social and environmental conditions has been the ‘sin
qua non’ of the earth’s ability to sustain itself for future
generations.
Department of Design & Manufacturing Technology

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Definition
• In 1987 the World Commission on Environment &
Development (WCED) engaged in the interpretation
of sustainable development with the resultant
Brundtland commission report defining it as:

▫ “Development that meets the needs of the present
without compromising the ability of future generations
to meet their own needs”
(WCED, 1987)


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Definition
• Opinion is somewhat divided regarding this
particular definition, as it was coined in the light of
western practices.
• In developing countries there is a greater need to be
efficient with regard to basic resources such as food,
clothing and shelter.
• In this context sustainability is the ability of humans
to survive in the present.


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Economic, Social, and Environmental Relationship


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Sustainable Development
• In terms of sustainability it is projected that during the 150 years
from 1900 to 2050, a period of barely two lifetimes, humanity’s
annual impact on the planet’s natural environment is projected to
multiply over forty-fold (Homer-Dixon and Deligiannus 2009).
• During the period from 1950 to 1997 the UN produced information
regarding human consumption of resources as follows:
 “Use of lumber tripled;
 Use of paper increased six-fold;
 Fish catch increased five-fold;
 Grain consumption tripled;
 Fossil fuel burning quadrupled; and
 Air and water pollution multiplied seven-fold.”
 (UNESCO 2005b)


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• The International Energy Agency (2007) estimates that by
2030 the world’s energy needs could grow by 55%, with
fossil fuels remaining the dominant source of energy.
• If this becomes a reality, grave consequences for the
Earth’s climate systems are almost certain to ensue (IPCC
2007).
• Although energy needs of approximately 2,000–3,000
kcal per day are required to keep a human alive, the
average per capita energy consumption in the United
States and Canada for example is approximately 230,000
kcal per day (Inter-Academy 2007).

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• Manufacturing energy consumption grew by 61%
from 1971 to 2004. It alone accounted for 31% of
global energy use with a concurrent 36%
contribution to all global CO₂ emissions (OECD 2009).
• As a consequence, it was found that over the last
three decades the Earth’s biological diversity has
declined by approximately 30% (Pavlova 2009).


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Visible Impacts of Unsustainable Development:


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Sustainable Development and Paradigms of Change

• Sustainable Development has been largely
influenced by paradigms of change


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Paradigms of Change

A paradigm is understood to be an idea or theory
Paradigms change when the ruling paradigm loses its capacity to solve
problems and generate a positive vision of the future
Kuhn described it in the context of scientific revolution where an existing
paradigm can no longer support a progression in scientific understanding
and therefore a shift in the approach of the ruling theory of science is
created (Kuhn, 1962).
Reigeluth (2006) identified that paradigm shifts are always associated
with the dominant ideologies of a given time, for example Kuhn’s
scientific paradigm shift reflected technological advancements of that
time such as computers.
As paradigm shifts occur they can impact society on many levels,
including education which is a focus of this lecture.


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Major Paradigm Shifts
There have been four major paradigm shifts throughout the
evolution of the human race, namely:
1. Agricultural Age
2. Industrial Age
3. Information Age
4. Conceptual Age
The evolution of general public and technology education in
Ireland will be outlined in each of these shifts
Firstly we must state the nature of current public education


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Four Main Paradigm Shifts
1. Agricultural Age
2. Industrial Age
3. Information Age
4. And …… The Conceptual Age


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Four Main Paradigm Shifts
• Three major paradigm shifts can be verified by Toffler’s (1980) wave
theory (fig.1), which identified three great waves, namely: the age of
agriculture; the industrial age; and the information age (Toffler, 1980).
• In addition to the three paradigm shifts outlined by Toffler’s (1980) wave
theory, Pink (2005) proposes a new paradigm shift called the conceptual
age.


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Agricultural Age
Farming communities
Specialized crafts people – Early Technologists
• The majority of learning took place within families, communities and places of work where
people would learn the basic skills needed for existence, and practised a number of them as
needed in the context of family life, sometimes with a measure of specialization (Thomas,
1981).
• Crafts people provided an invaluable service to agricultural society by self-sustaining rural
communities ensuring that they could cater for all their needs from constructing buildings to
the manufacturing and maintenance of farming equipment (Clark, 2002).
Master and apprentice system – Guild
Formal Education – Primary
Directed by religious orders
Classical linguistic programme of learning
Rote learning and memorizing
University teaching standard poor
Establishment of dissenting academies of education i.e. Engineering


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Agricultural Age
• Informal education through ‘Hedge Schools’ came about from the introduction of
the penal laws passed between 1702 and 1719. The penal laws, implemented under
British rule, outlawed the teaching of Catholicism, Irish culture and language (Walsh,
2009).
• The hedge schools were taught by priests, nuns, local storytellers, passing scholars
and skilled crafts people providing students with basic reading, writing & arithmetic
skills (3R’s) (Dowling, 1968).
• Ireland, in the middle ages, was known as the ‘island of saints and scholars’ as a
result of monastic learning’s that created the relationship between religion and
education (Lennon & White, 1997).


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Industrial Age
Mechanisation – Industrial Revolution
Large scale urbanization – increased population
Public school systems developed
Curriculum design to meet needs of industrial trainers
Reading, wRiting and aRithmetic (3R’s)
Teacher focus on developing students for a working life within
an industrial society


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Industrial Age
• The industrial age is recorded to have begun around the 1760’s (Ashton,
1997).
• The invention of steam power created an age of industrial development,
which resulted in the mechanising of many processes that were formerly
attributed to skilled crafts people.
• Mantoux (2006) described the industrial revolution as a growing division of
labour, a widening of markets, and the adoption of new devices by ordinary
people.
• On a social level, the revolution created larger urban centres that attracted
people in from the countryside to work in large factories (Feinstein, 1998).
• Larger urban centres and the demands of industrial trainers generated the
need for mass education (Williams, 1961).
• In Ireland, initial teacher training colleges were created, such as the Church
of Ireland College of Education (CICE), as a result of the establishment of the
National schools in the 1830’s (Coolahan, 2004).


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Industrial Age
• As a result of the shift Mokyr (1985) identified the 3R’s (Reading, wRiting, & aRithmetic) as the
primary focus of formal education in Britain during the industrial age.
• Field (1979) stated that education in industrial age Britain was aimed at establishing certain
moral attitudes that were regarded as important to the labour force.
• Teacher training during the period of industrial revolution was heavily focused on the
developing habits of regularity, self-discipline, obedience, and trained effort within students
(Williams, 1961: Field, 1979).
• However, the evolution of curriculum, as a result of industrial processes and structured mass
education, began to identify the need for specialized education in technical and scientific
subjects (Gillard, 2007).
• Technical instruction and vocational education programmes of learning began to develop as the
industrial age intensified.
• In the Irish context, Coolahan (1981) identified three significant developments in education
during the industrial revolution, namely the establishment of:
• the Department for Agriculture and Technical Instruction (DATI) in 1899;
• formal teacher education for second level teachers through a part-time one year higher
diploma (H-Dip.) in Education in 1912;
• and the Vocational Education Act (VEA) of 1930.


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Industrial Age
• Vocational education was not added to existing boards of education at the time so
it was developed under its own initiative to provide technical education and
continuing education, which was extremely forward thinking at the time
(Coolahan, 1981).
• Inclusive in this period of significant developments, as outlined, was the
establishment of the chairs in education in universities (TCD 1905; UCD 1909; UCC
1910; UCG 1915; & QUB 1914).
• They were responsible for the H-Dip programme but also secondary teacher
training from 1922-1966 creating an education society.
• However, up until the late 1950’s (latter industrial age) teacher training for
vocational teachers was conducted in short part-time courses under the aegis of
the Department of Education, many of which were located in Colaiste Carman in
Wexford (Coolahan, 2004).
• Educational developments as a result of the industrial age, particularly the latter
stages, played a massive role in the technical and social progress of the 20th
century, inparticular the social aspect of teaching and learning (Broadfoot, 2009).


Information Age
Scientific Revolution
Deeper understanding of teaching and learning
Importance of curriculum
Education for economic growth
Development of logical and analytical skills in an age of
information and communication technology (ICT)
Wider variety of subjects and careers opportunities
However, teaching methods failing to keep pace with change


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Information Age
• The information age began in the 1960’s as identified by Kuhn (1962) and Toffler
(1982).
• It was a result of a paradigm shift in scientific theory that revolutionized ICT and
the rate at which it developed (Kuhn, 1962).
• The scientific shift in the information age and the development of ICT has greatly
influenced the processes involved in teaching and learning.
• The shift to theoretical understanding, outlined by Kuhn’s scientific paradigm,
became evident in Irish ‘teacher education’, formerly ‘teacher training’, in 1963
with elective courses in the history of education, sociology of education and
comparative education that aimed to give more theoretical underpinning to the
students’ studies.


Information Age
• Cheng (2001) indicates that worldwide educational reforms have experienced
three waves of change since the 1970’s (table 1), namely:
• Internal effectiveness;
• interface effectiveness;
• and future effectiveness.
• Reigeluth and Duffy (2008) also identified three similar shifts to that of Cheng.
• Cheng commented that:
“The three waves of reforms are mainly based on different paradigms and
theories of education effectiveness, and they result in the employment of
different strategies and approaches to changing schools and education”
(Cheng, 2001)


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Information Age
• In Ireland, the establishment of the Bachelor in Education Degree gave
prominence to education as a central subject encouraging deeper study in
the area.
• The establishment of concurrent teacher education courses for specialist
(vocational) subject areas, such as woodwork and Construction, in Thomond
College of Education (TCE) now the University of Limerick (UL) in the 1970’s
created a new system of teacher education.
• Gleeson (2004) laments the dissolving of dedicated colleges of education to
the academy such as TCE with their strong ‘craft’ orientation (Practicum), as
valued throughout the previous ages, was done so on grounds of academic
respectability (Gleeson, 2004).
• Goodson and Hargreaves (1996) refer to this as the ‘devils bargain’
suggesting that a very high price was paid for academic respectability.
• Nonetheless, the resulting developments in initial teacher education
accompanied with the theoretical underpinnings outlined in Cheng’s (2001)
first wave of change generated the need for in-service education, now
referred to as continued professional development (CPD) (Egan, 2004).

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Information Age
• Pink (2005) emphasizes that the rising conceptual age will be dependent
on the ability to use technology effectively, as outlined in the knowledge
based economy.
• Donnelly and O’Rourke (2006) identified the need and importance of
information and communication technology (ICT) in education.
• Zemsky and Massy (2004) summarize that despite development of
technology in education the teaching practices remain largely
unchanged.
• In the context of teaching and learning Hameed et al (2006) identified
that considering the diversity in learning styles there is a need for a
better system of delivering education and training.
• In third level engineering education Bernold (2001) highlighted that
teaching and learning needed to reform.


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Information Age
• The majority of creative students were not sufficiently engaged in traditional lecturing,
which he identified to be the dominant pedagogical strategy used by eighty-seven percent
of university engineering professors (Bernold, 2001).
• Broadfoot (2009) presented a similar context on educational practice to that of Zemsky
and Massy (2004) and Hameed et al (2006) by commenting that:
“Although a number of the contributions recognise that schools themselves will
need to become learning organisations, in which teachers, as much as students,
are prepared to be reflective, self-critical and collaborative in responding to
change, there is almost nothing about pedagogy per se. Yet it seems certain that
much of the current pedagogic repertoire will become increasingly ineffective in
an age of ‘digital natives’; that teachers, more or less willingly, will have to engage
with the new ways of encouraging, supporting and guiding learning that new
technologies provide.”
(Broadfoot, 2009)
• The development teaching and learning pedagogy, and the rate at which technology is
developing in contrast to it, (Donnelly & O’Rourke, 2006: Broadfoot, 2009) is seemingly
shaping the context of teaching and learning for a conceptual age.


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Conceptual Age
Development of values based approaches to teaching and learning
Emphasis on developing understanding through active learning,
problem solving and group work
Emphasis on levels of reading, mathematic and scientific literacy
Growing influence of the need for Sustainable Development –
Education for Sustainable Development (ESD)
Encouraging lifelong learning through creativity based on divergent
thinking
The development of moral values within pedagogy
The age of the learner centred paradigm within the conceptual age
is emerging.

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Conceptual Age
• Societal changes for teaching and learning at all levels in the conceptual
age will involve interdisciplinary collaboration, shared leadership,
accountability, diversity and holism, which are becoming more
identifiable (Reigeluth, 2006: Broadfoot, 2009: Pink, 2005: Goodson,
2004: Huitt, 2007).
• Pink (2005) proposes that a new paradigm shift is occurring where the
information age is being replaced by the conceptual age having strong
implications for desired knowledge, attitudes, and skills (Huitt, 2007).


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Conceptual Age
• The conceptual age is defined by two distinctions, namely: the information age was forged
using the left hemisphere of the human brain and the conceptual age which will be forged
using the right hemisphere of the human brain.
• The left hemisphere defined the information age with linear, logical and analytical talents that
are evident in current technology and society.
• However, the shift to the conceptual age using the right hemisphere of the human brain will
focus on abilities such as artistry, empathy and emotion (Pink, 2005).
• In consideration of the paradigm shifts over the last century Pink (2005) commented that:
“If the Industrial Age was built on people's backs, and the Information Age on people's
left hemispheres, the Conceptual Age is being built on people's right hemispheres”
(Pink, 2005)

• The proposal of such change is no surprise. Kurzweil (1999) stated that there will be as much
change in the first quarter of this century as there was in the entirety of the last century.
• Education in the conceptual age emphasises the search for meaning through artistry, empathy
and emotion (Pink, 2005).
• Maslow’s (1943) hierarchy of needs also identified the search for meaning to be important
regarding human motivation, though research hotly debates Maslow’s theory.


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Conceptual Age
• Auberdene (2005) implies that the conceptual age is due to a rise in human
consciousness where there is an increased interest in spiritual development.
• Increased conscious levels will impact on society in three ways, namely: the
values-driven consumer; spirituality in business; and socially responsible
investing.
• The rise in consciousness is already evident within primary factors of society
such as sustainable development, which is recognised as a sensitive issue and
one of global importance (Vlek & Steg, 2007).


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Changing paradigms of public education:
Noted from a public lecture given by Sir Ken Robinson

At present, education is primarily designed to address economic and cultural aspects
within a model of globalization.
1. Economic
• Designed to prepare students for the 21st century economy
• What will economy look like in one week???
2. Cultural
• Cultural Identity
• Identify with their own genes in a model of globalization
• However, the education system has not changed…it is doing what it did in the past! –
So many talented students are lost as a result.
• Traditional approach was that if you worked hard, excelled in school then you would
get a job.
• Today, a degree cannot guarantee you a job…most students are aware of this


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Public Education:
• The current system of education was designed, conceived and structured for a
different age and the economic circumstances of that time – This was the period of
Enlightenment i.e. the Industrial Revolution.
• The Forster Act of 1874 was the initiation of public education
• It was a revolutionary concept for three reasons:
• Paid for by taxation
• Compulsory to everyone
• Free at the point of delivery
• However, the social structure of education was based on an intellectual model of
the mind for example – deductive reasoning and a knowledge of the classics.
• This created the concept of academic ability, which categorizes people into two
groups, namely:
• Academic
• Non Academic


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Public Education

• This has produced two pillars, namely economic and intellectual, that define current
public education systems.
• This system has failed to benefit many students because their intellectual ability does
not conform with standardized education based on intellectual ability/academic
achievement.
• This is the most intensely stimulating period in the history of the earth and yet we
inadvertently restrict students in so many ways for example:
• We penalize students for being distracted by the vast amount of information and
technology available to them. We are not accommodating their interests.
• We confine and control their actions within the learning environment
• A primary victim of this model of education is the Arts.
• The Arts requires students to address their aesthetic experience
• This enables students to reach the peak of their senses and thus achieving fulfilment of
interest with the task at hand.


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How has this shaped our current system of education:

• Schools, as institutions of learning, are modelled on the interests and image of
industrialism, for example:
• Bells
• Uniforms
• Production Line Mentality….1st to 6th year….do x y and z
• Separate subjects
• Batch students by age rather than interests.
• Subject to standardization
• An essential capacity of learning is divergent thinking, which is the ability to develop
multiple answers to a problem rather than just one answer.
• Divergent thinking is an essential capacity for creativity.
• Schools educate pupils out of their creative ability.
• A Longitudinal paper clip study proves (4-6; 8-10; & 13-15)


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Irish Post-Primary Technology Education:

• The Irish Post-Primary Technology education programme is integrated into both
junior and senior cycle programmes of learning
• Both junior and senior cycle technology education subjects are available in two
levels for assessment purposes; higher level (HL) and ordinary level (OL), and
some at foundation level (FL).
• Technology Education Subjects: The subjects emerged from traditional
vocational education programmes, particularly in the 1980’s.

Junior cycle Senior cycle
Materials technology (Construction studies formally Building construction)
wood (MTW)
Metalwork Engineering technology (formally Engineering)
Technology Technology
Technical graphics Design and communication graphics (Technical
drawing).

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• The vocational education act (VEA) of 1930 was not added to existing boards of
education at the time so it was developed under its own initiative to provide
technical education and continuing education, which was extremely forward
thinking at the time (Coolahan, 1981).
• However, up until the late 1950’s (latter industrial age) teacher training for
vocational teachers was conducted in short part-time courses under the aegis of
the Department of Education, many of which were located in Colaiste Carman in
Wexford (Coolahan, 2004).
• The establishment of concurrent teacher education courses for specialist
(vocational) subject areas, such as the outlined technology subjects, in Thomond
College of Education (TCE) now the University of Limerick (UL) in the 1970’s
created a new system of teacher education.


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• The dissolving of dedicated colleges of education to the academy such as TCE with
their strong ‘craft’ orientation (Practicum), as valued throughout the previous ages,
was done so on grounds of academic respectability.
• Goodson and Hargreaves (1996) refer to this as the ‘devils bargain’ suggesting that a
very high price was paid for academic respectability.
• It is argued that the dominance of practical activity in Irish technology education is
due to many reasons; one being that teachers believe students were not cognitively
exposed to sufficient “theoretical reflection about the nature and the influences of
technological activity” (Black, 2005) and also the difficulty in expressing and
communicating inner thoughts in a non-verbal subject area (Vygotsky and Cole,
1978).
• These subjects have a low level of uptake (figure 1.6.1a) because they are
traditionally viewed as ‘craft’ subjects that do not engage with ‘cutting edge’
technological developments (ICSTI, 1999).


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Education for Sustainable Development

Year Organisation Developments
World Education Forum Future Education – Sustainable
1 1990
(WEF) Development
Education for Sustainable
2 1992 UN General Assembly
Development (ESD) – Necessary
Re-Orientate Teacher Education
3 1998 UNESCO
for ESD - Necessary
Millennium Development Goals
4 2000 WEF
(MDG’s) - ESD is a goal
Resolution – Agenda 21 - put the
Decade of Education for
5 2002 UN General Assembly
(DESD) in place
6 2003 UNESCO DESD vision is shared
7 2004 UNESCO DESD framework is presented
8 2005 UNESCO DESD is Implemented


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• The objectives of the DESD are as follows:

 “Give an enhanced profile of the central role of education and
learning in the common pursuit of sustainable development;
 Facilitate links and networking, exchange and interaction
among stakeholders in ESD;
 Provide a space and opportunity for refining and promoting
the vision of, and transition to sustainable development –
through all forms of learning and public awareness;
 Foster an increased quality of teaching and learning in ESD;
and
 Develop strategies at every level to strengthen capacity in
ESD.”
(UNESCO 2007)

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• Middleton (2004) identified four meanings of ESD over the
past number of years, namely: sustainability as environmental
education (Ryan, 2000); as sustainable development
education (Ryan, 2000); as sustainable growth education
(Fien, 1988); and as encompassing the concept of social,
economic and environmental sustainability (Collins, 1992:
Pavlova, 2004).
• Former United Nations (UN) secretary general, Mr. Kofi
Annan, commented that:

“Our biggest challenge in this century is to take an idea that seems
abstract such as sustainable development and turn it into a reality for
all the worlds’ people”
(UNESCO 2007)

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• Hill and Elshof (2007) outline a set of sustainability issues which they see
as most related to general technology education, namely:

▫ Dematerialization;
▫ Cleaner production;
▫ Design for disassembly;
▫ Design for recycling;
▫ Product stewardship;
▫ Product service systems;
▫ The precautionary principle;
▫ Sustainable consumption;
▫ Eco-efficiency;
▫ Industrial and construction ecology;
▫ Life cycle assessment (LCA); and
▫ Design for the environment.
(Hill and Elshof 2007)

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• It was outlined that learning activities for sustainability in
technology education should reflect the following:

▫ help students to recognise a situation as being ethically
(morally) problematic;
▫ enable students to have a voice and express their feelings
and thoughts; and
▫ Lead to a practical solution that serves the best interests of
all parties involved.

(Pavlova 2009)

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• It is suggested that the processes involved with design activities, for
example: cognitive; practical; and aesthetical, should be inclusive of
the following (Pavlova 2009)

▫ Know and understand SD problems/issues;
▫ Contribute towards the promotion of and increasing awareness about
ideas of sustainable development through projects/activities;
▫ Design and make products in accord with eco-design principles;
▫ Work in accord with SD practices.
▫ Discuss and appreciate the relationships between aesthetics and ethics
for sustainability; and
▫ Consider aesthetics as a powerful feature of product design closely
related to sustainable consumption.
(Pavlova, 2009)


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• Datschefski’s (2010) five key principles for sustainable
products as follows:

▫ “Cyclic: made from organic materials, which are recyclable or
compostable, or made from minerals that are continuously
cycled in a closed loop;
▫ Solar: the product uses solar energy or other forms of renewable
energy both during use and manufacture;
▫ Safe: non-toxic in use and disposal and its manufacture does not
involve toxic releases or the disruption of ecosystem;
▫ Efficient: less materials, energy, water; and
▫ Social: manufactured under fair and just operating conditions for
the workers involved and the local communities.”
(Datschefski 2010)

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• Pavlova (Pavlova 2006) proposes the types of activities that could
support rethinking to generate a well-connected learning
experience for design and sustainability as follows:

▫ “Reuse of products/packaging (students developed ideas on how to
reuse plastic bottles.
▫ This activity is not detached from the context, in the countryside and in
the city students can see examples of bottle reuse);
▫ Use of industrial waste (timber, textile—patchwork, toys for childcare,
metal) to design and make new products;
▫ Eco-technologies (alternative energy sources, interior design from
natural forest materials); and
▫ Social and cultural aspects of sustainability (re-birth of traditional
crafts).”
(Pavlova 2006)


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6R’s – Practical Action Organisation
• Rethink: do we make too many products? Design in a way that considers
people and the environment.
• Refuse: don’t use a material or buy a product if you don’t need it or if’s bad
for people or the environment.
• Reduce: cut down the amount of material and energy you use as much as you
can.
• Reuse: use a product to make something else with all or parts of it.
• Recycle: reprocess a material or product and make something else.
• Repair: when a product breaks down or doesn’t work properly, fix it.


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