The Promise Of A Technological Education

Presentation to the NYSED and NYSTEA Summit on "Technology Education: Educating and Enabling 21^st Century Students"

April 30, 2008

Kendall N. Starkweather

Introduction

Why do we need technology education in our schools? What is its uniqueness that no other subject area covers? Why is it so important to our society? And, why is it one of the most misunderstood subjects that we have in our educational system? These questions have been pondered by many educators for decades. Still, the answers are elusive and seem to change with time.

 There is no other place in the school curriculum where ingenuity, invention, and innovation are taught the way they are in technology education. This type of thinking, related to design and innovation, cannot be found as taught and practiced in the school curriculum unless you find it in a technology education program. Nevertheless, few people in the technology teaching profession, the education field in general, or the lay public, would use those three words in describing our field.

 We seem to know that science is the study of the natural world and is about inquiry. Science matters! What we don't seem to know is that technology is about the human-made world and is about design. Technology innovates! The two subjects feed upon each other and one cannot survive without the other. The subject of science is better "positioned" in our school systems and curricula. It is often required and is "valued" as a part of a core curriculum. It is tested! Technology is not often positioned as a core subject and is often mistaken as science in news reports, societal understandings, and more. Just as the scientist gets the majority of the credit for research that helps society, engineers or technologists are often credited with failures that occur. Science and technology as school subjects have that inseparable relationship, but with unequal positioning in our minds and our school curricula. 

 However, these understandings, or lack thereof, about our technological world should not impede us in our quest to provide a sound education that is technologically based. Technology will always be a part of our lives. It will always be important and is probably as important now as any time in our history.

 The very nature of technology as a school subject has been one that has changed as the technological world has advanced. The study of technology can only sit still if technology itself makes no changes or advances. That will not happen, for humans like to tinker and adjust everything in their constant quest for something different or new in an attempt to satisfy wants and needs. Therefore, the study of technology will always appear in educational settings in one way or another or under some other name or school subject. It has been imbedded in our society since the beginning of civilization and will still be there at the end.

 The school subject of technology education has been everything to everybody, which may have been one of its major problems. However, technology is everything to everybody! Technology education has focused on teaching ABOUT technology (content-related) rather than as is done with information/instructional technology-where the focus has been on teaching WITH technology (hardware-/software-related). This is an important clarification and is evident in Standards for Technological Literacy  (ITEA, 2000/2002/2007).

 Innovation

We know that for a country to thrive in a world of challenge and change, it must have an educational system that creates next-generation inventors and innovators. Innovation is the intersection of invention and insight, leading to the creation of social and economic value. It is the story of how technology has advanced, is used, and powers the economic engine of a country.

 Invention and innovation do not occur by only emphasizing mathematics and science. Technology, design, and engineering thinking must be utilized in order to have a country of innovators. The belief that we innovate using only math and science skills would be shortsighted. 

 We must improve the quality of our lives through teaching about ingenuity, imagination, and innovation using design in countless ways. Here are a few:

 Improve products and services by making them more affordable

• Offer new forms of convenience, customization, and entertainment
• Enable achievement and dramatically higher levels of health
• Develop product options for the aging population
• Find plentiful, affordable, environmentally-friendly sources of energy
• Win the war against terrorism
• Expand our access and ability to use knowledge

 (Council on Competitiveness, 2005)

 This list is endless. However, such listings remind us that human ingenuity, technology, and the design process are key components in creating inventions and innovations. 

 TIDE Education Direction

Our classrooms should be learning environments in which students are constantly engaged in the pursuit of innovative technological solutions driven by questions that ultimately are important and matter to the well being of our society. It is a technological society that we cannot fully describe. Yet, students must have the mental experiences that allow them to explore opportunities, discover alternatives, and create new options through a TIDE (Technology, Innovation, Design, and Engineering) education. Education must contribute value to our students' lives and meet their needs in ways that are meaningful, distinctive, and memorable. We can help the next generation learn how to expand upon, control, and enhance its environment through design and technology. What matters the most is the ability to teach students to utilize their technological education to anticipate and manage challenges as their needs change over their lifetime.

 The job ahead for educators is not easy. We must design curriculum and professional development with the following selected characteristics. We must:

 Teach design principles, technological capabilities, and engineering concepts through a technology, innovation, design, and engineering (TIDE) education.

• Provide TIDE education for ALL students starting at the earliest levels and continuing through life (K-life).
• Position technology (TIDE) as an equal STEM contributor providing an interconnectiveness to mathematics and science using application and innovation concepts essential to the education process.
• Emphasize the attributes of the "T & E" of a STEM education.
• Create assessments based upon carefully considered standards to inform and improve teaching and learning.
• Narrow or focus standards to embrace, teach, and evaluate while insuring that there is rigorous learning.
• Utilize teacher knowledge and talent to build a well articulated K-12 curriculum based upon sound educational principles.
• Create partnerships between the school systems, universities, and state departments of education to build curriculum, assessments, and professional development.

 Summary

No other school subject is as dynamic in nature as a TIDE education. No other subject has so much promise that it is only limited by what we know and are able to do through human ingenuity. No other subject can provide the exciting engagement that students get from designing and creating. The promise is great and worth the challenge. The real winners are the students, who will be engaged in creating their own technological future.

References

Council on Competitiveness. (2005). Innovate America. A National Innovation Initiative Report. Washington, DC: Author.

 International Technology Education Association. (2000/2002/2007). Standards for technological literacy: Content for the study of technology. Reston, VA: Author.

 Dr. Kendall N. Starkweather is Executive Director/CEO at the International Technology Education Association, 1914 Association Drive, Reston, VA  20191.

He was invited to our NYSTEA - NYSED 2008 Summit to provide a national and global perspective with technology education and its benefits to student learning. Dr. Starkweather provided our summit participants with a critical opening address that established what technology education is (and isn't) and what directions our State and discipline it should take for the future. He stated, "There is no other place in the school curriculum where ingenuity, invention, and innovation are taught the way they are in technology education.This type of thinking, related to design and innovation, cannot be found as taught and practiced in the school curriculum unless you find it in a technology education program."
In addition to his opening address, Dr. Starkweather, throughout the Summit, provided valuable thoughts and suggestions with the Curriculum Work group.